Outside the Beltway

During the campaign, Donald Trump promised to undo the nuclear weapons deal with Iran. Now his Administration is signaling that, at least for now, the deal will stay in place.

North Korea is threatening another nuclear test, the United States is threatening retaliation, and China is warning of a ‘gathering storm’ on the Korean Peninsula.

Donald Trump seems to be surprised that being President requires actual work.

Rex Tillerson, “the phantom of Foggy Bottom.”

Trump appears to undervaluing existing bureaucracies listening more to hacks and ideologues.

President Trump has actually made a good pick for National Security Adviser. As with the rest of his foreign policy team, though, the question is if he’ll listen to him.

An unsurprising ‘resignation’ from the shortest-serving National Security Adviser in history.

Steve Bannon is in. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Director of National Intelligence are out. Sort of.

While it seems a strange choice at first blush, it’s a good one.

A controversial retired General has been tapped to be President-Elect Trump’s top White House foreign policy voice.

Good news for Jason Rezaian and four other Americans, and another example of how diplomacy can help resolve disputes that seemed irresolvable.

The North Koreans claim to have made a major advance in their nuclear weapons program, but there are many reasons to be skeptical.

President Obama has apparently come to the same realization as many of his predecessors, that trying to craft a legacy by single-handedly bring about “Middle East Peace” is largely a waste of time.

After 30 years in prison, Jonathan Pollard will be released later this year.

The Administration announced changes to the way the government handles hostage situations, but it really doesn’t amount to much.

Was this simply ordinary intelligence collection? Or something more insidious?

Fresh off an election victory, British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to propose a series of new measures to crackdown on extremism that raise serious civil liberties concerns.

The idea that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists is simply not historically accurate, so should we be reconsidering the policy of not negotiating with ISIS for the release of Western hostages?

The CIA has always separated its core spying and analysis functions; that may soon change.

The latest ISIS video is horrible and barbaric but we should not take the bait they are offering before considering the consequences of our actions going forward.

Always as many military personnel identify as Independents as with the GOP.

The president is frustrated.

A major escalation.

As talk begins of expanding the war against ISIS into Syria, it is becoming long past time for Congress to exercise its Constitutional function.

American journalist James Foley has been beheaded by the terrorist network calling itself the Islamic State.

The justice system works, there’s no need to scrap it.

For some reason, President Obama wants to arm so-called “moderate” Syrian rebels.

If President Obama does decide to use military force in Iraq, he should be required to seek Congressional approval beforehand.

The Iraqi government seems to be panicking.

Good intentions and good results aside, the President’s disrespect for the Rule Of Law should concern everyone.

Yet another autiobiography invites public discussion about her accomplishments.

A new set of emails is reviving the old partisan arguments about the attack in Benghazi.

A new book by former SecDef Robert Gates is making political waves in Washington power circles, but will it matter to ordinary Americans?

The North Koreans are back to their old tricks.

Jofi Joseph was unmasked as the obnoxious @NatSecWonk and fired by the White House.

Raymond Pritchett longs for the good old days of Tom Donilan, Hillary Clinton, and Leon Panetta.

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