Global security challenges are threats that cross borders and cannot be handled by one country acting alone. They range from wars and weapons of mass destruction to disease, crime, and displaced people. The United States works on them through the military, diplomacy, intelligence, and international organizations, together with allies and partners.
An independent team explaining how government works
For the first time since Richard Nixon met Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow, the United States and Russia have no active treaty framework limiting their nuclear arsenals.…
On February 5, 2026, New START expired without replacement. For fifteen years before that, U.S. inspectors had walked through Russian missile silos with measuring tapes and…
On February 5, 2026, the last treaty constraining the nuclear arsenals of the world's two largest nuclear powers expired at midnight. For the first time since…
In November 2025, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group deployed to the Caribbean basin under "Operation Southern Spear," representing the most substantial projection of…
The spread and control of the deadliest arms is covered in Weapons of Mass Destruction and Nonproliferation, Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control, and Chemical and Biological Weapons.
Fighting and efforts to end it are covered in Regional Conflicts and Wars, Peacekeeping, and Humanitarian Intervention.
Problems that move across frontiers are covered in Refugees and Displaced Persons, Pandemics and Global Health Security, Piracy and Maritime Security, and Transnational Crime.
The specter of nuclear testing—a practice most Americans associate with Cold War-era footage of mushroom clouds—has returned to the headlines with alarming force. Vague…
After two years of conflict that reshaped the Middle East, Israel and Hamas agreed in early October 2025 to the first phase of a…
How Trump's Gaza plan handles hostages, security, aid, governance and statehood, and where its disputed implementation roadmap stands today.
The relationship between the United States and Venezuela spans nearly two centuries of dramatic shifts, from early republican partnership to today's bitter standoff. Formally…
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, changed warfare and international relations forever. American presidents, generals, and diplomats have spent the decades…
Nuclear threat evaluation isn't a single task handled by one agency. It's a massive, ongoing operation that involves dozens of government departments, national laboratories,…
America's nuclear response system operates around the clock, combining policy, technology, alliances, and public preparedness to prevent nuclear conflict. The system's primary goal is…
The United States maintains one of the world's most complex nuclear planning systems. It spans everything from high-level strategy documents to detailed emergency instructions…
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been the cornerstone of transatlantic security for over 75 years, binding the United States to Europe's defense in…
The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history. Launched by…
