Outside the Beltway

Expanding on events that have been going on for months, two oil tankers were attacked today near the entrance to the Persian Gulf

Beginning tomorrow in a British courtroom, the United States will begin the process of having Julian Assange extradited to the United States to face espionage and other charges.

President Trump says that he would not spy on a rival regime like North Korea, once again making one wonder where his loyalties lie.

President Trump says in a new interview that he would be willing to break the law to get “oppo research” on an opponent.

Almost eighteen years after the greatest terrorist attack on our country, we haven’t taken care of those who risked it all.

The Trump Administration continues to misstate what the DPRK agreed to regarding its nuclear program. That’s why talks between the two nations are stalled.

Thirty years ago, when the veterans of D-Day were still relatively young and still largely with us, President Reagan delivered one of the finest speeches of his Presidency.

Seventy-five years ago today, American soldiers and our allies undertook an invasion that helped change the world.

The last of the World War II code talkers from the Mohawk tribe has passed away at the age of 94

Jared Kushner’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan is still awaiting release, but it already appears to be dead on arrival.

A misleading, annoying media trope that needs to go away.

The Navy is confirming that it did receive a request from the White House to keep the USS John McCain “out of sight” during the President’s visit to an American base in Japan.

A new report indicates that Russian social media trolls are involved in spreading anti-vaccination propaganda in the United States and elsewhere.

A thinly-sourced but utterly believable tale of evil.

White House aides asked the Navy to keep the USS John McCain “out of sight” while the President visited a Navy base in Japan earlier this week.

The DPRK sent a message to the United States over the weekend, but it’s unlikely the President was listening.

Late last week it appeared as if a 90-year-old veteran of the Korean War would be buried without anyone to say goodbye. Then the word got out, and thousands of people responded.

This year’s graduating class at West Point includes a record number of African-American women.

President Trump is in Japan, and while there is is dismissing the seriousness of new North Korean missile tests that threaten Japan.

Yet another violation of norms by the 45th President.

A Federal Judge has put at least a partial hold on President’s Trump’s effort to use a “national emergency” to fund his border wall.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been indicted on seventeen counts under the Espionage Act arising out of his role in the Chelsea Manning affair.

John Walker Lindh, the so-called “American Taliban,” has been released from prison but the war in which he was captured goes merrily along.

President Trump is reportedly planning to pardon several American servicemen convicted of war crimes, an action that would be an insult to everyone who has ever worn an American uniform.

The way the Navy and Congress have handled this has been abysmal.

Some 2020 Democratic hopefuls are turning to a surprising source for counsel.

Taiwan has become the first nation in Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriage.

A new poll indicates that at least some Democrats continue to hold Biden’s 2002 vote in favor of the Iraq War.

One of the last of the Navajo Code Talkers, who provided the U.S. military with an unbreakable code in the fight against Japan in World War Two, has died at the age of 97.

Attorney General William Barr has opened a new investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation, a move that seems suspiciously political.

The White House claims to want to talk to Iran but the President’s actions make clear that negotiation is the furthest thing from his mind.

Disturbing news in the Eddie Gallagher case.

94-year-old Bill Dawson has a story to tell and is the only one left alive to tell it.

President Trump’s foreign policy has largely been a failure, and there are specific reasons why.

Chelsea Manning, who was being held in jail for refusing to comply with a Grand Jury subpoena, was released yesterday but it’s likely to only be a temporary freedom.

As he had threatened, President Trump has imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods, making a bad situation even worse.

The President’s eldest son has been subpoenaed to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding Trump campaign contacts with Russia.

Patrick Shanahan, who has been serving as Acting Defense Secretary since James Mattis left in December, is being selected to replace Mattis in that position.

While he campaigned on a message of restraint, Donald Trump has largely adopted the interventionist foreign policies of his predecessors.

The Trump Administration is taking an unnecessarily militaristic approach toward Iran, and that poses real dangers for the country and for the Middle East.

The President revived an old debate but added some new twists.

The raw number of vessels is not the best metric of naval power.

This could be a very big deal – unless it isn’t.

As the Friday deadline for trade talks with China approaches, President Trump is threatening even more tariffs.

With the apparent failure of the coup attempt in Venezuela, what happens next?

President Trump’s obsequious effort to please Russian President Vladimir Putin continues.

Sexual misconduct in the military continues to frustrate observers.

Republicans have aborted President Trump’s lofty plan for a $2 trillion infrastructure deal just days after it was conceived.

The former Kentucky coal executive, Republican fundraiser, and Ambassador to Canada would replace Nikki Haley in what used to be a position dominated by more experienced diplomats.