Rebeccah Heinrichs

Libertarians on the right and progressives on the left cooperated to try to defeat an effort to replenish the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) of critical defenses. But Congress remained unconvinced of their objections and rightly approved of the weapons sale. The argument often focused on the technical abilities of the weapons themselves, but objections based…

Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and . . . Xi Jinping? Five years ago, China’s Communist Party bestowed on Xi the title of “core” leader, placing the president on the trajectory to reach the level of strongmen Mao and Deng. If Xi delivers an expected resolution Thursday that grants him official, total and indefinite rule without…

The Missile Defense Agency’s budget request is the same today as it was in 2008. That has to change, says Rebeccah Heinrichs. OPINION: Over the last two decades, the number of missiles threatening the United States have increased, the technical proficiency of enemy missiles has increased, the responsibilities of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) have increased, the…

Despite four years of sustained hysterics about the supposed Russian-compromised nature of his presidency, Donald Trump’s administration carried out a variety of policies to shore up Europe’s eastern flank, bolster U.S. military strength relative to Russia’s, and weaken Russia’s coercive power generally. Yet six months into President Joe Biden’s term, we’ve seen the opposite effect: The sources…

To successfully maintain the relative peace the United States has enjoyed for decades, we must consider what would convince adversaries that we would make them regret attacking a vital interest. Deterrence is an art, not a science, and it takes a clear eyed assessment of a variety of factors that will be varied from the…

Despite many criticisms of the approach of Donald Trump toward China, the approach of Joe Biden looks a lot like it, and the new administration faces enormous pressure to back off. The pressure is ratcheting up from Beijing, even in a form of veiled threats. There will also be pressure from American companies, technology giants, and…

President Trump is embracing the pardon power, cleaning the slates of campaign advisers caught up in the Russia “collusion” investigation as well as Charles Kushner (his son-in-law’s father) and others. Trump is reportedly considering more, and some of his vocal boosters, including Sen. Rand Paul, Rep. Matt Gaetz, and newly elected Republican populist Marjorie Taylor…

The U.S. government at the federal, state, and local levels is using Chinese drones that the Chinese Communist Party is exploiting for espionage. That is the public conclusion of a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. Citing “security concerns,” other departments have all-but-explicitly publicly made the same claims, and some have begun to take steps…

An international consensus to meet contemporary challenges will develop primarily around defending against shared threats. If the United States is to turn this consensus into collaboration to strengthen security, it must stake out a clear vision of its primary threats and missions. As has become evident over the last few years, doing so will necessarily…

There is an activist effort among nuclear idealists to mobilize public opinion and urge elected officials to pledge to support a policy of “no first use” (NFU). Put simply, an American president who would adopt a policy of NFU would be declaring that the United States will never be the first country to use a nuclear…