Outside the Beltway

President Trump is talking about pulling American troops out of Syria, but his own White House is contradicting him.

President Trump wants to send the military to the Mexican border. This is both unnecessary and a bad idea.

The network’s longtime “strategic analyst” is “ashamed” of his association because they’ve become a “propaganda machine.”

There won’t be any tanks, but it looks like President Trump will get his military parade.

President Trump’s military parade would come with a not insignificant cost.

Of course Donald Trump wants a military parade, it would be consistent with his delusions of grandeur.

With the Administration set to commit the United States to a forever war in Syria, it’s time for Congress to act.

Senator Al Franken faces new charges of sexually inappropriate conduct on the same day that House Democrats are beginning to pressure one of their members to resign.

Drip, Drip, Drip?

Bowe Bergdahl received a dishonorable discharge and reduction in rank, but will not serve time in prison.

Without mentioning his successor by name, former President Bush delivered a stinging rebuke to Trump and Trumpism.

President Trump sinks even lower.

In less than a month, voters in the Catalan region of Spain will be voting whether to remain part of Spain or assert independence.

Another Cabinet member rebukes the President for his comments about Charlottesville.

President Trump’s reaction to the terror attack in Spain included an easily debunked lie about one of America’s most decorated Generals.

The Plaid Is The New Black Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

My latest for War on the Rocks.

Turkey’s government appears to have rebuffed a coup attempt, but questions remains about the stability of the government going forward.

A journalistic legend has passed away just days after his retirement was officially announced.

Ronald Reagan famously claimed, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” I’m going through the process in reverse.

A month after raising $6,000,000 for “the troops,,” questions are being asked about where the money Donald Trump raised for veterans causes actually is at this point.

American forces will be deployed to a combat area in southern Afghanistan, reversing current policy and calling the President’s promised withdrawal date into even further doubt.

The Army Chief of Staff and Commandant of the Marine Corps told Congress that women should be required to register for the draft just like men are.

If Donald Trump is going to win in early states like Iowa or New Hampshire, he needs a ground game that will get voters to the polls. It doesn’t seem like he has much of one right now.

Why hasn’t anyone else thought of this?

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face a Court Martial for the circumstances that led to his being capture and held captive by the Taliban for five years.

Another day, another military escalation in the Middle East.

With the voting now seemingly a mere formality, the question becomes what kind of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will become.

The plan to withdraw nearly all American forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2016 is being put on hold.

The Afghan Army isn’t doing so well against the Taliban right now.

Robert Gates, the former Defense Secretary who now serves as head of the Boy Scouts Of America, has called for an end to that organizations ban on gay Scout Leaders.

The tributes to the troops you see during N.F.L. games were most likely bought and paid for with your tax dollars.

U.S forces in Afghanistan have been involved in missions that go far beyond the counterterror mission the Obama Administration said they would be limited to.

The Slay Boy Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Mission creep.

A new report from the New York Times confirms the adage that, in war, the first casualty is the truth.

Elected representatives, not soldiers, make policy. But there are times when generals should make a stand.

Congress seems ready to avoid having to vote on expanded attacks against the Islamic State

The rebels in eastern Ukraine continue to suffer setbacks, and Russia is massing troops on the border again.

Rick Perry is sending 1,000 members of the Texas National Guard to the border to do nothing.

Rick Perry is sending 1,000 members of the Texas National Guard to the border for no apparent reason.

Recent events in Iraq have opened up old domestic political arguments in the United States.

Things only seem to be getting worse in Iraq.

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

Not every soldier is a hero. Not even every POW.

An imperfect timetable, but better than nothing.

Former SecDef Robert Gates is among those who believes that the Iraq War unduly diverted attention from fighting the War On Terror.

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