John Walcott

John Walcott covers foreign policy and national security.

Recent Articles

Why the U.S. Won't Get Involved Belarus' Disputed Election

The tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding the ouster of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and an end to 26 years of his authoritarian rule can expect little more than rhetorical support from the United States,...

By John Walcott

Trump Administration Seeks Pre-Election Win on Nuclear Arms Deal with Russia

After three years tuning out, turning off, and dropping out of every arms control and trade treaty within reach, the Trump Administration is now seeking a path toward the most sweeping nuclear arms control agreement...

By John Walcott

Ambassador Pick for Germany Underscores 'America First' Foreign Policy

President Donald Trump has nominated a string of controversial ambassadors in the last four years, including a Palm Beach luxury handbag designer to South Africa and a Los Angeles dermatologist who had to be ordered...

By John Walcott

How Maine's Lobsters Got Trapped in Trump's Trade Wars

Standing on the deck of the Captain Carl, his 34-foot lobster boat, Jeff Woodman reflects on how the rocky shores of Spruce Head, Maine, have become an unlikely frontline in both President Donald Trump’s global...

By John Walcott / Spruce Head, Maine

U.S. and China Tough Talk Makes Diplomatic Resolution Harder

The worsening confrontation between the two outsized economic powers has come to resemble a wrestling match

By John Walcott

Intel Officials Disagree Whether Russia Paid Taliban

U.S. and allied military and intelligence officials in Afghanistan collected information indicating that Russian intelligence officers maintained a fund for rewarding Afghan militants who killed American and Afghans soldiers, but senior officials are divided on...

By John Walcott

Military Leaders May Have to Choose Between Trump and Troops

Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are approaching a crossroads where they may be forced to choose between appearing publicly loyal to President Donald Trump...

By John Walcott

U.S. and EU Officials Are Worried About Putin and Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments about the legitimacy of Russia’s borders in a documentary broadcast on Russian television have rattled some U.S. allies, fearful that he might be laying the groundwork for a further military...

By John Walcott

Summit Spotlights U.S.-China Tensions

The chilliest place in Hawaii this week — other than the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, which barely rose above freezing — was Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, where Secretary of State...

By John Walcott

John Bolton: Trump Put Ambitions Ahead of Nation

A long-anticipated new book by former national security advisor John Bolton contains explosive revelations about President Donald Trump's conduct in office

By Tessa Berenson Rogers and John Walcott

Why the Alliance Between Europe and America is Falling Apart

When German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas suggested during a June 15 video conference between 28 European Union diplomats and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the U.S. and Europe push Israel and the Palestinians to...

By John Walcott

Pentagon Pushes Back Against Trump

Military leaders are concerned Trump is wielding the armed forces for personal gain, rather than national interests

By W.J. Hennigan and John Walcott

Trump's War on Watchdogs

In the last six weeks, Trump has fired or replaced four inspectors general, part of a broad effort to weaken government accountability

By John Walcott

U.S.-China Rivalry Hampers COVID-19 Intel

In mid-November, U.S. military and intelligence analysts began to suspect that something might be wrong in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The CIA was getting reports from the city that there was an outbreak...

By John Walcott

Kim Yo-Jong's Links to Secretive Office

For years, intelligence officials around the world have been watching a secretive office on the third floor of the Korean Worker’s Party headquarters in Pyongyang, North Korea. There, in Office 39, the country’s ruler Kim...

By John Walcott

How Coronavirus Has Hit the U.S. Military

A U.S. P-8A reconnaissance plane was soaring above the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday when a Russian SU-35 fighter jet appeared on its tail. For 42 minutes, U.S. Navy officials say, the Russian pilot flew in...

By W.J. Hennigan and John Walcott

U.S. Officials Say Foreign Spies Target Zoom

As much of the world works from home, an explosion of video conference calls has provided a playground not just for Zoombombers, phishermen and cybercriminals, but also for spies. Everyone from top business executives to...

By John Walcott

How Iran Sanctions Could Backfire On Trump

On a recent evening in Tehran, apartment dwellers on lockdown inside the city’s ubiquitous concrete tower blocks threw open their windows at 8pm, and serenaded each other with the national anthem. Across the world in...

By Kimberly Dozier and John Walcott

How Coronavirus Is Impacting Spies

In a foreign capital recently, an American spy was facing an unexpected dilemma: how to cancel a clandestine first meeting with a promising new recruit? People were not leaving their homes, so the usually crowded...

By John Walcott

U.S.-Iran Tensions Mount After Americans' Death

The U.S. launched a series of air strikes targeting an Iran-backed militia in Iraq on Thursday, the day after two American service members were killed during an exchange of rocket fire between U.S. forces and...

By John Walcott
More from TIME
More From TIME