Outside the Beltway

An attack on Iran’s nuclear program would be far more complicated than a one-off attack.

Another platform controversy?

What should have been a simple parliamentary procedure, conducted under President Obama’s orders no less, turned into something of an embarrassment.

General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent a message to Israel last week.

A new IAEA report may make an Israeli strike on Iran in the near future more likely than it has ever been.

Mitt Romney’s speech last night was the best he’s ever given, but it’s impact may have been undercut but several odd production decisions that preceded it.

Left with a choice between their hawkish foreign policy and their supposed commitment to fiscal conservatives, Republicans will, without fail, spend the nation into debt.

Today’s convention activities will include the opening salvos of an attack on the President’s foreign policy. This strikes me as a mistake.

Under German law, this ceremony, which Jews believe dates from the time of Abraham, is now illegal.

President Obama issued a warning to Syria today over its chemical weapons stockpiles.

Some troubling, sad, and downright puzzling stories

The war in Afghanistan has not been a topic of discussion in the Presidential campaign, but that’s largely because there’s not much left to talk about.

Romney’s foreign tour didn’t go quite as well as planned, but it’s unclear how much the minor gaffes will actually matter.

Since Israel’s system is far more “socialist” by American rhetorical standards, I am not sure what his point was.

According to a new report, the CIA considers Israel to be an espionage threat.

The Romney campaign has hurt the press corps’ feelings.

The US government has an odd and unproductive view on the concept of talks.

Several key members of the Syrian government were killed in a suicide bomb attack today in Damascus.

A nine month Al Jazeera investigations indicates that poison may have played a role in Yasser Arafat’s 2004 death.

Are the Stuxnet and Flame attacks the opening shots in a dangerous new era of secret war?

One law professor suggests that we need to double the size of the Supreme Court. Is he right?

The candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood is the next President of Egypt, but the political future of Egypt itself remains quite murky.

Mitt Romney believes he could take America to war without Congressional involvement.

Several conservatives are touting a poll that purports to show a 22 point drop in support for Obama by Jewish voters in New York. Is it believable?

The first shots have been fired in cyberspace. How will it end?

Romney comes down firmly on the guns side of guns and butter.

We, as Americans, tend to have a limited knowledge of the institutional variation that exists across democratic systems around the world.

Thoughts on tradition, church, and state.

Is there a Romney Doctrine?

Mitt Romney is proposing one of the biggest peacetime increases in military spending in U.S. history.

Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb isn’t as easy as most think, Jacques Hymans argues in the current Foreign Policy.

When Dan Drezner tweeted “I’m not going to read anything dumber than this today,” my inclination was to scoff. He actually undersold it.

Once upon a time, Jimmy Carter was everyone’s favorite former president. Not so much these days, especially among other former presidents.