Outside the Beltway

The shocking has become routine. We’re no safer because of it.

The House Intelligence Committee has concluded that the conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11/2012 attack in Benghazi are not supported by the evidence. That’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind, though.

You thought the American combat role in Afghanistan would end on December 31st? Think again.

The idea that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists is simply not historically accurate, so should we be reconsidering the policy of not negotiating with ISIS for the release of Western hostages?

The CIA has always separated its core spying and analysis functions; that may soon change.

The latest ISIS video is horrible and barbaric but we should not take the bait they are offering before considering the consequences of our actions going forward.

As things stand right now, there is no legitimate legal authorization for the President’s war against ISIS, and that’s largely because Congress has failed to act.

There’s not much good news in the initial review of September’s fence jumping incident at the White House.

Some people didn’t like the song selection at last night’s Washington, D.C. concert for Veterans Day.

Civil asset forfeiture gives “highway robbery” a whole new meaning.

Good news for two released Americans, but no clue what’s motivating North Korea’s latest actions.

Mission creep.

Not surprisingly, a law passed in the wake of the September 11th attacks has been used mostly for things that have nothing to do with terrorism.

The Supreme Court will decide if Congress can override American foreign policy when it comes to declaring who has dominion over Jerusalem.

Always as many military personnel identify as Independents as with the GOP.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul continues to challenge Republican orthodoxy on foreign policy, and that’s a good thing.

Facing a tough re-election battle, Kansas Senator Pat Roberts is engaging in abject fearrmongering.

We’ve handed off operations in Helmand Province to the Afghanistan army.

Yesterday’s apparent terrorist shooting in Ottawa reveals again a phenomenon that seems difficult if not impossible to stop in advance.

Law enforcement remains unhappy about the recent changes that will make it harder to break into a locked smartphone.

Poor Joe Biden can’t stay out of the news. This time, it’s not one of his gaffes but one by his youngest son.

A new report from the New York Times confirms the adage that, in war, the first casualty is the truth.

The Turks have entered the conflict in Syria. Unfortunately for the United States, it’s not on the side we would prefer.

The U.S. Air Campaign Against ISIS Is Much Bigger Than You Think

ISIS at the Gates Edition.

A massacre is about to unfold “a stone’s throw” from Turkey’s border.

Germany’s new defense minister has promised a more robust role but lacks the ability to back her words with action.

Corporal Jordan Spears died in a V-22 accident in operations against the Islamic State.

An inevitable outcome for the head of a once proud agency.

In the current situation, speaking out forcefully as some are demanding can only do more harm than good.

Newly released documents reveal that Henry Kissinger wanted to attack Cuba in the mid-1970s.

For the first time, someone has been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.

The security lapses at the Secret Service just continue to mount.

U.S. troops will be in Afghanistan for at least the next three years.

Last week’s security breach just became a lot more serious.

Speaker Boehner wants to delay a vote on the ISIS war until January, but any such debate will be meaningless because Congress has already abdicated responsibility.

Apparently, the buck doesn’t stop in the Oval Office these days.

The American public’s support for the President’s war against ISIS has its limits.

WaPo’s Emily Wax-Thibodeaux reports that, “At CIA Starbucks, even the baristas are covert.”

The Khorasan Group is, functionally, al Qaeda. Or is it?

The TSA is up to its usual shenanigans.

A fired Oklahoma worker beheaded a woman and was attacking another when he was shot. Workplace violence? Or terrorism.