Caption
A US flag flies off the stern of a tour boat at the Port of Los Angele in California on July 31, 2025. (Getty Images)
Defense Strategy
Defense Strategy
Caption
A flag flying at an undisclosed location in Iran next to a surface-to-surface Qiam-1 (Rising) missile, August 20, 2010. (VAHID REZA ALAEI/AFP/Getty Images)
Caption
Three A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft fly in formation over Tucson, Ariz., during an air refueling training mission, April 14, 2006. (Senior Airman Christina D. Ponte/DefenseLINK/Released)
Caption
Israeli navy vessels patrolling the Mediterranean Sea, July 9, 2014. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Caption
The USS Mason conducts divisional tactic maneuvers in the Gulf of Oman, Sept. 10, 2016. (Petty Officer 1st Class Blake Midnight/DoD/Released)
Caption
Sailors walk past the US Navy's new guided missile destroyer DDG 1000 USS Zumwalt on October 13, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Caption
US President Barack Obama answers a question on Syria during a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister in Stockholm on September 4, 2013. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
Caption
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and US Secretary of State John Kerry talking during an International Syria Support Group meeting at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel. (Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images)
Experts
David Byrd
Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology
Bryan Clark
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology
Jack David
Senior Fellow and Trustee
Michael Doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
