Outside the Beltway

f Assad is eating Cheerios, we’re going to take away his spoon and give him a fork.

Why are chemical weapons a “red line” in a war where so many have been killed?

Bombing Country B to “send a message” to Country A is not a valid argument for bombing Country B.

A proposed Syria authorization being considered in the Senate places several limits on Presidential authority to act, but it’s unclear if those limits can actually work.

Not surprisingly, Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle are lining up behind the President in the debate over Syria.

Score one for Team Bush?

The president’s public dithering on Syria is drawing jeers from friend and foe alike.

Some questions that the Administration needs to answer before attacking Syria.

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

Persuasion is sometimes an important part of being president.

We’re almost certainly going to launch punitive strikes against Syria. They’ll almost certainly be ineffective.

United States helped Saddam Hussein launch some of the worst chemical attacks in history against Iran.

In both Egypt and Syria, it’s damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

As President Obama’s red line has been crossed more brazenly, he continues to sound reluctant to intervene in Syria while positioning forces to do just that.

Walter Russell Mead explains why a well intentioned, carefully crafted and consistently pursued grand strategy failed.

David C. Jones, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Carter and Reagan, has died.

Lindsey Graham is playing cynical political games with a dangerous part of the world.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons aren’t going anywhere.

Some thoughts on the ongoing situation in Egypt.

Don’t blame “secret courts” for the government’s expanded spying on American citizens and allies.

A decade ago. a certain New York Times columnist was more right than your humble host.

The events of the last week in Egypt raise a whole host of questions.

The U.S. is now confirming that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. What’s next?

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

Has the West inadvertently handed Iran a victory in Syria?

Denied her chance at being Secretary of State, Susan Rice will be moving to a position that is arguably just as important in shaping American foreign policy.

The same story yet again.

Syria’s violence is slipping across it’s borders.That’s not good news at all.

Republicans should reject the calls to call for a Special Prosecutor to investigate the unfolding scandals in Washington.

The Obama Administration’s aggressive pursuit of leaks is threatening freedom of the press.

The sequestration cuts are two months old, and it seems pretty clear that the claims of doom we heard before they went into effect were heavily exaggerated.

So far, three weeks of bad news hasn’t really had much of an impact on the public’s view of how President Obama is handling his job.