Outside the Beltway

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

Mitt Romney called Russia our “number one geopolitical foe.” Is he right?

Rising fuel prices are starting to hurt the President in the polls, but it’s unclear what that means for November.

The differences between the parties when it comes to Iran are far less substantial than the candidate’s rhetoric would suggest.

Peter Berkowitz has presented a flawed legal argument for attacking Iran.

Will louder threats move the Iranian regime to back down?

We need to have opinions on a subject as serious as war with Iran.

He may be praising Ronald Reagan now, but Newt Gingrich was singing a different tune in the 1980s.

Mitt Romney is making claims about Naval readiness that are, at best, misleading.

The truth about a Second Obama Term is that it likely wouldn’t be all that remarkable.

To Republicans, even thinking about engaging in diplomacy is enough to accuse the President of appeasement.

Bernard Finel argues that those of us arguing against war in Iran are doing it wrong. He’s right.

If there’s anyone out there, why haven’t we heard from them yet?

How can we know what happens next in North Korea when we didn’t even know Kim Jong-il had died?

Big news from North Korea.

The final candidate clash of 2011 didn’t lead to the sparring that some expected.

After 3,193 days and more than 4,000 lives, the American war in Iraq is officially at an end.

Time Magazine has chosen “The Protester” as its Person Of The Year. Let the outrage ensue.

Yesterday’s encounter between Jon Huntsman and Newt Gingrich was less than it could have been.

A list of international contingencies to worry about in the coming year. Handy as a stocking stuffer!

We’re hearing the howls of a wounded bear.

Huntsman will gain little if any traction and none of the frontrunners really helped or hurt themselves.

The Secretary of Defense has some words of warning for those advocating military action against Iran.

An attack against Iran’s nuclear weapons research facility won’t be an easy thing.

It’s time for another round of speculation about Iran and its nuclear program.

Herman Cain’s promise to rely on “experts” should raise eyebrows everywhere.

Do we place too much importance on performance in presidential debates?

Herman Cain’s foreign policy consists of little more than deliberate ignorance.

My latest for The Atlantic, “The Thorniest Question: When Can a President Order an American Killed?” has been posted.

Are we placing far too much importance on how someone does in a two hour so-called “debate”?

Last night’s Republican debate is likely to raise more questions about Rick Perry in the minds of voters.

Measuring our progress a decade after the 9/11 attacks

Former Oregon governor and long-time US Senator Mark Hatfield has died.

The Air Force has suspended a course that teaches nuclear officers that Christian ethics permit them to do their job.

Tim Pawlenty’s foreign policy speech shows him siding with the hawks, and joining in the neocon distortion of Reagan’s legacy.

To paraphrase Rumsfeld: you go to the ballot box with the candidate you have, not the candidate you want, or would like to have.

While President Obama has had some amusing gaffes on his trip to London, including getting the year wrong in the guest book and an awkward toast to the Queen, his speech to Parliament today hit all the right notes.

I’ve begun to wonder about the future of U. S. security policy. This isn’t a serious analytical post; it’s just what I call “musing”—committing disorganized thoughts to writing.