For most of American history, national defense has been understood geographically.
asserted
defense → understand → history
Even as warfare evolved, the basic concept remained relatively simple: the United States had physical assets that needed protection from foreign adversaries.
asserted
that → evolve → adversaries
Technology has fundamentally changed that calculation.
asserted
Technology → change → calculation
Today, some of the most important assets supporting America's economy, military and national security do not fit neatly within traditional definitions of territory or defense infrastructure.
asserted
some → support → territory
They are data centers, cloud-computing systems, telecommunications networks and other digital infrastructure that may be privately owned and located thousands of miles from the United States.
uncertain
that → compute → States
The recent conflict with Iran should force Washington to take that possibility seriously.
asserted
conflict → force → possibility
In March, Iranian strikes damaged Amazon Web Services data centers and infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, disrupting cloud infrastructure and creating problems with power and connectivity.
asserted
strikes → damage → power
Reuters reported that the damage contributed to service disruptions and an extended recovery process.
asserted
damage → report → disruptions
Then, in April, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps publicly claimed that it had targeted an Amazon cloud-computing facility in Bahrain.
asserted
it → claim → Bahrain
This was not simply a commercial facility caught in the crossfire.
asserted
This → catch → crossfire
Iran publicly identified American commercial computing infrastructure as a target.
asserted
Iran → identify → target
American power increasingly depends on infrastructure that is privately operated and, in some cases, located outside our borders.
asserted
that → depend → borders
The military relies on commercial technology and cloud computing.
asserted
military → rely → technology
Financial institutions depend on digital infrastructure to process transactions and maintain operations.
asserted
institutions → depend → operations
Hospitals, communications networks, logistics companies and energy providers all depend on interconnected systems.
asserted
Hospitals → depend → systems
Artificial intelligence, which is becoming important to both the American economy and national defense, requires enormous amounts of computing capacity and data.
asserted
which → become → capacity
The building may be privately owned, but the consequences of destroying it may extend far beyond the company that operates it.
uncertain
that → own → it
The federal government already recognizes that infrastructure can have national-security implications even when it is not owned by the government.
asserted
it → recognize → government
Federal law defines critical infrastructure broadly, including physical or virtual systems and assets whose incapacity or destruction could have a debilitating impact on national security, national economic security, public health or safety.
uncertain
incapacity → define → security
But our national-security strategy has not fully caught up with the technological transformation of the American economy and military.
asserted
strategy → catch → economy
A generation ago, it was relatively easy to understand why a power plant or port could be considered strategically important.
uncertain
plant → understand → ?
Today, the same logic increasingly applies to the infrastructure that makes the digital economy possible.
asserted
economy → apply → infrastructure
A data center supporting military logistics, financial markets, telecommunications or advanced artificial intelligence may be just as consequential to national security as a physical facility traditionally associated with defense.
uncertain
center → support → defense
The Trump administration has recognized the importance of data-center infrastructure to the internet, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and America's economic and national security.
asserted
administration → recognize → internet
Congress should build on that recognition by creating a designation for exceptionally important American-owned or American-controlled digital infrastructure.
asserted
Congress → build → infrastructure
It should not turn every data center into a national-security facility or give private companies a blank check for government protection.
asserted
It → turn → protection
Companies seeking the designation should have to meet strict standards concerning ownership and control, cybersecurity, physical security, supply-chain integrity, redundancy and cooperation with U.S. national-security agencies.
asserted
Companies → seek → agencies
The federal government could then identify the relatively small number of facilities whose destruction or prolonged incapacitation would pose a serious threat to American national or economic security.
uncertain
destruction → identify → security
American power increasingly depends on infrastructure that is privately operated and, in some cases, located outside our borders.
asserted
that → depend → borders
These could include data centers supporting military operations, financial markets, critical communications, government systems or strategically important artificial intelligence capabilities.
uncertain
These → include → operations
The designation would not make these facilities American territory.
asserted
facilities → make → ?
A data center in Bahrain would not become sovereign American territory simply because it was designated a protected strategic asset.
asserted
it → become → Bahrain
But it would establish something equally important, a clear American policy that deliberately attacking certain strategically vital infrastructure carries consequences.
asserted
attacking → establish → consequences
That clarity serves an important purpose: deterrence.
asserted
clarity → serve → purpose
Congress should establish a range of potential responses that could include sanctions, asset freezes, diplomatic measures, defensive cyber operations and, depending on the circumstances and attribution, additional measures authorized by Congress.
uncertain
that → establish → Congress
The goal should not be to automatically escalate every attack into a military confrontation.
asserted
goal → escalate → confrontation
The goal is to make the consequences sufficiently clear that an adversary thinks twice before attacking.
asserted
adversary → make → ?
Artificial intelligence (AI) only raises the stakes.
asserted
intelligence → raise → stakes
AI is becoming an ever-more important component of intelligence analysis, cybersecurity, logistics, communications, autonomous systems, military planning and economic competition.
asserted
AI → become → analysis
President Donald Trump's June 2026 National Security Presidential Memorandum on artificial intelligence (AI) recognized this reality by directing the national-security enterprise to accelerate AI adoption and strengthen partnerships with private industry.
asserted
enterprise → recognize → industry
…and 31 more, not listed.
The Aporia
