Ideas

Trump Tried Partisan Applause Lines Inside the Pentagon. Nobody Applauded.

The president uses a missile-defense policy rollout to bash Democrats before the military’s senior leaders.

Threats

Army Chief Confirms US Will Hand off ISIS Fight in Syria

Gen. Mark Milley is the first senior military official to say the military is proceeding in Syria as Trump wishes.

Threats

China’s Military Is Getting Better at a Lot of Things at Once: Pentagon Intelligence

The DIA’s first public report cites rapid advances, extended reach, and increasing confidence.

Ideas

America’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East is Not What Pompeo Claimed

In Cairo, the secretary touted stronger U.S. engagement in the region, all evidence to the contrary.

Policy

Trump Just Killed His Own Defense Strategy

The commander in chief has torn up 17 years of counterterrorism plans, offering instead his strange mix of talking points and lies.

Policy

The ‘Nightmare Scenario’ Has Happened and You’re to Blame

Trump’s withdrawal from from Syria is what military leaders feared — and exactly what he promised.

Policy

The CIA Presented a ‘Smoking Gun’ on Khashoggi. What’s the Senate Going to Do About it?

Lindsey Graham and others emerged from a CIA briefing convinced that Trump and SecDef Mattis are wrong about the murder.

Policy

Warren’s Big Foreign Policy Speech? Simple and Irresponsible

Sen. Elizabeth Warren just gave a foreign policy speech that national security professionals who want U.S. global leadership should fear.

Policy

General Dunford's Border Politics Come Down to This

Here's why the Joint Chiefs chairman applauded Greece for welcoming one group of migrants while U.S. troops are helping President Trump stop another.

Policy

Pentagon Began Clampdown on Senior Leaders’ Public Speaking Months Ago, Memos Reveal

DOD says it’s to save money and time. Critics say it’s to avoid conflict with the president.

Policy

America’s Place in the World Was on the Ballot. It Lost.

Barely a word was heard about America’s fading claims to global leadership, or its wars and operations around the globe.

Threats

'Extraordinarily Important': Top US General Defends Saudi Relationship, Yemen War

‘I think it is better if we are engaged,” CENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph Votel says in an interview.

Policy

US Military Leaders Keep Quiet on Saudi Arabia Amid Khashoggi Outrage

The Pentagon has long accepted Saudi abuses as the price of friendship. The latest won’t change that.

Threats

In Pacific, US Army Shifts Training from Disaster Relief to War

The change reflects Trump’s defense strategy and rising threats from China and North Korea.

Threats

Pentagon Declares War on Scooters

After seven rental scooters were abandoned at the Pentagon following this year’s September 11 remembrances, police say they will begin impounding the unauthorized rides. Bikes, too.

Policy

On the Campaign Trail for NATO, With Secretary General Stoltenberg

The former Norwegian prime minister tells Defense One that dissent is good, questions are welcome, and they’re making the alliance stronger than ever.