Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Good for McCain and good for NY Times

I’ve popped him in the past, so I want to pause to note these commendable words from Sen. John McCain: I disagree with many of the president’s policies, but I believe he is a patriot sincerely intent on using his time in office to advance our country’s cause. I reject accusations that his policies and ...

By
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

I've popped him in the past, so I want to pause to note these commendable words from Sen. John McCain:

I’ve popped him in the past, so I want to pause to note these commendable words from Sen. John McCain:

I disagree with many of the president’s policies, but I believe he is a patriot sincerely intent on using his time in office to advance our country’s cause. I reject accusations that his policies and beliefs make him unworthy to lead America or opposed to its founding ideals. And I reject accusations that Americans who vigorously oppose his policies are less intelligent, compassionate or just than those who support them.

Our political discourse should be more civil than it currently is, and we all, myself included, bear some responsibility for it not being so.

Also, the New York Times yesterday had the best newspaper article I’ve read on the Stuxnet bomb. I hope to have some expert commentary on it later this week.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tags: Cyber Security & Hacking, Media, Politics

latest

As China’s Property Sector Crumbles, Who Takes the Fall?

Hungary Severs Aid to Ukraine

The Hard Road to Equal Pay in U.S. Soccer

Indonesia Asks Where the Money Is for Green Transition

Government Shutdown Threatens Key U.S. Initiative in Pacific
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    Deterrence in Taiwan Is Failing
  2. 2
    As China’s Property Sector Crumbles, Who Takes the Fall?
  3. 3
    How the U.S. Created Its Own Reality
  4. 4
    The Realist Case for a Ukraine Peace Deal
  5. 5
    No, the World Is Not Multipolar
  6. 6
    Hungary Severs Aid to Ukraine

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.

Trending

  1. How the U.S. Created Its Own Reality
    Excerpt
    Heather Cox Richardson

  2. The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt

  3. Hungary Severs Aid to Ukraine
    World Brief
    Alexandra Sharp

  4. Cultural Decoupling From China Is Not the Answer
    Argument
    Suzanne Nossel

  5. As China’s Property Sector Crumbles, Who Takes the Fall?
    China Brief
    James Palmer