Outside the Beltway

His critics are focused on the wrong problem.

A 34-year CIA officer’s thoughts.

The ayatollahs face the biggest challenge to their authority in the history of the regime.

A blast from the past.

The author of “Lonesome Dove,” “Terms of Endearment,” and so many more great novels is gone at 84.

An American drone strike has taken out the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, a move likely to significantly increase tensions across the Middle East.

Amid protests over American airstrikes, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has become a target.

An empty column with a seed of one good point buried in a bunch of nothing.

Tensions are increasing in the Persian Gulf thanks to a collection of actions by Iran, the United States, and United Kingdom.

Realistically, President Trump has very few options when it comes to dealing with Iran and its nuclear program.

The Trump Administration unveiled new sanctions against Iran yesterday. They’re unlikely to accomplish the entirely unrealistic goals the President claims to have in mind.

A possible way forward?

The President was up late last night sending an incredibly over-the-top tweet directed at Iran.

North Korea’s Dear Leader has baited the President of the United States into a trap.

Anti-government protests are spreading in Iran.

The U.S is joining the rest of the world in refusing to recognize the independence referendum conducted by Iraqi Kurds.

On the special election for US Senate in Alabama

Iranian voters have re-elected Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate whose election in 2013 was largely responsible for the shifts in policy that made the international agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear research program possible.

Trump’s combination amateur hour/tough guy approach is not going to make the world a safer place, nor will it advance US national interest.

In the end, there was no other logical choice.

Donald Trump takes his war with Fox News Channel up a notch, saying he won’t participate in Thursday’s Republican Presidential Debate.

Another hopeful step forward, thanks to diplomacy.

Ten American sailors detained by Iranian forces late Tuesday were released early today, something that seems to clearly demonstrate the value of diplomacy.

Senate Republicans have done more harm to the goal of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons than they have done good.

Iran and the United States are on the same side in the fight against ISIS, whether they like it or not.

The First World War played an intriguing role in the birth of the radical Islam we are dealing with today.

President Obama spoke with Iranian President Rouhani today, the first such contact between the nations in 34 years.

Wherein I engage in a little intra-blog debate.

President Obama’s remarks before the United Nations were, at least in one particular part, disappointing.

Ronald Reagan was leading Jimmy Carter long before the two men met in Cleveland on October 28th, 1980.

An attack on Iran’s nuclear program would be far more complicated than a one-off attack.

Lt Gen Benny Gantz says Iran “is going step by step to the place where it will be able to decide whether to manufacture a nuclear bomb. It hasn’t yet decided to go the extra mile.”

Rick Santorum’s foreign policy positions are troubling in many respects.

R.I.P.

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

The Justice Department claims to have disrupted a major Iranian-backed terrorist attack in the United States.

Examining the impact of current events requires stepping back from them just a little bit.