Outside the Beltway

The uneasy coalition that coalesced around action in Libya will be strained by decisions to come.

There must be a predisposition against war and we should only engage in just wars.

Warren Christopher, Bill Clinton’s first Secretary of State, has died at 85.

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

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

We’ve been hearing about peak oil for years. But now some experts are warning of an even more serious crisis: Peak coffee.

We’re heading towards a future of higher food prices and more hunger.

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

All of the plausible Republican contenders for 2012 have significant downsides.

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.”

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

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

The uprisings in the Arab world have led some to suggest that the Middle East isn’t “ready” to be free. They’re wrong.

Global poverty has plummeted in recent years.

The ongoing saga of piracy off the coast of Somali is about to get Americans’ attention again, as a yacht containing four U.S. citizens has been hijacked.

Donald Trump sounds like a man running for president.

Is the Chinese economy headed for a correction?

An interpretation of the events in Egypt.

Glenn Beck seems to have more in common with End Time preachers than he does with a serious political analyst.

Revolutions don’t happen over a weekend.

Two Senators are proposing a Constitutional Amendment to redefine what it means to be an American citizen.

Jon Huntsman is running for president. Who the hell is Jon Huntsman, you say?

Does Russia really spend more on roads than we do?

As the night of the State Of The Union Address approaches, the silliness in Washington has been taken up a notch.

Brief takes on foreign affairs

Like it or not, human rights is only at the top of the agenda for countries that otherwise don’t much matter.

While our politics are seldom violent, our violence is often politicized.

Anti-Immigrant groups are beginning their assault on the 14th Amendment, but don’t expect it to go anywhere.

With just over a week to go before the 112th Congress convenes, battle lines are already being drawn in battle over the defense budget.

The National Football League’s decision to postpone last night’s Eagles-Vikings game due to weather is receiving a lot of criticism, but they made the right choice.

A capsule look at the world situation as 2010 draws to a close.

Sarah Palin waded into the foreign policy pool today with a piece about Iran, and it was about as empty as most of the other ideas on Iran that we’ve heard over the last six years or so from everyone else.

Red States should gain 10 seats while Blue States should lose eight.

Did you know that the iPhone is made in China for a mere $6.50? It’s false but true!

One of the most active American diplomats of the past twenty-five years has passed away.

Bernie Sanders took to the floor of the Senate yesterday to rail against President Obama’s tax cut deal. It was history in the making, but it’s not clear that it actually accomplished anything.

Is Obama really the most liberal President ever? Not really.