Outside the Beltway

While he campaigned on a message of restraint, Donald Trump has largely adopted the interventionist foreign policies of his predecessors.

The Trump Administration is taking an unnecessarily militaristic approach toward Iran, and that poses real dangers for the country and for the Middle East.

The President revived an old debate but added some new twists.

The raw number of vessels is not the best metric of naval power.

This could be a very big deal – unless it isn’t.

As the Friday deadline for trade talks with China approaches, President Trump is threatening even more tariffs.

With the apparent failure of the coup attempt in Venezuela, what happens next?

President Trump’s obsequious effort to please Russian President Vladimir Putin continues.

Sexual misconduct in the military continues to frustrate observers.

Republicans have aborted President Trump’s lofty plan for a $2 trillion infrastructure deal just days after it was conceived.

The former Kentucky coal executive, Republican fundraiser, and Ambassador to Canada would replace Nikki Haley in what used to be a position dominated by more experienced diplomats.

All three children of the next head of the Army are following in his footsteps.

A months-long standoff is stopping hurricane relief.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden is calling for an end to American support for the Saudi war on Yemen.

The U.S. military will no longer release reports regarding the success, or failure, of the current strategy in Afghanistan.

Matt Bernius and I collaborated on an essay for Defense One.

The ongoing apparent attempted coup in Venezuela is already leading to talk of American intervention in the event of a crackdown. That would be unwise and unjustified.

His passing is a sad reminder of another era of the Republican Party.

Counter-Intelligence officials are warning that Russia is preparing another election interference campaign for the 2020 election.

A law professor asks some interesting questions, but ultimately not the right ones.

The Trump Administration’s policies toward Iran aren’t going to work, but that’s because they aren’t supposed to work.

Sunday’s attacks in Sri Lanka make it clear that the claim that ISIS has been defeated are nowhere close to being true.

The United States agreed to pay North Korea $2 million for “medical treatment” for Otto Warmbier. Did the Trump Administration actually pay the bill? They aren’t saying.

In military justice Bizarroland, Rep Duncan Hunter intentionally commits “reverse UCI.”

Further evidence that Sri Lankan authorities failed to act on warnings of rising Jihadism in their country.

ISIS is claiming responsibility for Sunday’s attacks in Sri Lanka, a strong sign that the claims by the Trump Administration that it had largely defeated the group were not true.

Evidence is emerging that the Sri Lankan government had advance warning regarding potential terror attacks but failed to act on the information.

A Federal Appeals Court has rejected Chelsea Manning’s bid to be released from jail notwithstanding her refusal to comply with a Grand Jury Subpoena.

Blasts at Christian churches and tourist hotels appear to be a coordinated terrorist attack.

The Wall Street Journal tries, and fails, to defend President Trump’s indefensible veto of the Congressional resolution regarding the war on Yemen.

Maybe there was a better way to get his point across?

President Trump has not surprisingly vetoed a Congressional resolution to limit American support for the Saudi war on Yemen. His defense for doing so is utterly absurd.

A very strange campaign trail gambit from India’s prime minister.

The other shoe has dropped.

The Wikileaks founder has been detained by London authorities after 7 years hiding in Ecuador’s embassy.

The tumultuous turnover at the top of the Trump team is too much.

Strategic move or pointless provocation?

There are even higher obligations than taking care of Marines.

Despite some obstacles, America’s armed forces drink other professions under the table.

The Constitution’s invitation to struggle over foreign policy continues.

He’s a national treasure who has been appropriately honored for a lifetime of service and sacrifice. But this seems different.

Findings of “foreign influence, conflicts of interest, concerning personal conduct, financial problems, drug use, and criminal conduct” were dismissed.

The legendary figure was in charge of strategic forecasting at the Pentagon for decades.

Military culture is a strange beast.

History’s first all-female spacewalk was thwarted by a lack of smaller suits.

The (Acting) Secretary of Defense has issued an unconstitutional order.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is cutting short his US trip to deal with what his government is calling a Hamas attack.

The office has been vacant for 81 days. President Trump has yet to nominate a replacement.

Lock them up.

Free expression sometimes enables horrible crimes. How does a free society deal with that tension?