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

Three Carriers Carrying on SE of North Korea

3 carriers with a message for North Korea

By
Crew members aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Crew members aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Crew members aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier.

Here are a coupla carriers on exercises clearly intended to send a message to North Korea. According to a Korean paper, the carriers and their lil' buddy ships have been operating about 100 miles south-southeast of the Korean DMZ, in the Sea of Japan/AKA East Sea.

Here are a coupla carriers on exercises clearly intended to send a message to North Korea. According to a Korean paper, the carriers and their lil’ buddy ships have been operating about 100 miles south-southeast of the Korean DMZ, in the Sea of Japan/AKA East Sea.

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: Japan, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, South Korea, United States

latest

‘We Don’t Want to Lose Our Second Motherland’

All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC

The End of Nagorno-Karabakh

What in the World?

What Does Nagorno-Karabakh’s Fall Mean for Great Power Influence?
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    What Does Nagorno-Karabakh’s Fall Mean for Great Power Influence?
  2. 2
    Blue Hawk Down
  3. 3
    Iran Is Exploiting Divisions and U.S. Inaction in Iraqi Kurdistan
  4. 4
    ‘We Don’t Want to Lose Our Second Motherland’

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. Iran Is Exploiting Divisions and U.S. Inaction in Iraqi Kurdistan
    Argument
    Ranj Alaaldin

  2. ‘We Don’t Want to Lose Our Second Motherland’
    Profile
    Luke Johnson

  3. What Does Nagorno-Karabakh’s Fall Mean for Great Power Influence?
    It's Debatable
    Emma Ashford, Matthew Kroenig

  4. The End of Nagorno-Karabakh
    World Brief
    Alexandra Sharp

  5. All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC
    Essay
    Dalia Hatuqa