Author Archive
Threats
China Escalates the Pandemic Propaganda War
As its global image takes a big hit, China is using an arsenal of spin, obfuscation, hyperbole, and outright disinformation to win back its reputation.
Policy
China Is Buying Global Influence on the Cheap
The U.S. gives more money than China to many international organizations. So why do they seem more sympathetic to Beijing?
Ideas
The US Army Is Racing to Build Makeshift Coronavirus Hospitals
The Corps of Engineers is converting dozens of American hotels and convention centers. Can it do it fast enough?
Ideas
The Vermont National Guard’s Great Experiment
A few weeks ago, the state's Guardsmen got an impossible assignment. And then they pulled it off.
Ideas
The Inconvenient Truth About ISIS
The group is even bigger now, and America’s conflict with Iran is only making the fight against it more complicated.
Ideas
Iraq Is the One War Zone Trump Doesn’t Want to Leave
The president’s resistance to withdrawing from the country boils down to three of his main enemies: ISIS, Iran, and Obama.
Ideas
The Soleimani Assassination Is America’s Most Consequential Strike This Century
The U.S. attack against the top Iranian general will have far greater repercussions than the killings of al-Qaeda and ISIS leaders.
Ideas
How Trump Turned the Military Against Itself
The president’s repeated interference in a Navy SEAL’s case shows that he cares about only one kind of military discipline: obedience to Trump.
Ideas
Pompeo Can’t Escape
The secretary of state has been trying to distance himself from the impeachment hearings, but today’s explosive testimony put him at center stage.
Policy
Erdoğan Defies Trump. So Why Do They Get Along?
The two have undeniable personal chemistry, but their countries are drifting apart.
Featured eBooks
Threats
The Mad Scramble for Syria
After weeks of chaos in the northeast, great powers redrew a small chunk of the map. And a bigger story is just beginning.
Ideas
Killing Terrorist Leaders Gets Attention, But It Doesn’t Stop Terrorism
Baghdadi’s death is indeed a turning point in the War on Terror, just as Osama bin Laden’s was in 2011. It’s just not clear what the war is turning to.
Ideas
What Was the Point of the Syria ‘Withdrawal’?
Donald Trump, who vowed to get troops out of Syria altogether, incurred all the strategic costs without getting any of the political benefit.
Ideas
Why Is Turkey in NATO Anyway?
Both sides have been repeatedly disappointed in the decades since Ankara joined the alliance. Is it time to call it off?
Ideas
Trump Is Killing a Fatally Flawed Syria Policy
Did the president betray the Kurds or help dismantle a contradictory strategy in Syria? Both.
Ideas
‘We Shouldn’t Be Buying the Taliban’s Excuse’
The Afghan national security adviser wants his government to take over after a failed year of U.S. negotiations. But now the country has an uncertain election to contend with.
Ideas
The US and Iran Are Still Worlds Apart on a Deal
At the UN, America and Iran talk at each other and refuse to meet.
Threats
DHS Is Finally Going After White Supremacists. That Won't Be Simple.
A new strategy prioritizes domestic terrorism, especially of the extreme right. Now the agency has to actually tackle the problem.
Ideas
Everyone Is Getting Sucked Into the Iran Morass
The U.S. threatened Iran after an attack on a Saudi oil field sent global energy prices soaring, showing how the tensions affect literally everyone.
