If Operation Overlord failed, the entire Allied enterprise in World War II faced abject collapse. This new history of the events leading up to D-Day explains why, and what the preparations for success actually involved.

Across Mexico, the lawlessness and carnage of the drug wars have given rise to scores of local self-defense forces aiming to defend their communities. The federal government may be tempted to disband and disarm these armed vigilantes, but until it can shape up its security sector, the local groups offer an imperfect but acceptable alternative.

War makes for strange bedfellows, and among the oddest pairings that World War II produced was that between "Wild Bill" Donovan's Office of Strategic Services and the emigre German Jewish Marxists he hired to teach Washington about the Nazis.

In this Energy Brief, Blake Clayton and Adam Segal argue that cyber threats to oil and gas suppliers pose an increasingly challenging problem for U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.

Peter Orszag writes that cities installing traffic cameras to curb speeding and impose fines may also be tempted to monetize the data that those cameras collect.

When does a cyber-attack (or threat of cyber-attack) give rise to a right of self-defense – including armed self-defense – and when should it? This essay examines these questions through three lenses: (1) a legal perspective, to examine the range of reasonable interpretations of self-defense rights as applied to cyber-attacks, and the relative merits of interpretations within that range; (2) a strategic perspective, to link a purported right of armed self-defense to long-term policy interests including security and stability; and (3) a political perspective, to consider the situational context in which government decision-makers will face these issues and predictive judgments about the reactions to cyber-crises of influential actors in the international system.

This timeline examines the events that precipitated the U.S. war in Afghanistan as well as the history of the war.

In her testimony before the Senate Subcommmittee on Western Hemisphere and Global Narcotics Affairs, Shannon K. O'Neil discusses the United States' bilateral security relationship with Mexico and argues that a strong and safe Mexico will have positive benefits for the United States, while a dangerous Mexico will have repercussions far beyond the southern U.S. border.

"[The] country's defense experts and policy makers are now addressing systemic reform and modernization issues, and are talking about breaking down barriers to cooperation with civilian industry and market-driven management."

Conceived as principal defenders of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has evolved into a vast institution of political, economic, and military power.

The U.S. military can learn from West Point about how to approach sexual misconduct cases, writes Jeanne Hull.

"[U.S.] secrecy policy is founded on a set of principles so broadly conceived that they do not provide unequivocal guidance to government officials who are responsible for deciding whether or not to classify particular topics."

Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes stated on June 13, 2013, that "our intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons."

There is no evidence that signature strikes will be reduced or ended based upon anything the Obama administration has recently stated.

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After visiting both countries, Max Boot explores how, over the last decade, Colombia has managed to turn the tide against the drug trafficking, violence, and government corruption that still plague Honduras.

Never solely a military organization in the traditional sense, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)—also known as the Pasdaran (Persian for "guards")—has seen a significant expansion and diversification of its domestic roles since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005.

In the Los Angeles Times, Max Boot argues that, rather than being a scandal, NSA intercepts are a vital tool in the global war on terror.

Ray Takeyh debunks the myth that the CIA was responsible for Mossadeq's demise and the 1953 Iranian coup.

The CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report, Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet, finds that as more people and services become interconnected and dependent on the Internet, societies are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report, Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet, finds that as more people and services become interconnected and dependent on the Internet, societies are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.