A Free World Needs a Strong America

Opinion The Editorial Board By The Editorial BoardThe editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. NYT

To Outbuild China, America Needs Friends

Opinion The Editorial Board By The Editorial BoardThe editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. United States Allies and partners United States Allies and partners United States Allies and partners United States Allies and partners NYT

America Can’t Make What the Military Needs

In 2020 the Navy had a simple plan to build its next fleet of small warships, the Constellation class: take a European design and build it in America.In 2020 the Navy had asimple plan to build itsnext fleet of small warships,the Constellation class:buy a European design andbuild it in America. Opinion The Editorial Board make what the Military needs By The Editorial BoardThe editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. At…

Overmatched: Why the U.S. Military Must Reinvent Itself

Opinion The Editorial Board By The Editorial BoardThe editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. This is the first installment in a series from the editorial board on why the U.S. military needs to reinvent itself. NYT

Trump Is Breaking the Rule That Every Barroom Brawler Knows

Provoking your enemies, alienating your friends and actively sabotaging your own defenses is no one’s idea of a sound national security plan. And yet, this is the playbook that President Trump has apparently followed over the first 100 days of his second term. You can see it most clearly in the global fight he kicked off with China. He’s been scrapping for this showdown since before he entered politics, so you’d think that before taking on such a global powerhouse, he’d strengthen every alliance, game out every possible countermeasure and…

As Space Threats Mount, U.S. Lags in Protecting GPS Services

The United States and China are locked in a new race, in space and on Earth, over a fundamental resource: time itself. And the United States is losing. Global positioning satellites serve as clocks in the sky, and their signals have become fundamental to the global economy — as essential for telecommunications, 911 services and financial exchanges as they are for drivers and lost pedestrians. But those services are increasingly vulnerable as space is rapidly militarized and satellite signals are attacked on Earth. Yet, unlike China, the United States does…

Taiwan’s Doubts About America Are Growing. That Could Be Dangerous.

The collection of American memorabilia, vast and well-lit in a busy area of City Hall in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, reflected decades of eager courtship. Maps highlighted sister cities in Ohio and Arizona. There was a celebration of baseball, an American flag laid out on a table. And in the middle of it all, a card sent to the United States that seemed to reveal the thinking of Tainan, a metropolis of 1.8 million, and nearly all of Taiwan. “Together, stronger,” it said. “Solidarity conquers all.” The message…

U.S. and China Restore Military Dialogue

The United States and China restored communications between their two militaries on Thursday, as President Biden’s senior military adviser, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, held a videoconference call with his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Liu Zhenli. The call signaled a significant step in the relationship between two of the world’s most powerful militaries. The Pentagon and the Chinese military have had frosty relations over the past few years amid tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea. Relations further deteriorated earlier this year after the Pentagon shot down a Chinese spy balloon…

U.S. Military Returns to the Jungle, Training for Future Threats

One by one, the American soldiers slid down a muddy hillside to a river deep in the Hawaiian jungle. With guns on top of rucksacks, they kicked their way across, wobbling in the current, trying to stay quiet. It was a sluggish advance stinking of sweat and silt — reminiscent of Vietnam, and similar to what they might face in a potential fight with China almost anywhere in the Pacific. “It’s incumbent on us to become resident professionals,” said Col. Christopher D. Johnson, who traversed the river arm in arm…

What Are the Risks of A.I. Drones and Weapons?

Swarms of killer drones are likely to soon be a standard feature of battlefields around the world. That has ignited debate over how or whether to regulate their use and spurred concerns about the prospect of eventually turning life-or-death decisions over to artificial intelligence programs. Here is an overview of how the technology has evolved, what types of weapons are being developed and how the debate is unfolding. How new are these weapons? Eventually, artificial intelligence should allow weapons systems to make their own decisions about selecting certain kinds of…