Outside the Beltway

As expected, Donald Trump yesterday signed Executive Orders targeting Muslims and refugees.

Despite campaign promises, President Trump appears to be putting off any immediate decision on the location of the U.S. Embassy to Israel.

A potentially controversial commutation from President Obama today.

Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on Middle East peace was largely correct, but his words are pointless given the fact that neither Israel nor the Palestinians seem serious about peacefully resolving their differences.

While you were celebrating Christmas, Israel was blasting the Obama Administration and cozying up to the incoming Trump Administration.

The situation in the Middle East just potentially became much more complicated.

Republicans sure have changed their mind about Vladimir Putin.

A controversial member of George W. Bush’s foreign policy team is up for a post in Donald Trump’s State Department.

For Donald Trump, it appears that ignorance is bliss.

As America prepares for a Presidential transition, an old conflict with a history of turning dangerous rears its head.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is speaking out against several of President-Elect Trump’s proposed Cabinet nominees.

A controversial retired General has been tapped to be President-Elect Trump’s top White House foreign policy voice.

A surprising name is emerging as the likely pick for the nation’s top diplomatic position.

According to reports, Vice-President Biden is on a Clinton campaign short list for Secretary of State.

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

For largely irrational reasons, French police are arresting women on the beach for wearing swimsuits that are compatible with their faith.

Of course Donald Trump responded to a Gold Star Father in the worst possible way.

A massive attack hits Istanbul’s airport.

Hillary Clinton scored another big win in New York last night, putting her closer to clinching the Democratic nomination, and causing Bernie Sanders’ campaign to make even less sense.

A treasure trove of documents from a law firm in Panama could prove problematic for a large group of international leaders.

Nancy Reagan was a crucial part what made Ronald Reagan the man he was, and today she passed away at the age of 94.

With the Vermont Senator holding a seemingly insurmountable lead in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders and HIllary Clinton clashed last night in their most contentious debate yet.

Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio have won the endorsement of the Des Moines Register, but it’s unclear how much this will help their respective campaigns.

Sarah Palin is back, and she’s endorsing Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for President.

Another hopeful step forward, thanks to diplomacy.

Good news for Jason Rezaian and four other Americans, and another example of how diplomacy can help resolve disputes that seemed irresolvable.

Ten American sailors detained by Iranian forces late Tuesday were released early today, something that seems to clearly demonstrate the value of diplomacy.

The execution of a prominent Shi’ite cleric has led to a rapid deterioration of the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

After more than three decades, the men and women held hostage in Iran for 444 days will receive at least some compensation.

The Fifth Republican Debate, and the last of 2015, was marked by expected clashes between the candidates, and one that never happened.

Some analysts are already suggesting that Russia’s two month old intervention in Syria is becoming a quagmire. That seems to be a premature judgment, but it’s not accomplishing much more than anything the West is doing.

Sarah Palin has joined such luminaries as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, and former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke in endorsing Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim immigration plan.

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have mostly avoided attacking each other, but if the polls are any indication that detente may be about to come to an end in the Hawkeye State.

Donald Trump’s speech yesterday at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition was as bizarre as anything else we’ve seen from him.

Another poll shows Ted Cruz rising and Ben Carson falls in the Hawkeye State. The only question is who attacks who first, Donald Trump or Ted Cruz?

After thirty years in Federal Prison, Jonathan Pollard is a free man. Make no mistake, though. Pollard is not, and never has been, a hero and he deserves to be remembered as nothing but the criminal that he is.

Even the people hired to advice Ben Carson on foreign policy seem to recognize that he is clueless on the subject, and has no apparent desire to educate himself.

Republicans insist that uttering the words “Radical Islamic Terrorism” is somehow important in the fight against ISIS and other terror networks, but it is entirely unclear what doing so would accomplish.

Confirming speculation that had already been all but confirmed, we now know that it was a bomb that brought down a Russian passenger jet on October 31st.

A new Gallup poll shows public approval of Congress once again approaching historic lows, but it means far less than anyone thinks.

Hillary’s leading potential Republican candidates, but so is Bernie! Rand Paul does better against Hillary than other Republicans! Those are the headlines you get from head-to-head match-up polls, but it’s all largely meaningless.

President Obama has apparently come to the same realization as many of his predecessors, that trying to craft a legacy by single-handedly bring about “Middle East Peace” is largely a waste of time.