Outside the Beltway

The gang calling itself the Islamic State has destroyed another historical site.

The Atlantic has a fascinating cover story by Graeme Wood titled “What ISIS Really Wants.”

ISIS apparently now has a foothold in Libya, and is making inroads in Yemen.

Daniel Larison is far less ambivalent about our war on ISIL than me.

Explaining my ambivalence around the latest escalation in our intervention.

Most in the international relations community are not amused by the president’s National Security Strategy.

President Obama will ask Congress to authorize a war he started six months ago.

Pressure is building on the Administration to send military aid to Ukraine, but it would be a very bad idea.

A big change in an important nation in the most volatile part of the world.

ISIS owns more territory than it did when the US bombing campaign began.

The men responsible for the Charlie Hebdo massacre are dead, but the problems for France, and the rest of Europe, may just be at the beginning.

The news cycle in 2014 seemed to be dominated by a series of real and phony “crises” that grabbed our attention for short periods of time.

The costs of more than a decade of war are far higher than many ever thought, and we’re still paying the price for the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bush Administration while they were being fought.

For a year that started out with regaining long-lost territory in Ukraine, 2014 is not ending so well for Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

As expected, the Senate passed the so-called “Cromnibus,” but not before a self-aggrandizing maneuver by Ted Cruz ended up being exploited by Democrats to pass outstanding nominations.

The abrupt departure of Chuck Hagel says much more about Administration policy than it does about Chuck Hagel.

Our supposed Syrian allies seem to have a different idea of who the enemy in Syria actually is.

The shocking has become routine. We’re no safer because of it.

The House Intelligence Committee has concluded that the conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11/2012 attack in Benghazi are not supported by the evidence. That’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind, though.

You thought the American combat role in Afghanistan would end on December 31st? Think again.

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.

As things stand right now, there is no legitimate legal authorization for the President’s war against ISIS, and that’s largely because Congress has failed to act.

Mission creep.

There’s more to life than politics. Unfortunately, there are many Americans who don’t seem to recognize that fact.

The GOP added to its majority in the House, giving it the biggest majority it has had since Truman was President.

The Supreme Court will decide if Congress can override American foreign policy when it comes to declaring who has dominion over Jerusalem.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul continues to challenge Republican orthodoxy on foreign policy, and that’s a good thing.

Yesterday’s apparent terrorist shooting in Ottawa reveals again a phenomenon that seems difficult if not impossible to stop in advance.

Who should own antiquity?

The Turks have entered the conflict in Syria. Unfortunately for the United States, it’s not on the side we would prefer.

The U.S. Air Campaign Against ISIS Is Much Bigger Than You Think

So far at least, the air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria do not seem to be having much of an impact.

Remember the border crisis? Yea, it’s not much of a crisis these days.

ISIS at the Gates Edition.

A massacre is about to unfold “a stone’s throw” from Turkey’s border.

Corporal Jordan Spears died in a V-22 accident in operations against the Islamic State.

It has nothing to do with winning, but it does have a lot to do with the foreign policy debate inside the Republican Party.

Speaker Boehner wants to delay a vote on the ISIS war until January, but any such debate will be meaningless because Congress has already abdicated responsibility.

Apparently, the buck doesn’t stop in the Oval Office these days.

The American public’s support for the President’s war against ISIS has its limits.

The Khorasan Group is, functionally, al Qaeda. Or is it?

The TSA is up to its usual shenanigans.