Outside the Beltway

The BBC’s security correspondent thinks so.

An idea, not a continent.

A bad idea backed up by worse reasoning.

He’s turned Russia from a G-8 member to an international pariah.

The threat is not idle and the options for responding are not good.

A phony annexation doesn’t hide that he’s badly losing his illegal war.

The Russian leader may be looking over his shoulder after imposing a draft.

As one does when one is confident of one’s policy choices.

New evidence changes the story ever so slightly.

Yet another casualty of the Ukraine invasion.

News and commentary of note.

A depressing magazine piece argues it is.

Up is down. Down is up.

Seeking to have a US citizen investigated by a foreign government based on innuendo is a major problem.

Jon Huntsman has resigned as Ambassador to Russia ahead of an anticipated bid to return as Utah’s Governor, a position he held 11 years ago.

A Soyuz mission sending two men to the International Space Station was forced to abort shortly after launch. Fortunately, the American and Russian on board returned safely to Earth.

The United States is apparently looking to Libya as a guide for upcoming talks with North Korea. The DPRK most likely sees the fate of that nation and its leader as a warning.

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

Everywhere one turns, it seems, there’s Russia.

American Astronaut Scott Kelly is back home after a year in orbit.

Last night, SpaceX successfully launched a rocket to the edge of space, deployed cargo, and returned to Earth. A huge and potentially revolutionary accomplishment.

A well-founded fear of ISIS seems to be drawing many of the former Soviet Republics in Central Asia closer to Moscow.

The Clinton Foundation’s foreign donations continue to be a problem for the Clinton campaign, and the story isn’t likely to go away any time soon.

A new report ties undisclosed donations to the Clinton Foundation to a Russian company’s acquisition of controlling interest in a major uranium mining company.

Vladimir Putin’s reception at the G-20 Summit in Australia has been less than warm thanks to recent events in Ukraine.

Quietly, oil prices have been falling for months now. That’s potentially a very big deal.

A disappointing setback.

While the world watches Ukraine, Central Asia could also be an area where Russia may seek to expand its territory.

Getting nuclear weapons out of Ukraine in 1994 was a good idea, not a mistake.

Not surprisingly, television and reality don’t really coincide.

Not surprisingly, the last man to lead the Soviet Union believes we’d be better off if it still existed.

Are American diplomats lying to reporters because they figure our citizens can’t handle the truth?