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Security

Commentary

A Foreign Policy of Mission Creep

A radical transformation of U.S. goals abroad has made wars longer and less successful.

Afghanistan's Troubled Transition

The gains are precarious and the challenges great.

Finally Talking Terror Sensibly

The aftermath of the Boston bombings saw more measured opinion than prior attacks.

Essays

Lessons of the Syrian Reactor

The intelligence failures of Iraq seriously constrained policy makers in other areas.

Delusions of Indispensability

The notion that America is the world's "indispensable nation" is hardly questioned, even as it fosters strategic overreach.

Japan's Daunting Challenge

Shinzo Abe might turn Japan into an isolated, aging, indebted fortress.

Syria's Crisis of Transition

History shows that an internationally led negotiation is the best way out of the civil war, but the situation isn't yet ripe for action.

A Modest Post-Assad Plan

Should Assad fall, the ensuing chaos and difficulty will be immense, and calls will rise for U.S. humanitarian intervention. Ambitious initiatives likely will fail, but compelling arguments can be made for going in small.

Asia's New Age of Instability

Asia’s four pillars of stability, bulwarks of a highly successful regional system crafted and fostered by America, are all crumbling. The region’s future will be shaped and defined by the struggle to replace those pillars.

Blogs

An Excellent Statement on Terrorism

Obama's drones and detention speech was a step forward for how the U.S. thinks about its national security.

Balky Syrian Rebels

Washington needs to make sure the anti-Assad fighters aren't pushing its diplomacy around.

Books & Reviews

Dilemmas of the Modern Navy

The maritime services are under growing strain. But is there really no alternative to U.S. sea hegemony in the same form we have seen it in since 1945?

The McChrystal Way of War

The general was an innovative thinker in the midst of major changes in the Army.

Al Qaeda Rises in Yemen's Chaos

How the deadly offshoot of the infamous terror group got its start.

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May 25, 2013