Outside the Beltway

America is about to enter a third war in the Muslim world with no clear idea of the end game.

With minor exceptions, all of the potential candidates for the GOP nomination in 2012 seem to have accepted the idea that defense spending, and the Bush-era interventionist foreign policy, are off the table when it comes time to talk spending cuts.

The Obama Administration is asking the U.N. Security Council to authorize direct military intervention in Libya. The question is, why now?

Will one of the worst natural disasters to hit Japan in centuries change the relationship between the Japanese government and the people?

New York Times journalists Anthony Shadid, Stephen Farrell, Tyler Hicks, and Lynsey Addario have not been heard from in more than 24 hours.

Alain Juppé’s concession that “the moment has passed” for NATO to successfully intervene in Libya is correct.

President Obama is once again catching flak for his leisure activities.

Archaeologists may have found the lost city of Atlantis. And, no, not the one in the Bahamas.

Who wants that job? (And is willing to work that hard to get it?)

A March 12 explosion at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan, appears to have caused a reactor meltdown.

The damage in Japan from today’s quake is dramatic and heartbreaking.

The CNN Effect has given away to Twitter Standard Time.

The Nixon Center has gone from one of the most controversially named think tanks in Washington to yet another blandly named one: Center for the National Interest.

The Dalai Lama will give up his political role in the Tibetan government-in-exile and shift that power to an elected representative.

An op-ed by a Hao Leifeng in China’s Global Times argues that “Actor Charlie Sheen is a classic example of the difference in Western and Eastern values and norms.”

Establishing a no-fly zone in Libya won’t stop the Civil War, and it’s likely to draw the United States further into a conflict that it needs to stay out of.

As gas and oil prices rise, the pressure is increasing to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It’s a dumb idea.

Former French president Jacques Chirac is being tried on corruption charges stemming from misconduct as mayor of Paris.

Much like the buds starting to appear on the Cherry Blossom trees in Washington, D.C., February’s jobs report offers some signs of new life for the labor market.

An update on Tunisia.

Intervening to “help” the Libyan revolt is very tempting, but it’s a temptation we ought to resist.

Establishing a no-fly zone isn’t likely to be enough to remove the current Libyan regime from power.

Iran doesn’t like the logo for the London Olympics and is threatening to boycott if it isn’t changed.

Muammar Gadaffi’s family hired big name entertainers for parties. What with the ongoing mayhem in Libya, that’s coming under scrutiny.