Outside the Beltway

Normalcy is not a bad thing.

A meaningless gesture that’s long overdue.

So far at least, Elizabeth Warren is not doing a good job of articulating her foreign policy positions. That needs to change if she’s going to be a serious candidate.

The House of Representatives passed a defense spending bill that seeks to limit Presidential authority when it comes to striking Iran and aideing the Saudi war on Yemen.

The Kaine-Udall amendment has met its predictable end.

The planes were apparently in the air, and the ships in position, for an American attack on Iran last night. Then the order to pull back came in.

Democrats are trying to rein in President Trump. It won’t work.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg laid out his foreign policy platform in a speech this week. It’s certainly an improvement over the current President.

A new poll indicates that at least some Democrats continue to hold Biden’s 2002 vote in favor of the Iraq War.

The Trump Administration is reportedly preparing to withdraw the small contingent of American troops from Syria. If it actually happens, this would be a good move.

American involvement in the genocidal Saudi war on Yemen is getting more complicated. This is a bad idea.

Echoing the Obama Administration, the Trump Administration is arguing that it did not need Congressional authorization to attack Syria earlier this year.

Without Congressional authorization, any attack on Syria would be illegal, but don’t expect Congress to do anything about it.

Continuing a long-standard tradition, the Trump Administration claims it doesn’t need to get legal authorization to keep American troops in Syria.

With the Administration set to commit the United States to a forever war in Syria, it’s time for Congress to act.

While everyone is paying attention to the government shutdown, the Trump Administration is preparing for a never-ending, unwise, and unauthorized military commitment in Syria.

America has become involved in conflicts around the world, largely without the knowledge of the American people or the consent of their representatives, and it doesn’t appear that’s going to end anytime soon.

Once again, Congress is abdicating its Constitutional responsibilities.

Another day, another military escalation in the Middle East.

ISIS apparently now has a foothold in Libya, and is making inroads in Yemen.

Daniel Larison is far less ambivalent about our war on ISIL than me.

Explaining my ambivalence around the latest escalation in our intervention.

President Obama will ask Congress to authorize a war he started six months ago.

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.

The Administration’s policy in the President’s war against ISIS has no coherent plan, and that virtually guarantees escalation.

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

As talk begins of expanding the war against ISIS into Syria, it is becoming long past time for Congress to exercise its Constitutional function.

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

The Iraqi government seems to be panicking.

Good intentions aren’t an excuse for failure to follow the law.

The world changed significantly twelve years ago today. Will it ever change back even a little bit?

Given that the vote count seems to be heading that way, this is a question worth examination.

Would House Republicans really defer from voting on a Syria resolution to prevent embarrassing the President on the world stage?

Is U.S. planning against Syria moving beyond just chemical weapons?

A proposed Syria authorization being considered in the Senate places several limits on Presidential authority to act, but it’s unclear if those limits can actually work.

Will Congress now take some responsibilty?

Once again, Ron Paul showed last night why he could never win the Republican nomination.

Not surprisingly, most of the Republican candidates for President aren’t too keen on reducing the excessive growth in Executive Branch power.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 authorizes the President the authority to indefinitely detain persons, even American citizens arrested on American soil, without trial because they allegedly support the enemy.

Giving the President the unchecked power to kill American citizens raises some serious red flags.

The House GOP’s proposed Balanced Budget Amendment contains the seeds of its own utter worthlessness.

American drone strikes in Yemen are intensifying. Is this a new war. or just the same one we’ve been fighting since October 2001?