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Veterans: Hurry up and pitch! New writing project begins now

We are looking for former U.S. service members who want to engage in investigative journalism, reporting, and op-eds

Reporting | QiOSK

Are you a veteran with a story to tell? A journalist covering military or veteran issues? An investigative reporter uncovering critical stories about those who serve? Responsible Statecraft wants to hear from you.

We’re seeking compelling pitches from veterans: storytellers, journalists, and first-time writers with unique perspectives on military and veteran-related topics within a realism & restraint point of view. We especially welcome well-researched investigative pieces. Competitive rates are offered, with higher rates for in-depth, thoroughly sourced investigations.

Examples of Pitch Topics:

  • Is the culture of U.S. Special Forces changing?
  • A week alongside a military recruiter—what I learned.
  • Investigating contaminated water at [X] base.
  • What’s driving the mental health crisis among veterans?
  • What does SecDef Hegseth mean by “going back to basics”?
  • A personal account of military service and its impact on your worldview.
  • Why “ending forever wars” resonates with some veterans.
  • People talk about the military industrial complex, here is what I experienced in it.

Important: Please send pitches, not completed pieces, along with a bio and links to any other published pieces, if available.

Acceptance of a pitch does not guarantee publication of the final article.

Send to veterans@quincyinst.org. We look forward to your stories!


Top photo credit: U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers rest while waiting for the next event at the Region VI Best Warrior Competition, at Camp Rilea, near Warrenton, Oregon, May 5, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Cpl. Mikailla Brownfield)
Reporting | QiOSK
Iran nuclear
Top image credit: Inspired by maps via shutterstock.com

How the US could use Iran's uranium enrichment to its own advantage

Middle East

Since mid-April, Iran and the United States held numerous rounds of nuclear negotiations that have made measured progress — until Washington abruptly stated that Iran had no right to enrich uranium. Moreover, 200 members of the U.S. Congress sent president Trump a letter opposing any deal that would allow Iran to retain uranium enrichment capability.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei called U.S. demands “excessive and outrageous” and “nonsense.” Since the beginning of the Iranian nuclear crisis in 2003, Tehran has drawn a clear red line: the peaceful right to enrich uranium under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is non-negotiable.

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american military missiles
Top photo credit: Fogcatcher/Shutterstock

5 ways the military industrial complex is a killer

Latest 3

Congress is on track to finish work on the fiscal year 2025 Pentagon budget this week, and odds are that it will add $150 billion to its funding for the next few years beyond what the department even asked for. Meanwhile, President Trump has announced a goal of over $1 trillion for the Pentagon for fiscal year 2026.

With these immense sums flying out the door, it’s a good time to take a critical look at the Pentagon budget, from the rationales given to justify near record levels of spending to the impact of that spending in the real world. Here are five things you should know about the Pentagon budget and the military-industrial complex that keeps the churn going.

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Sudan
Top image credit: A Sudanese army soldier stands next to a destroyed combat vehicle as Sudan's army retakes ground and some displaced residents return to ravaged capital in the state of Khartoum Sudan March 26, 2025. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Will Sudan attack the UAE?

Africa

Recent weeks events have dramatically cast the Sudanese civil war back into the international spotlight, drawing renewed scrutiny to the role of external actors, particularly the United Arab Emirates.

This shift has been driven by Sudan's accusations at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the UAE concerning violations of the Genocide Convention, alongside drone strikes on Port Sudan that Khartoum vociferously attributes to direct Emirati participation. Concurrently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly reaffirmed the UAE's deep entanglement in the conflict at a Senate hearing last week.

From Washington, another significant and sudden development also surfaced last week: the imposition of U.S. sanctions on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for alleged chemical weapons use. This dramatic accusation was met by an immediate denial from Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which vehemently dismissed the claims as "unfounded" and criticized the U.S. for bypassing the proper international mechanisms, specifically the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, despite Sudan's active membership on its Executive Council.

Despite the gravity of such an accusation, corroboration for the use of chemical agents in Sudan’s war remains conspicuously absent from public debate or reporting, save for a January 2025 New York Times article citing unnamed U.S. officials. That report itself contained a curious disclaimer: "Officials briefed on the intelligence said the information did not come from the United Arab Emirates, an American ally that is also a staunch supporter of the R.S.F."

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