Security & Defense

Why Terrorism is Different

By James Joyner

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, several commentators have asked why we label some acts of mass violence “terrorism” while others are considered ordinary crime. Why do we treat those two so very differently, despite the latter being responsible for far more American deaths?

Ritual NATO Skepticism

By Stephen M. Saideman

The funny thing about writing a book on NATO and Afghanistan that is pretty critical of the alliance’s performance is that I still end up being a NATO defender.  How so?

Exercise Joint Warrior: At the Tip of the Spear

By Julian Lindley-French

Exercise Joint Warrior 2013 is certainly Europe’s, and possibly the world’s biggest maritime amphibious military exercise this year, and I am having the pleasure to observe and be sea-sick all over it.

SACEUR: Europe’s defense challenges

By James Stavridis, Allied Command Operations

Useless Speculation on Twitter Standard Time

By James Joyner

Since the news broke this morning that the likely perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing are two brothers from Chechnya, speculation has been rampant about their ties to militant groups there. That zero evidence supports that proposition seems irrelevant. We’re on Twitter Standard Time and we expect answers instantaneously.

Lyndon W. Obama

By Harlan Ullman

The shadow of North Korea’s latest provocations for the moment has obscured Iran and its nuclear ambitions. Another war on the Korean Peninsula would be a disaster for the Korean people even though the military defeat of the North that is sure to follow would no doubt end the Kim ruling dynasty.

Chinese Cyber Espionage: US Must Shout but Also Listen

By Jason Healey

After years of silence, the United States has finally had enough of Chinese cyber-theft of trade secrets. American officials have repeatedly raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts in language that is increasingly frank.

Should the U.S. use autonomous cyber weapons?

By Jason Healey, New Atlanticist

From Jason Healey, New Atlanticist:  Stuxnet, part of the "Olympic Games" covert assault by the United States and Israel on Iranian nuclear capability, appears to be the first autonomous weapon with an algorithm, not a human hand, pulling the trigger.

General Gurganus: There’s Still More to Do in Afghanistan

With ISAF’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 fast approaching, it is useful to look back and see what failures and successes there have been. Have certain challenges been overcome? How do the Afghans see ISAF’s mission? On April 17, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted Major General Charles Gurganus, commanding general, […]