Meaningful Pentagon Cuts Will Require Rethinking What 'Defense' Means
If Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is serious about reducing military spending, he will need to embrace a narrower understanding of national security.
National Security
Did Biden Blow the Best Chance of Preventing War in Ukraine?
While the U.S. publicly insisted on an “open door” policy, Zelenskyy says he was privately told that Ukraine couldn’t join NATO.
J.D. Vance Brings the Culture War to Europe: 'There Is a New Sheriff in Town'
The Munich Security Conference was supposed to be a foreign policy forum. Instead, the vice president lectured Europeans about democracy.
Is Trump Getting Ready To Cut Ukraine—and Europe—Loose?
The push for Russian-Ukrainian peace is about more than Ukraine.
Lawmakers Back Trump's Push To Regain Control of the Panama Canal
Retaking the canal won’t protect national security.
Trump's TikTok Reprieve Won't Fix the Law's Free Speech Problems
Extending the deadline gives TikTok a temporary lifeline, but the real issue—government overreach in tech and speech regulation—still needs a congressional fix.
Donald Trump Turns on His First Term's Middle East Hawks
But that doesn't mean he's embracing the doves.
Hours After Going Dark, TikTok Is Back
The popular video app restored service in the U.S. after President-elect Donald Trump promised to postpone a federal ban.
Cutting Off Trade Will Make the U.S. Poorer and China More Totalitarian
Politicians in both major parties see the People's Republic as an economic and military threat. But the real threat is an isolated China.
These Lawmakers Actively Use TikTok Even After Voting To Ban It
With just hours to go before it is set to shut down, many senators and representatives are still posting on the app they claim is too dangerous for the rest of us to use.
Here's How Police Are Being Trained To Deal With Incels
The Department of Homeland Security is watching men who are mad they can’t get girlfriends.
Blocking the U.S. Steel Sale Is a Perfectly Disgraceful End to Biden's Political Career
It's a disgraceful decision that serves as a perfect epitaph for Biden's political career.
Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel Merger Poses No National Security Threat
The Committee on Foreign Investment doesn't recommend blocking the merger, and neither should President Joe Biden.
Police Data: N.J. Drone Sightings Concentrated Along Airport Flight Paths
Are New Jerseyans mistaking normal airplanes for mysterious drones?
Supreme Court To Hear TikTok Ban Case
The ban violates the First and Fifth Amendments. Strike it down.
No, an Iranian 'Mothership' Isn't Attacking New Jersey With UFOs
The wave of drone sightings is sparking sci-fi speculation mixed with war fever.
Syria's Rojava Revolution Is in Grave Danger
Turkey is taking advantage of the power vacuum in Syria to crush the Kurdish-led anti-authoritarian uprising. And it's not clear what the U.S. wants.
What's Left For the U.S. To Do in Syria?
The Syrian civil war is over, at least for now. But the Biden and Trump administrations both seem keen on shaping the outcome—and U.S. partners are gearing up to invade.
Outlaws on Pickup Trucks Accomplish What $1 Billion in CIA Money Couldn't
The CIA spent four years trying to overthrow the Syrian government. It failed. But a former leader of Al Qaeda might do it in a few weeks.
Trump Appointees Kash Patel and Massad Boulos Are Not Neocons
Trump's picks for FBI director and Middle East adviser buck his trend of appointing superhawks.
The Dismissed Federal Cases Against Trump Involved Substantial Evidence of Serious Misconduct
In response to charges that he illegally interfered with the 2020 election and improperly retained presidential records, Trump insisted that he was entitled to do whatever he wanted based on preposterous claims.
Will America Make the Same Mistakes as Britain in the Middle East?
The Suez Crisis demonstrated how "peace through strength" can go terribly wrong.
Meet Trump's Incredibly Confusing New National Security Cabinet
Establishment hawks will be running the State Department and National Security Council, but Trump has peppered in some antiestablishment mavericks too.
Trump's Reported National Security Advisor Supports Bombing Russia and Afghanistan
Mike Waltz has called for a “credible military option” against Iran, wants to “take the handcuffs off” Ukraine, and regrets ending the "multi-generational war" in Afghanistan.
In Michigan, the CIA Beat the FBI
Michiganders had to choose between a hawkish Democrat with an intelligence background and a hawkish Republican with an intelligence background for Senate.
Who Are Langley's Favorite Candidates?
Campaign finance records reveal what the community at the heart of U.S. national security policy thinks about outside politics.
Can the U.S. Government Tell Chinese People Apart?
Drone maker DJI claims the Pentagon has unfairly smeared it as an arm of the Chinese military based on a mix-up of Chinese names.
A Year of War in the Middle East Cost Americans Nearly $23 Billion
U.S. taxpayers are underwriting wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.
U.S.-Funded Armies Fight Each Other In Lebanon
American taxpayers underwrite both the Israeli and Lebanese armies. Now they’re shooting at each other.
Walz and Vance Dodge the Question on Bombing Iran
The first debate question was a pitch for war with Iran. Tim Walz and J.D. Vance both dodged it.
Commerce Department Bans Chinese Car Components
Commerce Secretary Raimondo insists the rule "is a strictly national security action."
Harris and Trump Say They Want Peace. But Neither Has a Plan.
Kamala Harris couldn’t realistically say how she would end the war in Gaza, and Donald Trump couldn’t realistically say how he would end the war in Ukraine.
The War on 'Foreign Influence' Has Become a War on the First Amendment
Go after bribes and espionage, but leave mere speech alone.
Iran Hawks Are Falling for the 'Evil Wizard' Theory of Geopolitics
Assassinating enemy leaders isn’t a silver bullet for solving international conflict.
Court Rules That the Government Can Hide Its Own Report on CIA Torture
The executive branch and the Senate have played hot potato with an infamous torture report, allowing the CIA to evade the Freedom of Information Act.
Tim Walz Is Against Unaccountable Wars—but He Voted To Fund Them Anyways
While the former congressman cares a lot about war powers, he has often flip-flopped on actually enforcing Congress’ red lines.
Will Biden Sleepwalk Into a War With Iran?
Israeli leaders have been betting on a U.S.-Iranian war for a while. After this week, it might be at their doorstep.
Martin Indyk Got Us Knee-Deep Into the Middle East—and Then Tried To Get Us Out
The late U.S. diplomat helped form America’s policies towards Iran, Iraq, and Israel. By the end of his life, he'd had enough.
The 'Pro-Worker' GOP Is Anti-Worker
The New Right talks a big populist game, but their policies hurt the people they're supposed to help.
Pompeo Is Selling a New Iran War to Republicans
Despite the party’s alleged turn against regime change wars, Pompeo’s stab-in-the-back myth has Republicans convinced that the same policy will work this time.
Trump Wishes Americans Stayed in Afghanistan To Fight China
The president who helped end America’s longest war now regrets leaving behind U.S. bases.
At the Republican National Convention, War Is Peace
Trump’s supporters tried to sell “peace through strength”—and war for “generations to come.”
