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The Transparency Challenge: Europe’s Defense Supply Chain Blind Spot—and Why the Pentagon Went to War Footing

Joey Gagnard

The Transparency Challenge: Europe’s Defense Supply Chain Blind Spot—and Why the Pentagon Went to War Footing

Welcome to The Iron Triangle, the Cipher Brief column serving Procurement Officers tasked with buying the future, Investors funding the next [...] More

AmericasJoey GagnardNorth AmericaUnited States

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From the Monroe Doctrine to Maduro: The Precedent Problem in U.S.

Rodney Faraon

From the Monroe Doctrine to Maduro: The Precedent Problem in U.S.

OPINION — In 1895, Secretary of State Richard Olney sent a diplomatic note to Britain that contained one of the most remarkable sentences in American [...] More

United StatesAmericasNorth America

Greenland’s Worth a Fight and Russia’s Trying to Start One

Emma Overell

Greenland’s Worth a Fight and Russia’s Trying to Start One

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — The “quickest way for Russia to penetrate our naval defenses is steaming from the Arctic to the North Atlantic.” The [...] More

AmericasRear Adm. (Ret.) Mark MontgomeryNorth AmericaExpert View

America’s Intelligence Satellites are Proliferating: Their Protection is Not, With Exceptions

Emmanouil M. Karatarakis

America’s Intelligence Satellites are Proliferating: Their Protection is Not, With Exceptions

OPINION — The pace of U.S. national-security launches over the past several months has been staggering. But buried beneath the impressive cadence is [...] More

AmericasNorth AmericaUnited StatesAlternative PerspectivesEmmanouil M. Karatarakis

The 2026 National Defense Strategy: No Surprises but Plenty of Mandate

Renee Pruneau Novakoff

The 2026 National Defense Strategy: No Surprises but Plenty of Mandate

OPINION — The 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) follows closely the 2025 National Security Strategy, as it should. It also falls in line with the [...] More

AmericasNorth AmericaRenee Pruneau NovakoffUnited States

Loosening the Gordian Knot of Global Terrorism: Why Legitimacy Must Anchor a Counterterrorism Strategy

Christopher Costa

Loosening the Gordian Knot of Global Terrorism: Why Legitimacy Must Anchor a Counterterrorism Strategy

OPINION — The global terrorism landscape in 2026 — the 25th anniversary year of the 9/11 terrorism attacks — is more uncertain, hybridized, and [...] More

AmericasNorth AmericaUnited StatesTerrorismChristopher Costa

The Long Arc Of American Power

Walter Pincus

The Long Arc Of American Power

OPINION — “We [the U.S.] began as a sliver of a country and next thing you know we're a continental power, and we did not do that primarily through [...] More

AmericasFine PrintNorth AmericaUnited StatesWalter PincusFine Print

Trump’s Power Doctrine: A $1.5 Trillion Military, Greenland Ambitions, and a World Ruled by Force

Walter Pincus

Trump’s Power Doctrine: A $1.5 Trillion Military, Greenland Ambitions, and a World Ruled by Force

OPINION — “After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined [...] More

AmericasNorth AmericaUnited StatesWalter PincusFine Printmilitary

What It Means Now that Fentanyl is Designated a “WMD”

Walter Pincus

What It Means Now that Fentanyl is Designated a “WMD”

OPINION — “There's no doubt that America's adversaries are trafficking fentanyl into the United States in part because they want to kill Americans. [...] More

AmericasNorth AmericaUnited StatesWalter PincusFine Print

We Need More Than Just a Command Shakeup in the U.S. Military

Renee Pruneau Novakoff

We Need More Than Just a Command Shakeup in the U.S. Military

EXPERT OPINION — Reports came out last week that claim the Chairman of Joint Staff, General Dan Caine, is preparing a new unified command plan (UCP) [...] More

AmericasNorth AmericaRenee Pruneau NovakoffUnited Statesmilitary

Dear Mr. President: A Former CIA Officer’s Unvarnished Brief on Putin

Glenn Corn

Dear Mr. President: A Former CIA Officer’s Unvarnished Brief on Putin

Dear Mr. President:I am hoping you remember me. I spent about 90 minutes with you and much of your cabinet in the Oval Office in the spring of 2017, [...] More

AmericasUkraineNorth AmericaUnited StatesEurope
The Challenges – and Opportunities – of a ‘Golden Dome’ Defense System
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deep dive

The Challenges – and Opportunities – of a ‘Golden Dome’ Defense System

DEEP DIVE – Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to finish building a “Golden Dome” defense shield before the end of his term that would protect the nation [...] More

militaryAmericasNorth AmericaReporting
Arctic Worries: Melting Ice, and a Russia-China Partnership

Arctic Worries: Melting Ice, and a Russia-China Partnership

DEEP DIVE – As more Arctic ice melts and more avenues for navigation and commerce open up at the top of the world, there’s a geopolitical competition [...] More

EuropeAmericasNorth AmericaReporting