Outside the Beltway

Some initial thoughts.

The dance continues.

The Netanyahu government has few friends.

Another escalation in the longstanding “shadow war.”

The perils of speaking loudly while carrying a small stick.

A well-intentioned but likely doomed effort.

It’s what we do. I mean this is what we do.

The Secretary of Defense has outlined the parameters.

Further escalation is inevitable.

The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy.

The game of tit-for-tat continues.

The inevitable response to attacks on international shipping.

Israel and Iran’s proxies are on a collision course.

The BBC’s security correspondent thinks so.

Article 99 meets Catch-22.

A bureaucratic nightmare.

Tehran-backed forces are routinely shooting at American forces.

Pick a side. No nuance allowed.

It’s quite the week for politicians with generic names nobody has ever heard of.

The war in Israel is in danger of expanding.

America’s involvement in the Israeli and Ukrainian war efforts is more than advertised.

A competent leader versus a lunatic would seem an easy choice. Alas.

A high-stakes move.

What does “complete victory” look like?

Amid warnings of war crimes, no mercy is forthcoming.

A roundup of news and opinon.

Its economic bubble has burst, which may make them more dangerous.

The longtime politician and statesman is gone at 75.

There has been a steady decline the last five years.

He is not a master criminal.

Sigh.

America survived a civil war and the turmoil of the 1960s. Can we rebound again?

Do we have to pick one?

The state Senate has amended the bill considerably.

The would-be President is floundering as he tries to position himself.

As memory of the Cold War fades, so does support for American primacy.

Many in the Global South see the war very differently than we in the West.

Putin is losing but no one is winning.

Another bill doomed to die.

A second stash has led to a special counsel and political embarrassment.

The Robespierres in the House of Representatives are driving American politics in a predictably horrible direction.

The trailblazing television interviewer is gone at 93.

The Biden Administration wants clean energy but only for some.

A 34-year CIA officer’s thoughts.

Sports fans enjoy watching sports. How much does politics impact that?

Waaaay too little, waaay too late.

An unsavory practice that’s mostly legal.

The ayatollahs face the biggest challenge to their authority in the history of the regime.

The competition is slowly ratcheting up.

Normalcy is not a bad thing.