Ideas
Donald Trump's Pattern of Deference to the Kremlin Is Clear
Any specific incident might be explained away fairly easily. As a pattern, they’re too weird to dismiss with a shrug.
Ideas
James Mattis’s Final Protest Against the President
The defense secretary, who resigned on Thursday, was one of the last senior officials in the government who could constrain Donald Trump.
Ideas
The US Military Is Trump’s Favorite Prop
President Trump sent troops to the border even though they’re prohibited by law from stopping immigrants. He still hasn’t visited U.S. troops in a combat zone.
Ideas
Human Rights Have Evaporated from America’s Saudi Policy
The administration’s reticence about the disappearance of a Saudi journalist is offensive, but it’s also clarifying.
Ideas
Why the Space Force Is Just Like Trump University
The gap between the hype and reality of the proposed new branch of the military makes the project almost entirely an exercise in misleading branding.
Ideas
Can Global Agreements Survive Without the US? Climate Change Offers A Test Case
American withdrawal from the Paris agreement is a test for the future of the globe, but also for the international order.
Threats
Could Police Have Prevented Bloodshed in Charlottesville?
Neo-Nazis and counter-protesters alike think that local and state police should have done a better job keeping violence from breaking out over the weekend.
Policy
Are Mercenaries Really a Cheaper Way of War?
The founder of Blackwater says privatizing the 16-year war could save taxpayer money. History, both recent and farther back, suggests a different outcome.
Ideas
Why Trump Is Wholly Unsuited to the North Korea Crisis
The president confronts a situation that calls for a trustworthy, careful, decisive leader drawing on all available expertise.
Threats
An Attack From the ISIS Playbook
The London attack seems to fit with a pattern of growing attacks on Muslims—both in Europe and in the United States.
Policy
Trump to London: Be More Afraid
Rarely does a leader in a liberal democracy embrace, let alone foment, fear. But that’s exactly what Donald Trump did in response to attacks in London, as he has often done before.
Ideas
Foreign Leaders Have Realized Trump Is a Pushover
The president’s reported disclosure of classified information to Russia is only the latest example of the self-proclaimed great negotiator conceding to officials from overseas everything they want.
Ideas
Are Leakers Defending Democracy or Corroding It?
Are leaks about the White House the work of bureaucrats who want to undermine the president? And if so, is that a good or bad thing?
Policy
Five Questions Raised by Michael Flynn's Abrupt Departure
Who in the White House knew that the national security adviser had misled Mike Pence, and when? Who will replace him? And what will be the next bombshell?
Policy
How Trump Turned the US Foreign-Policy Consensus Upside-Down
The Republican nominee doesn’t just disagree with Democrats—his ideas represent a break with a long list of policies that have won bipartisan support for decades.
Ideas
France, ISIS and the Fragile Unity of a Nation Under Attack
With each new terrorist incident in France, the solidarity that accompanied previous ones becomes harder to sustain.
Science & Tech
The Era of Lethal Police Robots has Arrived
Dallas Police used a remote-controlled robot to kill one of the snipers, opening questions about the way law enforcement agencies will use new technologies.
Policy
Trump Was For Invading Libya (and Iraq) Before He Was Against It
The presumptive Republican nominee tries to draw a contrast between himself and Hillary Clinton, but both of them supported U.S. involvement in both Libya and Iraq.
Threats
Flaws in Belgium’s Counterterrorism Efforts Were Long Known
Short staffing, communications problems, and institutional problems have plagued the country for years—and ISIS is taking advantage.
Policy
There's a Reason Ted Cruz Won't Say How Much His Pentagon Plans Will Cost
More soldiers, ships, subs, planes, drone pilots—in short, the fiscal conservative wants to spend en enormous amount of money.
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