Outside the Beltway

Having set the region afire, he’s prepared to let others clean up the mess.

So much winning.

Maybe talks, but maybe not?

The regime is not a -changin’.

Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.

An update from the Commander-in-Chief.

Iran will soon have a new Supreme Leader. For now.

Apparently, not the president or his “leadership council.”

Now we know why it started when it did.

What it is and isn’t. Some polisci basics.

I’m sure there’s a plan for that.

Breaking news. Big if true.

Preliminary thoughts from several columnists.

“Major combat operations” are underway.

We may be closer to regime change than any point since the 1979 Revolution.

Iran came “this close” to ending the Zionist regime.

This phase seems to be over. [Or maybe not!]

What? Retaliation from Iran?

Whatever that means.

The loss of many key leaders in short order is a serious problem.

Trump and Netanyahu do not see eye to eye on the matter.

The war is on.

The country’s citizens are enduring power outages while Saudis are making deals for cutting-edge technology.

The 39th President hits the century mark.

What we know a day later.

A bold strike that threatens to escalate a regional war.

A shocking development amidst regional turmoil.

Several glimmers of hope from the Ukraine funding bill.

His critics are focused on the wrong problem.

A 34-year CIA officer’s thoughts.

The ayatollahs face the biggest challenge to their authority in the history of the regime.

A blast from the past.

The author of “Lonesome Dove,” “Terms of Endearment,” and so many more great novels is gone at 84.

An American drone strike has taken out the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, a move likely to significantly increase tensions across the Middle East.

Amid protests over American airstrikes, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has become a target.

An empty column with a seed of one good point buried in a bunch of nothing.

Tensions are increasing in the Persian Gulf thanks to a collection of actions by Iran, the United States, and United Kingdom.

Realistically, President Trump has very few options when it comes to dealing with Iran and its nuclear program.

The Trump Administration unveiled new sanctions against Iran yesterday. They’re unlikely to accomplish the entirely unrealistic goals the President claims to have in mind.

A possible way forward?

The President was up late last night sending an incredibly over-the-top tweet directed at Iran.

North Korea’s Dear Leader has baited the President of the United States into a trap.

Anti-government protests are spreading in Iran.

The U.S is joining the rest of the world in refusing to recognize the independence referendum conducted by Iraqi Kurds.

On the special election for US Senate in Alabama

Iranian voters have re-elected Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate whose election in 2013 was largely responsible for the shifts in policy that made the international agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear research program possible.

Trump’s combination amateur hour/tough guy approach is not going to make the world a safer place, nor will it advance US national interest.

In the end, there was no other logical choice.

Donald Trump takes his war with Fox News Channel up a notch, saying he won’t participate in Thursday’s Republican Presidential Debate.

Another hopeful step forward, thanks to diplomacy.