Ash Carter is a physicist and a defense-policy expert, having served in government periodically for decades. He was secretary of defense from 2015 to 2017. He has spent his academic career at Harvard, where he is today. In this “Q&A,” Jay Nordlinger asks him about some of the biggest issues: nuclear proliferation, North Korea, Iran, the size of the U.S. military. He also asks about the relation between our servicemen and the general American population. Is there too great a gulf between them? Do people sentimentalize our military? Is it okay to say “Thank you for your service”?

Dr. Ashton B. Carter testifies before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

A paper by the National Security Advisory Group

Markle Foundation Task Force report on Protecting America's Freedom in the Information Age

Most national security debates concern the outcomes of policies, neglecting the means by which those policies are implemented. This book argues that although the US military is the finest fighting force in the world, the system that supports it is in disrepair. Operating with Cold War-era structures and practices, it is subject to managerial and organizational problems that increasingly threaten our military's effectiveness.

Dr. Ashton B. Carter in Foreign Affairs.

An interview with Dr. Ashton B. Carter; Carter discusses the prospects for an American National Missile Defense system.

Article examining NATO's past, present, and future for the Eisenhower Institute

Dr. Ashton B. Carter's article in Scientific American

Testimony by Dr. Ashton B. Carter