U.S. Congress

Comey Don't Play That

How Obama's pick to lead the FBI tried to put the brakes on the NSA's surveillance dragnet.

BY MARC AMBINDER | JUNE 18, 2013

The Real Reason You're Mad at the NSA

Imagine the civil-military divide -- but much, much bigger.

BY JOHN MCLAUGHLIN | JUNE 17, 2013

The Evolution of an Interventionist

How John McCain became America's unofficial ambassador of leading from the front.

BY JOHN NORRIS | JUNE 14, 2013

One Era's Traitor Is Another Era's Whistle-Blower

How the media covered national-security leaks in Daniel Ellsberg's day.

BY J. DANA STUSTER | JUNE 12, 2013

To Protect and Defend...

No, Mr. President, your top job is not to 'keep the American people safe.'

BY MICAH ZENKO | JUNE 11, 2013

Hoovered

How J. Edgar laid the groundwork for the NSA's surveillance state.

BY DAVID GOMEZ | JUNE 11, 2013

In Defense of PRISM

How else can we smoke terrorists out of their hidey holes?

BY JOHN ARQUILLA | JUNE 7, 2013

Rice, Power, and Hope

Did Obama just change Washington from the inside?

BY MICHAEL A. COHEN | JUNE 6, 2013

The 7 Deadly Sins of Defense Spending

How the Pentagon can cut costs -- and come out stronger.

BY DAVID BARNO, NORA BENSAHEL, ET AL. | JUNE 6, 2013

It Ain't About the Hardware

Will the wars of the future be won by management consultants?

BY GORDON ADAMS | JUNE 5, 2013

The No-Plan Zone

Modest measures to aid the Syrian rebels won't topple Assad. And despite protestations, even Washington's hawks don't want to go further.

BY MICAH ZENKO | JUNE 5, 2013

Donilon's Legacy

Obama's outgoing national security advisor leaves behind a U.S. foreign policy in much better shape than he found it. Can Susan Rice build on his success?

BY DAVID ROTHKOPF | JUNE 5, 2013

They're the Deciders

Why today's presidents have more war-waging power than ever -- and why no Congress will ever stand in their way.

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | MAY 31, 2013

Arms Twisting

Why won't Obama sign his own weapons treaty next week?

BY RACHEL STOHL | MAY 30, 2013

The EMPire Strikes Back

Electromagnetic pulse is the conservative fetish that just won't die.

BY JEFFREY LEWIS | MAY 23, 2013

Flexible Spending Account

How the Pentagon is wriggling its way through sequestration.

BY GORDON ADAMS | MAY 23, 2013

The War Professor

Can Obama finally make the legal case for his war on terror?

BY ROSA BROOKS | MAY 23, 2013

Gitmo's Fallen Czar

Daniel Fried was the perfect man for the hardest job in Washington, but even he couldn’t close Guantanamo.

BY MICHELLE SHEPHARD | MAY 22, 2013

Death Wears Bunny Slippers

Why America's nuclear missileers are going soft.

BY JEFFREY LEWIS | MAY 16, 2013

Food Fight

Why is the agricultural lobby so mad at Obama?

BY GORDON ADAMS | MAY 14, 2013

The Case for Nuclear Unilateralism

New START may be flawed, but it also holds an opportunity for Obama to do something truly momentous.

BY YOUSAF BUTT | MAY 8, 2013

Outsourcing Lethality

When there's a foreign finger on the trigger, is Washington still accountable when innocents die?

BY MICAH ZENKO | MAY 7, 2013

Who Are We Again?

Have Republicans totally forgotten what the 'national interest' means?

BY DANIELLE PLETKA | MAY 7, 2013

High Stakes and the Sequester Squeeze

When defense budgets get tight, politics can get a little complicated.

BY GORDON ADAMS | MAY 6, 2013

How to Close Guantanamo

Why Obama doesn’t need Congress to start to make good on his promise.

BY LAURA PITTER | MAY 1, 2013

Hawking Something

The Syria interventionists want us to go to war. They're wrong.

BY MICAH ZENKO | APRIL 30, 2013

Minority Report

Should presidents seek out dissent?

MAY/JUNE 2013

Storming the Hill

Thomas P.M. Barnett lets the White House off the hook for the Pentagon's dysfunction.

MAY/JUNE 2013

How to Save the Republican Party

Why the GOP needs to stop navel-gazing and embrace internationalism all over again. 

BY SEN. JOHN MCCAIN | APRIL 26, 2013

The Defense Department in Sequesterland

The Pentagon will make it through sequestration better than most.

BY GORDON ADAMS | APRIL 23, 2013