Outside the Beltway

Apparently, the security at Tuesday’s memorial for Nelson Mandela was so lax as to be nearly non-existent.

For veterans who get in trouble with the law, *when* they commit a crime can have profound implications on their future. Does this make sense?

Some 2000 veterans of World War II were lobotomized by the VA. That’s awful but not outrageous.

Democracy was nice while it lasted.

There are many choices in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program there are many choices, but some are better than others.

The U.S. position on China’s new air defense zone is exceedingly clear. The question is where it goes from here.

You know the Defense budget is getting tight when we can’t spare a few measly fighter planes to escort an imaginary character.

A new poll finds the American public far less supportive of the idea of the U.S. as the world’s policeman.

Dana Milbank offers a nonsensical reason for denying our youth the freedom to choose their own path.

Even as it defies China’s illegal territorial claims with military flights, the Obama administration is urging US airlines to comply.

The opponents of the temporary deal reached in Geneva have been making some ridiculous historical analogies.

China sends a message, and the U.S. responds. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

Some Members of Congress are talking about pushing a bill imposing new sanction on Iran despite the deal reached in Geneva yesterday.

Small steps from both sides in the Iranian nuclear negotiations, but too early to say that we’ve reached a solution.

A leaked internal email has the Army in hot water with feminists.

The juxtaposition of two stories in the Marine Times strikes me as odd.

Without hard choices on pay and benefits, the Pentagon will have to make big cuts in readiness.

An unusual challenge to the NSA’s data mining program reaches its expected end in the Supreme Court.

Does the Attorney General really think advocacy is a crime?

A story that has turned into a partisan kickball and some bad journalism have resulted in a celebrated news program getting considerable egg on its face.

Thanks largely to France, this weekend’s efforts to reach an interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program fell apart.

Signs of some progress in the talks over Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

A bizarre hit piece in National Journal gives the false impression that our military leaders are considering removing the president.

For some same-sex couples with a military spouse, living together on base is proving difficult to implement quickly.

I’m happy that these incidents are so rare. But I can’t explain why it’s so.

A Pentagon Equal Opportunity training manual points out the obvious.

NSA Director General Keith Alexander really doesn’t like the idea of a free press.

According to reports, the President had no idea that the NSA was listening to the phone calls of foreign leaders until this summer.

The latest revelations about National Security Agency surveillance outside the United States have caused quite an uproar overseas.

Few subjects rile members and veterans of military service more than changes to the uniform.

Relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia seem to have soured in recent years.

Jofi Joseph was unmasked as the obnoxious @NatSecWonk and fired by the White House.

My review of Andrew Bacevich’s latest book, Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country.

My latest for The National Interest, “The Military and the Shutdown: Assessing the Damage,” is out.

If the Syrian civil war is like other civil wars, it’s not ending any time soon.