Outside the Beltway

My latest for The Atlantic: “For Europe, Some Fear a Conflict Between Union and Democracy”

Why does wine get so much more written treatment than beer?

The Feds fired Monster and now USAJobs is a disaster

President Obama’s surprise announcement Friday that all U.S. forces would leave Iraq in time to be home for the holidays has been roundly condemned. While there are real concerns about what happens next, there was no better alternative.

Google+ was supposed to be a Facebook killer. If their social media icons are any indication, it’s not happening.

Obama is trying to get into Guinness under “US President with Most Simultaneous Wars”

Rush Limbaugh, who three years ago said Mitt Romney embodied all three legs of the conservative stool today declared that Romney is not a conservative. He was right both times.

What’s the logic behind Iran’s alleged plot to commit terrorist attacks inside the United States?

A computer virus has infected America’s fleet of Predator and Reaper drones.

My latest for The Atlantic, “Romney’s Realist Foreign Policy Is a Lot Like Obama’s,” has been posted.

September’s jobs report was better than expected, but still not very good.

The story of Perry’s hunting lodge probably doesn’t tell us that much about Perry, but it is still telling.

Giving the President the unchecked power to kill American citizens raises some serious red flags.

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

62 percent of 21-year-olds aren’t in college.

During last night’s debate, Mitt Romney repeated a charge that has become part of the conservative zeitgeist. But is it true?

NATO is still seen as essential by 62 percent of both EU and U.S. respondents, demonstrating that the transatlantic military bond is still, despite a rough decade, firmly entrenched in American and European views of the world.

A mustachioed German has once again sent the world into panic. This time, it involves euros not tanks.

Killing’s our business and business is good.

What does the apparent outcome of the war in Libya mean for the so-called “Responsibility To Protect” doctrine?

Environmentalists are upset by President Obama’s decision to abandon stringent new smog regulations, but he made the right decision.

Political journalists aren’t like you and me. Well, you, anyway.

The Atlantic has published an essay I wrote yesterday morning titled “Libya After Qaddafi: Lessons from Iraq 2003.”

After months of fits and starts, it appears anti-Gaddafi forces are on the verge of victory.

What’s the bottom line in the Texas jobs discussion?

Rebecca J. Rosen explains why “Ridiculously Long CVS Receipts Will Remain Ridiculously Long.” And Mitch Hedberg ponders why they give you a receipt for a donut.

Is NATO prepared for what happens when they win?

So, apparently, Paul Ryan has expensive tastes in wine.

The Stephen Colbert Super PAC that began as a satire has now been blessed by the real FEC. What exactly this means is not yet clear.

The selective application of international law is here to stay.

As of June 17, Sarah Palin is a registered US trademark, serial number 85-170,226.

C. Boyden Gray, former White House Counsel and EU Ambassador, has signed on as the chair of the Jon Huntsman policy team, Mark Halperin reports.

My latest piece for The Atlantic, “Is the U.S.-European Relationship Really in Decline?” is posted.

Turkey has had elections, and the ruling AKP has retained a majority in parliament. The next major issue appears to be constitutional reform.

Steve Clemons is taking his talents to The Atlantic

It’s hard to get paid for work others will do for nothing.

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.

Now here’s a story you don’t see every day: The head coach of a major college basketball team leaving for a service academy.