Outside the Beltway

There’s not a whole lot the United States can do to respond effectively and proportionally to North Korea’s hacking attack against Sony.

The Fast and Furriest Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

In the wake of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on C.I.A. torture, some have suggested that eight years of Jack Bauer helped make torture more acceptable to the American public.

The “ticking time bomb scenario” is a TV trope and, therefore, is a terrible guide for making policy.

Vice-President Cheney’s amoral defense of torture has come to define how most conservatives view the issue, and that’s a problem.

The Justice Department won’t force James Risen to testify in a legal investigation, but faces a new choice in a different case.

What now?

A dark and regrettable time in American history is finally seeing the light of day.

The shocking has become routine. We’re no safer because of it.

The House Intelligence Committee has concluded that the conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11/2012 attack in Benghazi are not supported by the evidence. That’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind, though.

The CIA has always separated its core spying and analysis functions; that may soon change.

What happened Tuesday? And what does it tell us about 2016?

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul continues to challenge Republican orthodoxy on foreign policy, and that’s a good thing.

The U.S. embargo of Cuba, and our lack of diplomatic recognition of the government in Havana, is an outdated relic of the Cold War. It’s time to end it.

Frank Foer proclaims, “Amazon Must Be Stopped. It’s too big. It’s cannibalizing the economy.”

The Semper Venti Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Apparently, the buck doesn’t stop in the Oval Office these days.

WaPo’s Emily Wax-Thibodeaux reports that, “At CIA Starbucks, even the baristas are covert.”

Everyone knows that Israel has had nuclear weapons for decades. Don’t tell anyone—it’s a secret.

The C.I.A. has admitted spying on Senate investigators.

George Will has come under criticism for pointing out what seems to be an undeniable fact.

The US intelligence community is gambling that it can be more efficient through a public-private partnership than going it alone.

There’s a new round of allegations about American spying on Germany.

My latest collaboration with Butch Bracknell, “Ahmed Abu Khattala and the Miranda-Rights Question,” has posted in The National Interest.

The justice system works, there’s no need to scrap it.

One of Washington’s giants has passed away.

Apparently, the EPA needs to start environmental cleanup a little closer to home.

Brian Schweitzer has a reputation for saying things that most politicians wouldn’t, but that may be just what he needs to get attention if he runs in 2016.

Not surprisingly, Bill Clinton is the most admired recent President according to a new poll, but his predecessor seems to be underrated.

Ahmed Abu Kattalah, the alleged ringleader of the September 2012 attack in Benghazi, has been arrested.

Will ISIS be able to consolidate and hold the territory it’s taken in Iraq?

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

The Sharks Vs. Gas Jets Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

In her upcoming book, Hillary Clinton strikes a defiant tone against conservative’s continued interest in the Benghazi attack.

Could the upcoming House Select Committee on Benghazi actually accomplish something useful?

A new set of emails is reviving the old partisan arguments about the attack in Benghazi.

Middle East peace talks are apparently in such bad shape that the U.S. is thinking of releasing Jonathan Pollard as an incentive to Israel.

A Jewish-American OSS hero has been denied the nation’s highest military honor.

President Obama’s new rules for killing Americans with drones are proving inconvenient.

The New York Times Benghazi report raises as many questions as it purports to answer.

.Many have tried to justify N.S.A. data mining on the theory that it could have prevented 9/11. Is that true?