In this world of grave uncertainty and looming threats, it is unlikely that the United States will ever have a peacetime president again, says Micah Zenko.

The argument of Thomas Ricks' new book, The Generals, is simple: since the end of World War II, the combat performance of the U.S. Army has been subpar, primarily because the highest-ranking generals have been reluctant to fire underperforming generals lower in the chain of command.

While effective, Special Operations Forces (SOF) have little lasting effects, so the increased reliance on SOF to get the job done in the Middle East and South Asia is worrisome, says Max Boot.

Micah Zenko says that while it's admirable for senior defense leadership to adopt a forward-looking approach, the U.S. military cannot predict where future conflicts will emerge and where they will be deployed to fight.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave these remarks to the PLA Engineering Academy of Armored Forces in Beijing, China on September 19, 2012.

The Department of Defense released this strategy document, "Capstone Concept for Joint Operations: Joint Force 2020" on September 10, 2012.

A history of targeted killings and the U.S. policy stance toward their use in military practices.

Max Boot says public apathy isn't necessarily fatal for the war effort. It could even provide the opportunity to finally get it "right."

Leslie H. Gelb says Kofi Annan's mission in Damascus was doomed from the start. Obama should not try to fill the void—but rather leave that mostly to Syria's neighbors.

In her testimony before the House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Linda Robinson details how U.S. Special Operations Forces can be restructured to better confront global challenges.

Max Boot says the Middle East remains in turmoil. The U.S. should boost its air and naval assets in Asia but leave the other military branches free to focus on other regions.

Any action Brazil takes in Africa should be based on peaceful cooperation and not military escalation, writes Nikolas Kozloff.

With Mali's north under rebel control, fears are growing that a breakaway Islamist state could emerge, writes Xan Rice at the Financial Times.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave these remarks at the Shangri-La Security Dialogue on June 2, 2012 in Singapore.

NBC News published this Department of Justice confidential white paper on February 5, 2013, which outlines the legal framework that would allow the U.S. government to "use lethal force in a foreign country" against a U.S. citizen highly involved with al-Qaeda or its associates. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators requested all classified documents related to the legality of targeted killings of Americans be released.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave these remarks on naval strength at the U.S. Naval Academy Commencement in Annapolis, Maryland on May 29, 2012.

NATO leaders released this Deterrence and Defence Posture Review at the NATO summit in Chicago, Illinois on May 20, 2012

The Summit Declaration on Defence Capabilities: Toward NATO Forces 2020 was released at the NATO summit in Chicago, Illinois on May 20, 2012.

With the Iraq war over and U.S. troops returning from Afghanistan, the U.S. Army faces a decade of change, writes its chief of staff. It will need to adjust to smaller budgets, focus more on Asia, and embrace a fuller range of potential missions.

The U.S. State Department released this statement on May 11, 2012. Most of the details about the original 1992 U.S.-Bahrain defense agreement are classified; according to a press conference after the statement, this renewal includes providing "additional items and services to the Bahrain Defense Force, the Coast Guard, and National Guard...for the purpose of helping Bahrain maintain its external defense capabilities."