military policy

Our correspondents travel through the rainforest, seeing the pollution and clear-cutting firsthand. Establishing the rule of law first requires a decent property register. We examine why a proposed deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland has unsettled the whole of the Horn of Africa (11:17). And Britain’s army mulls permitting its servicemen to grow beards (18:07).

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For the past few months, a single senator — Tommy Tuberville — has blocked hundreds of promotions in the U.S. military.

Karoun Demirjian, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains what’s behind the senator’s blockade, and why military leaders say it’s becoming a threat to national security.

Guest: Karoun Demirjian, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Tuberville’s bid to reverse a Pentagon policy ensuring abortion access for service members has delayed the smooth transfer of power at the highest echelons of the armed forces.
• Here’s David Firestone of Times Opinion on Tuberville’s blockade.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Colin Powell, who in four decades of public service helped shape U.S. national security, died on Monday. He was 84.

Despite a stellar career, Mr. Powell had expressed a fear that he would be remembered for a single event: his role in leading his country to war in Iraq.

We look back on the achievements and setbacks of a trailblazing life. 

Guest: Robert Draper, writer for The New York Times Magazine and author of “To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq.”

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Background reading: 

• Colin Powell was emblematic of the ability of minorities to use the military as a ladder of opportunity — one that eventually led him to the highest levels of government. He died of complications of Covid-19, his family said.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.