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

What happens when you cut the Air Force’s pet program

While Tom Ricks is away from his blog, he has selected a few of his favorite posts to re-run. We will be posting a few every day until he returns. This originally ran on June 1, 2009. Defense Secretary Gates’s aircraft starts having mechanical problems when he is on the far side of the planet. ...

By
Flickr
Flickr
Flickr

While Tom Ricks is away from his blog, he has selected a few of his favorite posts to re-run. We will be posting a few every day until he returns. This originally ran on June 1, 2009.

While Tom Ricks is away from his blog, he has selected a few of his favorite posts to re-run. We will be posting a few every day until he returns. This originally ran on June 1, 2009.

Defense Secretary Gates’s aircraft starts having mechanical problems when he is on the far side of the planet. Hmm.

"You say you need to be in Manila tonight, Mr. Secretary? Wow, tough deadline. Now, about those F-22s…"

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: Department of Defense, Military, North America, Science and Technology

latest

U.S. Defense Secretary Tours Africa

Israel Reopens Gaza Border Crossing

Attention-Seekers and Autocrats Are a Combustible Mix

Green Hydrogen Isn’t a Silver Bullet 

Why the Iraq War AUMF Is Still Dangerous
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    Washington Is Losing Credibility Over the Canada-India Spat
  2. 2
    The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
  3. 3
    The U.S. Shouldn’t Worry About the India-Canada Rift

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

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.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.

Trending

  1. Washington Is Losing Credibility Over the Canada-India Spat
    Analysis
    Howard W. French

  2. Green Hydrogen Isn't a Silver Bullet 
    Explainer
    Christina Lu

  3. The U.S. Shouldn’t Worry About the India-Canada Rift
    South Asia Brief
    Michael Kugelman

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

  5. The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking
    Analysis
    Ash Jain