Outside the Beltway

Tehran-backed forces are routinely shooting at American forces.

The laws of armed conflict aren’t designed for this war.

When the intellectually correct answer isn’t politically possible.

Hasan Minhaj is a serial liar. Does it matter?

A brilliant national security leader is gone too soon.

A precision drone strike on a balcony in Kabul took out a longtime nemesis.

An interesting statement from his National Security Advisor.

Pundits like Thomas Friedman struggle with premature prognostication.

How do we know when our government is telling us the truth?

The American way of war kills a lot of noncombatants.

President Biden was advised to keep troops in Afghanistan . . . for no apparent reason.

An unsatisfying first(?) response.

The evacuation could soon become a terrorist target.

Those expecting Bernie Sanders’ agenda are sorely disappointed.

The fecklessness of U.S. human rights policy in full display.

The live coverage of Wednesday’s assault on American democracy underplayed its seriousness.

The man behind the 1998 embassy attacks is dead.

A lame duck President has fired his Secretary of Defense and replaced him in probably violation of the law.

Cops aren’t soldiers or spies but fellow citizens.

Outside agitators, including white supremacist groups, are shaping public perception of the George Floyd protests.

After a two-year investigation, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice found no basis for the conspiracy theories being pushed by the Republicans regarding the Russia investigation.

There’s apparently big news in the fight against ISIS.

ISIS is quickly taking advantage of the abrupt American withdrawal from northern Syria.

The United States is withdrawing its small force from Northern Syria, clearing the way for a Turkish invasion that will likely
aim to wipeout the Kurdish forces in the region.

The real crime is what’s legal.

Just over a week after Dan Coats announced he was stepping own as Director of National Intelligence, there are more shakeups at the top of the U.S. intelligence community.

President Trump’s nominee to be the next Director of National Intelligence is quite simply not qualified for the position he has been nominated to.

The legendary figure was in charge of strategic forecasting at the Pentagon for decades.

Another white supremacist attack raises disturbing questions about our information environment.

Terrorists aren’t walking across the desert to get here. Flying is so much easier.

President Trump has lost another one of his top advisers on the fight against ISIS.

The Pentagon is being ordered to draw up plans to withdraw roughly one-half of the American forces remaining in Afghanistan. It’s about time.

American troops have been in Afghanistan for seventeen years now, it’s time to bring them all home.

As the Saudis continue to dissemble and put forward an utterly implausible explanation for the death of Jamal Khashoggi, the Trump Administration shows no sign of having a spine.

The investigation of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is inching closer to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, but it seems unlikely to impact his hold on power.

America’s tradition of unlimited free expression increases the danger of violence.

American involvement in the genocidal Saudi war on Yemen is getting more complicated. This is a bad idea.

British authorities have charged two members of Russian military intelligence in connection with a poisoning attack on British attack.

On the eve of the NATO Summit, President Trump continues to engage in tactics that seem to serve no purpose other than to undermine America’s most important and successful alliance.

Despite advice from advisers, the President continues to use unsecured devices to communicate outside of White House channels.

ProPublica has retracted an explosive but erroneous report about the nominee to be the next CIA Director.

By all accounts, Gina Haspel is exceedingly well qualified to be the next C.I.A. Director, but she has a troubling past that the Senate will need to at least force her to answer questions about.

A month that was highlighted by the capture of the ISIS capital city of Raqqa ends with an apparent lone wolf ISIS-inspired attack in New York City

The capital of the purported caliphate declared by ISIS has apparently fallen, but that doesn’t mean the end of ISIS. In fact, it may make the group more dangerous.

Iraqi military forces begin to crack down against Iraqi Kurds after last month’s independence referendum.

America’s longest war seems likely to soon turn into America’s never-ending war.

The London subway was hit by a bomb during the morning rush hour. Authorities are treating it as a terrorist attack.

President Trump’s Afghanistan policy sounds awfully familiar, and it’s likely to lead to the same results.

Based on initial reports, Trump’s Afghanistan policy looks a lot like what we’ve seen for the past sixteen years.

At least thirteen dead in an apparent terrorist attack in Spain.