Top defense insights from 2024
A curated look at standout opinions and analysis covering topics like uncrewed systems, NATO partnerships, US-Saudi defense dynamics, and evolving warfare strategies, spotlighting key issues shaping the global defense landscape.
Among the many anxieties inspired by the rise of Trump, one of the most profound is his fondness for generals. Does naming so many retired military men to top positions undermine the principal of civilian control? How might their shared experiences in our post-9/11 conflicts shape the way they govern? This week, award-winning defense reporter…
By James Kitfield
This is the first of our monthly op-eds by Rep. Joe Wilson, chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities. Dear readers, if you’ve got unique and useful topics you think Rep. Wilson should address, please let us or his office know. Read on. The Editor. Despite the Taliban clearly still…
By Rep. Joe WilsonWASHINGTON: It is a classic — and sad — Washington story. The most storied general since the Vietnam War, David Petraeus, resigns as director of the CIA late on a Friday afternoon because of an extramarital affair. Petraeus helped revolutionize the ways in which intelligence was used by the US military and greatly improved cooperation…
By Colin ClarkJohn Kenneth Galbraith, the noted economist, presidential advisor and ambassador, explored the origins of American financial crises and why many leading personalities in finance and government were unequal to mastering financial disasters they confronted. Large institutions, he found, treasure predictability over all other considerations in picking senior leaders. Their mission is stability, not change. Until…
By Doug Macgregor
President Donald Trump named retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis as Defense Secretary, the highest-ranking civilian position in the Pentagon. Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly was named first to head the Homeland Security Department and then replaced Reince Priebus as White House Chief of Staff. Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster replaced Air Force Gen. Mike Flynn…
By Joan Johnson-Freese