Column Archive

America's wars will change as the enemies of tomorrow, whether extremist networks or hostile nations, acquire the ability to strike more directly at the United States. The way Americans think about armed conflict must evolve to incorporate this profound change to the nature of security. After the devastating Thirty Years War of the 17th century, the great powers of Europe narrowed their notion of what was acceptable in war. While seldom applying their new standards during often-brutal colonial conquests, the European powers—at least in wars among themselves—deemed it acceptable to kill enemy combatants but not civilians, to destroy enemy war […]

The Venezuelan opposition almost had a moment to rejoice last week. On Thursday, the European Parliament awarded one of the world’s most prestigious human rights prizes, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, to the “democratic opposition in Venezuela.” All the declarations of support and the standing ovations, however, were drowned out by the reality on the ground in Venezuela, where the temporarily united pro-democracy coalition has started unraveling. The renewed turbulence among the forces fighting the relentless usurpation of power by President Nicolas Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or PSUV, comes as one more piece of […]

U.S. President Donald Trump will embark on his first presidential tour of Asia on Friday, where he will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. The trip kicks off just 10 days after Chinese President Xi Jinping emerged triumphantly from the Communist Party of China’s 19th Party Congress, having solidified his rule over the party and articulated a strategic vision for China’s emergence as a global power. All eyes will be on the U.S. president to see whether he is able to reassure America’s anxious allies and partners, as well as the nonaligned countries of the region, of […]