Trump says North Korea “Looking for Trouble”
President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that “North Korea is looking for trouble” following Pyongyang’s threat to use nuclear force against the United States. North Korea’s […] More
Donald Trump
Trump-Xi Summit: No Real Progress Yet, but Stay Tuned
In his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping offered his counterpart a Chinese calligraphy scroll with the aphorism “a journey […] More
Unclear What Trump Learned from Ordering the Syrian Strike
The lessons Donald Trump takes away from last Thursday’s U.S. Tomahawk missile strike against Syria’s Shayrat Air Base are more important than the ones learned […] More
Trump Drone Policy Taking Shape
Less than two months after taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to drone strikes appears to be taking shape. Although the Trump Administration has […] More
Trump Draws the Line in Syria
The United States launched a missile strike on a Syrian air base early Friday morning, local time, in response to this week’s deadly chemical weapons […] More
Network Take: Trump Shakes Up the NSC, Removes Bannon
President Donald Trump reorganized his National Security Council (NSC) on Wednesday. In a surprise move, chief strategist Stephen Bannon has been removed from the council, […] More
Trump Treasury Counterterrorism Nominee Wins Wide Praise
Sigal P. Mandelker, President Donald J. Trump’s pick to be Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI), is being lauded by former officials contacted […] More
Former Officials Raise Concerns on Trump Review of Drone-Strike Restrictions
Three former national security officials have raised concerns about President Donald Trump’s reported plans to loosen restrictions on drone strikes. The former officials were responding […] More
Sizing Up the Trump Defense Budget
President Donald Trump’s defense budget proposal for fiscal year 2018 calls for $54 billion in additional spending, but it is not yet clear where this […] More
How Much is Enough: Setting a Topline for Defense Spending
Twenty-six years after the end of the Cold War, the United States once again must prepare for great power competition and confrontation. Russian aggression along […] More
Trump and Merkel Show Solidarity but Differ on Trade, Security
U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met face to face for the first time Friday during Merkel’s visit to Washington. In a […] More
Trump’s “Skinny Budget” Would Fatten the Military
President Donald Trump released his $1.5 trillion budget on Thursday, a blueprint that would boost military and border security spending as it makes deep funding […] More
U.S. Credibility in the Middle East
“America has lost.” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte used this phrase last October when announcing his split from the United States and his country’s realignment toward […] More
Setback in Building The Wall
President Donald Trump’s magnificent wall has had its first setback. The original schedule for contractors to produce bids to build initial sections of the wall […] More
Watching a Three-Ring Circus
I’ve covered many political scandals over the past 50 years, including Watergate, Iran-contra, and the Clinton impeachment, but the past few weeks have convinced me […] More
Trump Signs Revised Travel Ban, Excludes Iraq
President Donald Trump signed a revised executive order on Monday, temporarily halting entry into the country for people without valid visas from six predominantly Muslim […] More
Trump and Russia: Political Firestorm or National Security Concern?
As new questions arise about the Trump Administration’s contacts with Russian officials, one man has been caught in the political maelstrom: Russian Ambassador to the […] More
The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Reform and Uncertainty
Japan is a nation in flux. Economically, the government is struggling to stoke growth with expansionary monetary policy and reform; demographically, it is challenged by […] More