Outside the Beltway

The idea of completely pulling out of Afghanistan after 2014 is very compelling.

Would a formal guarantee of Israel’s security deter Iran from whatever nuclear weapons development program it has?

NATO has agreed to deploy Patriot missiles along the Turkey-Syria border to protect Turkish airspace and territory, while making clear no escalation is intended.

The Republican Party needs a new message on foreign policy that is true to the conservative principles of the base and yet has a broad appeal to the American public.

If nothing else, the Petraeus affair is teaching us a valuable lesson in just how extensive the Surveillance State has become.

First in a series of posts looking at the substance of the final presidential debate, ostensibly about foreign policy.

President Obama is keeping the conflict in Syria at arms length. That’s a good idea.

The Center for Responsive Politics touts “Overwhelming Support for Obama” among military donors. The numbers show something more interesting: those associated with the military don’t give money to political campaigns.

My latest for The National Interest, “Why NATO Should Have Won the Nobel,” is out.

One of Mitt Romney’s own supporters didn’t like his foreign policy speech very much.

Let’s take a trip back in time to see what some conservatives thought 2012 would look like if Barack Obama were elected President.

Turkey’s military has attacked Syria several times since Syrian forces shelled a Turkish village.

Slowly but surely, we’re giving up on Afghanistan.

The Afghan Surge announced by President Obama in December 2009 is over. By any objective measurement, it was a failure.

For the fourth day, American and other embassies became the focus of mass protests in many Muslim nations.

President Obama gave an honest, nuanced answer to a complex question. So, of course, he’s taking it back.

Chamake Mauriene reveals America’s secret to world domination in Pravda.

The candidates aren’t talking about the war in Afghanistan very much, but that’s mostly because the American people don’t want them to.

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.

My latest for The National Interest, “Ankara Puts NATO on Speed Dial,” has been posted.

Following yesterday’s shoot-down of a Turkish F-5 by Syria has once again raised the specter of NATO action under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. It’s not going to happen.

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

Mitt Romney is criticizing the President over his Syria policy, but his alternative ideas aren’t very good.

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

In office less than a day, Francois Hollande has already been forced to admit he can’t withdraw French forces from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

My first piece for the Christian Science Monitor, co-authored with my Atlantic Council collegue Barry Pavel, has been posted.

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

My latest for The National Interest,Insurmountable Obstacles in Afghanistan, has been posted.

My latest for The National Interest, “Turkey Cries Wolf,” has been posted.

Dan Drezner declares that “Policy wonks ignore political science journals at their peril.”

Russia is the most significant geopolitical player actively opposing significant American interests.

An attack on Iran is likely to unleash consequences that we are unprepared to deal with.

My latest for The National Interest, “Ending the Afghan Slog,” has posted.

A tragic incident in Afghanistan that’s likely to have tragic consequences.