Outside the Beltway

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.

Would increasing the size of the House of Representatives be the cure for what ails Congress?

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.

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

America’s federal workforce is increasingly disenchanted.

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

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

The TSA is up to its usual shenanigans.

The courts have been striking them down at a dizzying pace since June.

The Obama Administration’s legal justification for war against ISIS is laughably flimsy.

If the President is going to increase American involvement in the Middle East, he needs to address some fundamental questions first.

Dan Froomkin says Obama is as bad as Bush, if not worse.

Americans have become deeply cynical about government. To some extent that is a good thing, but it’s reaching unhealthy levels.

Some words from the past, apparently uttered mere hours before the world changed forever.

LTG Michael Flynn says the United States is no safer after 13 years of war

A lot of Republicans dislike the President enough to think that he should be removed from office, but will that make impeachment more likely to happen?

The US intelligence community is gambling that it can be more efficient through a public-private partnership than going it alone.

There’s a new round of allegations about American spying on Germany.

My latest collaboration with Butch Bracknell, “Ahmed Abu Khattala and the Miranda-Rights Question,” has posted in The National Interest.

Public faith in government institutions is at all all time low.

My latest for The National Interest, “Neoconservatives, the Iraq Debate and Ad Hominem Attacks,” has posted.

The right to fly can’t be denied on mere whim.

The Kentucky Senator and former Vice-President are at the front of a battle that will unfold inside the GOP as we head toward 2016.

However you feel about the Redskins name, the decision to retroactively repeal their trademarks is troubling on many levels.

Retired General Keith Alexander is hawking his services to banks at princely sums.

Some questions for the Republicans who would be President about the actions of the last Republican President.

Justice delayed, but justice nonetheless.

Not surprisingly, Bill Clinton is the most admired recent President according to a new poll, but his predecessor seems to be underrated.

If President Obama does decide to use military force in Iraq, he should be required to seek Congressional approval beforehand.

Ahmed Abu Kattalah, the alleged ringleader of the September 2012 attack in Benghazi, has been arrested.

Does encouraging binge watching make sense for Netflix?

For the fourth time in 30 years, an American President spoke at Normandy to honor a day of sacrifice and triumph.

If someone had seen the signals, perhaps Bowe Bergdahl never would’ve wandered off base and gotten captured.

Barring shocking developments, General Joe Dunford will be the 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Diplomatic word games.

Today’s foreign-policy disputes rarely consider the way America’s response to one crisis might affect another.

There’s plenty of blame to go around.

James Oliphant asks, “Why Hasn’t the GOP Treated Fort Hood Like Benghazi?”

Could the upcoming House Select Committee on Benghazi actually accomplish something useful?

If Hillary Clinton runs for President, questions surrounding the Benghazi attack will continue to dog her.

A new set of emails is reviving the old partisan arguments about the attack in Benghazi.