Outside the Beltway

John Cornyn tells Jennifer Rubin that he’ll oppose the confirmation of his former colleague, Chuck Hagel, for Secretary of Defense.

Richard Lugar puts in a word for compromise and good governance on his way out of the Senate.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is bemused that the generals who worked for him lived more lavish lifestyles than he did.

It’s okay to criticize military veterans–even if you never served in the military.

Ross Douthat says American women should stop being decadent and have more babies, explaining that raising children is easier than it used to be, so there’s really no excuse for women to be so selfish.

If nothing else, the Petraeus affair is teaching us a valuable lesson in just how extensive the Surveillance State has become.

The scandal now surrounding David Petraeus should lead people to reassess his past record.

The David Petraeus/Paula Broadwell story gets curiouser.

A surprise Friday resignation at the CIA.

An ode to one-term Congressman Allen West.

In a posting for New Atlanticist titled “Status Quo Election,” I note the near total absence of foreign affairs from a presidential campaign that’s mercifully coming to an end.

First in a series of posts looking at the substance of the final presidential debate, ostensibly about foreign policy.

President Obama seems to have given away the store when it comes to the defense sequestration cuts.

The candidate’s meet for one last time tonight to talk about some of the most important issues in the world.

Osama’s driver, who was convicted of only technical crimes, has had his conviction overturned on a technicality.

Don’t blame the Defense Department for following a bad law.

Did Biden come across as intense? Or just a jerk? Did Ryan come off as inexperienced by comparison to the much more seasoned Biden? Or as a decent, earnest guy ready to step onto the stage?

One of Mitt Romney’s own supporters didn’t like his foreign policy speech very much.

Mitt Romney’s speech at VMI today was billed as a major foreign policy address, but it was incredibly light on substance.

The Afghanistan War is officially eleven years old today.

Afghanistan was a much different place half a century ago.

Slowly but surely, we’re giving up on Afghanistan.

Where’s the beef?

Getting to the heart of the problem from my POV (plus historical numbers).

The Afghan Surge announced by President Obama in December 2009 is over. By any objective measurement, it was a failure.

Because some things are worth reinforcing.

My latest for The New Republic, “America’s Scandalous Drone War Goes Unmentioned in the Campaign,” is out.

Mitt Romney is a deeply flawed candidate, but that doesn’t mean the President is any better.

The Administration’s decision to stick with the meme that the Benghazi attack was about a movie becomes more puzzling.

The Obama Administration’s response to the protests in the Muslim world has been entirely wrongheaded.