Outside the Beltway

On North Korea, there are two options, deterrence and war. And only one of those options makes sense.

A month that was highlighted by the capture of the ISIS capital city of Raqqa ends with an apparent lone wolf ISIS-inspired attack in New York City

Due mostly to cowardice and naked self-interest, you shouldn’t expect many other Republicans to speak out against Trump in the near future.

America has become involved in conflicts around the world, largely without the knowledge of the American people or the consent of their representatives, and it doesn’t appear that’s going to end anytime soon.

The White House believes that it is ‘inappropriate’ to question Generals. This argument is not only wrong, it’s downright dangerous.

White House Chief Of Staff John Kelly publicly defended the President’s call to a military widow yesterday, but he got several facts wrong in the process.

The capital of the purported caliphate declared by ISIS has apparently fallen, but that doesn’t mean the end of ISIS. In fact, it may make the group more dangerous.

President Trump sinks even lower.

Two Federal Judges have issued orders blocking the latest version of President Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban.

Now Donald Trump is using the death of American soldiers to tell lies about his predecessor.

Iraqi military forces begin to crack down against Iraqi Kurds after last month’s independence referendum.

Despite the fact that everyone seems to agree that Iran is complying with the nuclear weapons deal, President Trump took steps that will undermine that agreement and do serious damage to American credibility around the world.

Vice-President Pence left an Indianapolis Colts game early in what was obviously a cynical pre-planned publicity stunt.

Tensions continue to rise between the White House and Foggy Bottom.

The U.S is joining the rest of the world in refusing to recognize the independence referendum conducted by Iraqi Kurds.

Roy Moore’s victory in Alabama is raising fears of a wider battle in the Republican Party heading into 2018.

Kurds in Iraq voted overwhelmingly for independence in a non-binding referendum, and the result is threatening to create a new conflict in the Middle East.

The Trump Administration has issued a new travel ban to replace the temporary one that expired late last week, but it still suffers from most of the same defects as its initial efforts.

In a marked departure from previous American Presidents, Donald Trump delivered a highly belligerent speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

America’s longest war seems likely to soon turn into America’s never-ending war.

Once again, Congress is abdicating its Constitutional responsibilities.

Arguments advanced by those advocating a bill that would prevent Americans from participating in a boycott of Israel would not violate the First Amendment appear to be without merit.

Trump isn’t going to win any regional popularity awards in LA.

More provocative action from North Korea, and another reminder that there are no easy answers to the problems represented by the Kim regime.

Donald Trump’s Secretary of State is refusing to defend his response to the violence in Charlottesville.

President Trump’s Afghanistan policy sounds awfully familiar, and it’s likely to lead to the same results.

Based on initial reports, Trump’s Afghanistan policy looks a lot like what we’ve seen for the past sixteen years.

The First Amendment protects the rights even of the people who gathered in Charlottesville to promote hatred and violence, However, it does not shield them from the consequences of that speech.

President Trump’s reaction to the terror attack in Spain included an easily debunked lie about one of America’s most decorated Generals.

Things are getting far more complicated on the Korean Peninsula. Diplomacy isn’t working, and a military option would most likely lead to disaster.

Plus some comparisons of Trump/Obama and Trump/Bill Clinton.

A step backward on civil rights from a President who claimed he would be a friend to the LGBT community.

With the Administration’s six-month point approaching, Donald Trump continues to lag in the polls.

Donald Trump is the most unpopular incoming President in more than eighty years.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Federal Government cannot deny trademark protection because a requested trademark is “disparaging” to a racial or ethnic group.

President Trump took to Twitter again this morning and promptly shot himself in the foot.

Donald Trump’s first overseas trip went about as badly as you’d expect it would.

A legendary statesman has passed.

The Administration suffers another defeat in defense of its effort to ban Muslim immigrants.

A night of carnage and depravity in the United Kingdom.

Iranian voters have re-elected Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate whose election in 2013 was largely responsible for the shifts in policy that made the international agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear research program possible.

Last week was one of the worst week’s the still-young Trump Administration has faced, and new tracking poll data is starting to reflect that.

America’s longest war is still going on, and President Trump’s advisers want him to continue his predecessor’s policies of continuing to re-expand American forces in a war that has seemingly no end.

A majority of Americans support last week’s airstrikes in Syria but are skeptical of any expansion beyond that.

It’s not at all clear that there is a useful strategy at work here.