It’s Time to Let Go of America’s 18-year Afghan War

by Aaron David Miller, Steven Simon, and Richard Sokolsky Reports that US and Taliban negotiators have reached a tentative framework for withdrawing American forces from Afghanistan have set the foreign policy establishment’s hair on fire. A former US ambassador described… Continue Reading

Has the Arms Industry Captured Trump’s Pentagon?

by Mandy Smithberger and William D. Hartung The way personnel spin through Washington’s infamous revolving door between the Pentagon and the arms industry is nothing new. That door, however, is moving ever faster with the appointment of Patrick Shanahan, who… Continue Reading

Weapons in Space: Potential Gift to Contractors, Definite Danger to Security

by William D. Hartung The Pentagon’s new Missile Defense Review has been rightly criticized for being dangerous, unworkable, and unaffordable. Or, as Newsweek’s headline on the topic put it, “Trump’s Space Missile Plan Is Too Expensive and Will Not Work,… Continue Reading

What Will Happen to U.S. Military Bases in Syria?

by Nick Turse The U.S. military is finally withdrawing (or not) from its base at al-Tanf. You know, the place that the Syrian government long claimed was a training ground for Islamic State (ISIS) fighters; the land corridor just inside… Continue Reading