The CIA’s Hindsight Problem
Senate ShowdownIt’s easy make judgments about the agency’s post- 9/11 decisions here in the relative clarity of 2014. But the unknown was terrifying then.
The Guantanamo Exception
War on TerrorViolent criminals in America have shockingly high rates of recidivism. So do terrorists. Why does the legal system treat them so differently?
In Defense of Drones
WarNew reports peg civilian losses higher than we ever knew. But targeted killings work, writes a former CIA deputy director—and the alternatives can be much worse.
Algeria: al Qaeda’s Dying Gasp
COUNTERTERRORISMEx–CIA counterterrorism official Philip Mudd on why Algeria’s terrorist attack shows a jihadist movement on the wane.
The Limits of Drone Warfare
StealthEx-CIA official Philip Mudd on the moral questions about drone use—and the next targets we might train them on.