Your curated weekday guide to the biggest national security and foreign policy developments over the past 24 hours. Compiled by the Just Security team and read by an automated voice, The Early Edition is an essential resource for anyone shaping a just and secure world.

Published January 8th, 2026, on Just Security.  

ICYMI: Yesterday on Just Security  

• A NATO Promise Not to Enlarge? No, Not Even According to Putin 1.0 By Ambassador Steven Pifer
• Congress, the President, and the Use of Military Force in Venezuela By Brian Egan, Tess Bridgeman, and Ryan Goodman
• Will Trump Allow Private Equity to Gut the Army Too? By Margaret Mullins and Ben Dinovelli