Outside the Beltway

Republicans insist that uttering the words “Radical Islamic Terrorism” is somehow important in the fight against ISIS and other terror networks, but it is entirely unclear what doing so would accomplish.

In the wake of the attacks in Paris, some people have argued that American solidarity with France, in contrast to seeming disregard for tragedy elsewhere, is something we should feel bad about. That argument is ridiculous.

Violence leads to irrational policy responses. Who does that help?

Syrian refugees have quickly become political footballs in the United States in the wake of the Paris attacks, and it’s become an exceedingly shameful display of pandering and fearmongering by a group of largely Republican politicians.

Confirming speculation that had already been all but confirmed, we now know that it was a bomb that brought down a Russian passenger jet on October 31st.

In the wake of the attacks in Paris, there’s a strong impulse to do “something,” but that doesn’t mean we should do something utterly foolish. And a no-fly zone would be utterly foolish.

Much more so than in the past, the race for the Republican Presidential race has become a battle to define what it means to be a ‘conservative.’ Especially on issues like immigration and national security, one side seems to be winning the battle.

France launched its first attacks against ISIS even as the investigation into Friday’s attacks continues, but it’s not clear that the retaliation really accomplished anything.

The initial responses of the Republican candidates for President to the attacks in Paris are about what you’d expect, but it’s far too early to tell what impact the events of the weekend will have on the race for President here in the United States.

We are going to learn a lot about the GOP electorate in the coming weeks.

The news that at least some of the men who were involved in the terrorist attacks in Paris were among the refugees who have arrived in Europe since the summer is likely to complicate an already complicated situation.

This was not only predictable but predicted.

We are legally, morally, and practically obligated to respond. Let’s not do so stupidly.

We can draw a rather direct line from the Iraq war to the rise of ISIS.

France’s President blames ISIS, vows response, as death toll from Paris terror attacks stands at at least 127.

Reports of at least up to sixty dead, a hostage situation, and attacks at multiple locations in Paris.

Ben Carson displays incoherence and ignorance on foreign policy issues that disqualify him from being considered a serious candidate for President of the United States.

In the wake of President Obama’s to send Special Forces to Syria, a new poll finds the public doesn’t like the idea very much.

President Obama is set to sign a military spending bill that effectively guarantees that his 2008 campaign promise to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba will go unfulfilled.

A Federal Judge has ruled that the N.S.A. metadata collection program is unconstitutional, but it’s unclear if the ruling will have much of an impact.

The investigation continues, but the consensus seems to be growing that Metrojet 9268 was taken out by a bomb.

America’s much touted international coalition against ISIS is, essentially a Coalition In Name Only.

President Obama has apparently come to the same realization as many of his predecessors, that trying to craft a legacy by single-handedly bring about “Middle East Peace” is largely a waste of time.

Ben Carson’s campaign now admits that he fabricated a key portion of his biography.

In a new book, former President George H.W. Bush is highly critical of two of his son’s closest advisers in the White House.

American intelligence officials are saying that a Russian passenger jet that went down over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula was most likely brought down by a bomb.

President Obama came to office inheriting the legacy of one unnecessary war, and another that had faded from memory. He will leave office with Iraq and Syria in crisis, Europe uneasy, Yemen and Libya unstable breeding grounds for terrorism, and China doing whatever it is they’re doing.

Another day, another military escalation in the Middle East.

President Obama is reportedly considering a plan that would put American forces much closer to the ground war in the war against ISIS.

After an eleven hour day on Capitol Hill, it was Hillary Clinton 1 House Benghazi Committee 0.

As the House Select Benghazi Committee continues to question Hillary Clinton, a new poll finds that the vast majority of Americans view its work as political rather than part of an objective investigation.

What will likely be the apex of the House Select Committee’s investigation of the Benghazi attack begins and ends today with the testimony of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The U.S. and Russia have reached a much-needed deal to avoid inadvertent confrontations over the skies of Syria.

Another Republican Congressman has said that the Select Committee investigating the Benghazi attack is primarily concerned with scoring political points against Hillary Clinton.

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

A Dutch inquiry has largely confirmed what was widely believed about the fate of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17.

In the wake of failure that could have been easily foreseen, the Obama Administration is ending a program to train so-called “moderate” Syrian rebels.

In which I change my mind on an important topic.

President Obama is reportedly considering a plan that would keep up to 5,000 American troops in Afghanistan past the withdrawal date he had already set.