Outside the Beltway

The Israeli government has no plan. Its defense minister does.

What does “complete victory” look like?

Well, that de-escalated quickly.

There’s been a load of compromising.

It’s taken more than two years to undo a silly, petty decision.

A more dangerous world is changing the relationship.

The Nation is unusually divided and melancholy on its birthday.

Vladimir Putin is banning commodity exports.

The Russian leader is isolated and under tremendous pressure.

A reminder.

Some pundits have high standards.

A large, well-trained police force was unprepared for a foreseeable crisis.

The President should have known about the plot. There’s a good chance he didn’t.

Some explosive charges in the former National Security Advisor’s book.

My latest for The National Interest.

As the Saudis continue to dissemble and put forward an utterly implausible explanation for the death of Jamal Khashoggi, the Trump Administration shows no sign of having a spine.

The investigation of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is inching closer to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, but it seems unlikely to impact his hold on power.

Americans actings as agents for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been working hard to manipulate the President.

North Korea continues to advance its nuclear program but it’s unclear what anyone can do about it.

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

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

Is “Finlandization” a viable option for Ukraine?

Outrage over leaks like those that Edward Snowden makes doesn’t exist when its politicians doing the leaking.

Will louder threats move the Iranian regime to back down?

We need to have opinions on a subject as serious as war with Iran.