Outside the Beltway

Diplomatic word games.

If Hillary Clinton runs for President, questions surrounding the Benghazi attack will continue to dog her.

Open mouth, insert foot.

It appears what we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.

Middle East peace talks are apparently in such bad shape that the U.S. is thinking of releasing Jonathan Pollard as an incentive to Israel.

President Obama is rewarding unqualified hacks who raised huge sums for his campaign with ambassadorships.

Victoria Nuland, Asistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, pithily expressed her frustrations about the European Union.

The North Koreans are back to their old tricks.

There are many choices in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program there are many choices, but some are better than others.

Even as it defies China’s illegal territorial claims with military flights, the Obama administration is urging US airlines to comply.

The opponents of the temporary deal reached in Geneva have been making some ridiculous historical analogies.

China sends a message, and the U.S. responds. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

Small steps from both sides in the Iranian nuclear negotiations, but too early to say that we’ve reached a solution.

Signs of some progress in the talks over Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

An agency has won the Nobel Peace Prize for something that hasn’t happened yet.

President Obama spoke with Iranian President Rouhani today, the first such contact between the nations in 34 years.

My latest for The Atlantic, “It Isn’t the Military’s Place to Weigh In on the Syria Debate,” has posted.

I’ve been up since 3 am and drinking since 6 pm, so my reaction to a presidential war speech at 9 am may not be the definitive word

Score one for Team Bush?

Some Members of Congress are calling for a debate before any strikes on Syria. They’re absolutely right.

Andrew Bacevich argues, persuasively, that “absence of leverage does not preclude options” with respect to Egypt.

As Congress eyes the Defense budget for cuts, some are drawing attention to the lavish housing of our top brass.

Secretary of State Kerry becomes the latest American official to wade into the Middle East’s longest lasting quagmire.

David Bosco wonders, “Why is the United Nations Ambassador in the Cabinet?”

The Senate may be headed for an historic confrontation today if an 11th hour deal isn’t reached.

The latest NSA leaks are likely to prove to be diplomatically embarrassing.

Does it matter if political leaders like each other on some personal level? Sometimes it does.

Syria isn’t Libya.

Is the White House distancing itself from the President’s “red line” remarks about Syria?

So what, exactly, is going on in North Korea? And how should we respond to Kim’s bluster?

There’s no money in wri

A theory on why Benghazi will not die as a political issue.

North Korea’s latest provocations may be testing the patience of their patrons in Beijing.

Falling on the sword?

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

Iran’s currency has collapsed and there are riot police in the streets of Teheran. It appears the sanctions may just be working after all.

Wherein I engage in a little intra-blog debate.