Outside the Beltway

Native American names are everywhere.

My latest for The Hill, co-authored with Butch Bracknell: “Explaining the Sinclair demotion.”

The Kentucky Senator and former Vice-President are at the front of a battle that will unfold inside the GOP as we head toward 2016.

Retired General Keith Alexander is hawking his services to banks at princely sums.

Stephanie Kwolek was looking for a way to improve tires. She invented a life-saving material.

The Army is sending a strong message on sexual assault. It picked the wrong poster boy.

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

If President Obama does decide to use military force in Iraq, he should be required to seek Congressional approval beforehand.

Iraq is falling apart for reasons that have nothing to do with President Obama or his policies.

Retired Marine lawyer Butch Bracknell and I tackle the subject for The Hill.

My latest for War on the Rocks, “HAGEL: CLIMBING OUT FROM UNDER THE BUS,” has posted.

Thanks largely to Administration mistakes, the Bergdahl deal is not going over well.

Mostly because of politics, the hopes of some and fears of others will never be realized.

There’s essentially no analogue in the civilian justice system. Here’s why.

The President’s well-intentioned campaign against military sex crimes has backfired.

Trying to make some sense out of a week of outrage.

For the fourth time in 30 years, an American President spoke at Normandy to honor a day of sacrifice and triumph.

If someone had seen the signals, perhaps Bowe Bergdahl never would’ve wandered off base and gotten captured.

Barring shocking developments, General Joe Dunford will be the 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps.

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.

Good intentions aren’t an excuse for failure to follow the law.

It’s good that Bowe Bergdahl is free, but questions remain about how he went missing that need to be answered.

Petty politics, or valid concerns?

Eric Shinseki resigned as Secretary of Veterans Affairs this morning, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.

Once again, President Obama’s attempt to communicate a foreign policy vision falls short.

An imperfect timetable, but better than nothing.

Some odd developments in Nigeria

Today’s foreign-policy disputes rarely consider the way America’s response to one crisis might affect another.

There’s plenty of blame to go around.

James Oliphant asks, “Why Hasn’t the GOP Treated Fort Hood Like Benghazi?”

Hubris.

Not every tragedy can be resolved with a military response.