Pentagon
62 Articles
Trump Administration Has Not Earned Privilege to Speak Anonymously — Especially During a National Crisis
The coronavirus crisis is exposing just how costly it can be when an administration knowingly misleads the public or refuses to provide a basic level of transparency.
Afghanistan Papers, the Miniseries, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bombshell
The Washington Post describes the story as uncovering a widespread effort by U.S. officials to “conceal the truth” about the war. A close reading shows that's not the case.
GAO Decided Trump’s Hold on Ukraine Funding Was Illegal and It Wasn’t a Tough Call
In addition to the larger implications GAO's decision has for the Senate impeachment trial, a close reading of yesterday's report provides some important new insights.
The Missing Assistant Secretary of Defense and the Soleimani Strike
Government officials will be working around the clock in the coming days to keep Americans safe and manage the fallout. It’s highly unfortunate that one critical voice will be…
Trump Cuts “Muscle” from European Defense to Fund Border Wall
The Trump administration is taking $770 million from the European Deterrence Initiative, a program created to shore up European defense after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
Revisiting General Counsel Ney’s Speech in Light of New Pentagon Leadership
Former Department of Defense official (OSD) Luke Hartig critiques General Counsel Paul Ney's recent speech on the framework governing US military operations.
The U.S. Military Is Increasingly Politicized. Active-Duty Personnel Need to Prepare.
When Americans watch news coverage of any contemporary event, no one’s surprised to see it turn political. We live in a time when we can expect almost any topic – whether it’s…
Acting or Not, the Play’s The Thing
Focusing on the number of acting officials may detract from an assessment of the real failures of the Trump administration’s policy process and oversight gaps.
What Questions Is the Pentagon Avoiding?
No on-camera briefings at the Pentagon mean officials are getting away with not answering questions about policy decisions and ongoing combat operations.
The Pentagon’s Latest Report on Civilian Casualties Policy
Late on Friday night, the Pentagon submitted to Congress and publicly released a 17-page report required under the 2019 John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)…
The Pentagon Put Someone in Charge of Its Civilian Casualty Policy. Now What?
For all the time and attention that the Defense Department has rightly spent addressing civilian casualties, no single official at the Pentagon has ever been formally charged with…
Update: The Military, the Mexican Border and Posse Comitatus
Unlike the earlier deployment of National Guard personnel, the use of federal forces raises new issues concerning what they are permitted to do.