Ideas
State defense forces can fill a homeland gap
With just a few changes, these volunteer military units can do much more to help with Army and Guard missions.
In Yemen, Trump risks falling into an ‘airpower trap’
Bombing campaigns are cheaper than ground incursions—but history shows that the former can lead to the latter.
Forging a new national security alliance
The commander of U.S. Special Operations Command wants to knit traditional and non-traditional government, industry, and academic partners.
A lesson from 1958 could help deter China from taking Taiwan
After China began shelling a nearby island, a four-pronged U.S. response led to decades of cross-strait peace.
America’s response to measles is eroding its ability to deter biological attacks
The rising death toll for a preventable disease reveals just how ill-prepared the country is to handle a malicious bioweapon.
Ideological purges reduce deterrence, readiness, and effectiveness. Just ask Stalin
Banning transgender servicemembers will have effects far beyond the careers of a few thousand troops.
The AI arms race will be won on mathematical proof
It’s the only way to be sure automated and autonomous systems will work as expected.
Indonesia needs a two-track approach to its foreign-fighter problem
The members of an al-Qaeda affiliate who went abroad must not be allowed to revive the group at home.
Europe is realigning—but can leaders keep citizens on board?
Raising defenses will come at many costs.
I went to the Naval Academy to defend freedom, not to dismantle it
Stripping the library of books undermines our Navy—and mimics regimes we spent decades confronting.
It’s China’s turn to face transnational terrorism threats
Beijing may be more motivated than ever to cooperate with the United States on counterterrorism.
Why I resigned in protest from National Defense University
Policy is not set in stone. It will be easier to push for necessary political changes at DOD from outside the university’s esteemed walls.
Should I use AI in my wargame?
A gamers’ framework for understanding when and how to use today’s untrustworthy LLMs.
Trump’s defense-acquisition executive order hits the right notes
Conditions may finally be right for badly needed reforms, says a former defense industrial-policy chief.
How drones, data, and AI transformed our military—and why the US must follow suit
A former Ukrainian commander-in-chief describes Ukraine’s DELTA battlefield-management system and other adaptations.
Don’t waste this crisis, Europe: consolidate your defense industry
Turn your excess national defense champions into continental ones.
No TikTok deal at all is better than a bad one
And it’s high time to prepare for the next time an app threatens national security.
Featured eBooks
We tried ‘fighting China’ with lower budgets. It didn’t go well.
Tabletop exercises hosted by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments offer one big lesson for the fiscal 2026 spending plan.
Add special operators to the Joint Simulation Environment
The X-Men have the right idea: training needs to include the whole team.
How a beatdown at sea turned Russia's navy into China's junior partner
Even the new maritime truce with Ukraine can't change a strategic tilt of the past three years.
