Jeb Bush Has His Own Iraq Quagmire

Iraq seems to becoming a political headache for yet another member of the Bush family.

Seymour Hersh’s Osama Bin Laden Claims Don’t Pass The Smell Test

Seymour Hersh is out with a conspiracy theory about the death of Osama bin Laden that just doesn’t make sense.

Jeb Bush: Sure, I’d Invade Iraq Just Like My Brother Did

Like most Republicans, Jeb Bush either fails or refuses to recognize what an utter, unjustifiable disaster his brother’s decision to invade Iraq actually was.

Jeb Bush Says His Top Middle East Adviser Is George W. Bush

Jeb Bush told a group of supporters that his brother is his top Middle East policy adviser. This strikes me as being a bad idea.

Rand Paul Says It Was A Mistake To Depose Saddam Hussein And Qaddafi

Rand Paul bucks Republican orthodoxy on Iraq, Libya, and negotiations with Iran.

Saudi King Salman Shakes Up Royal Family Succession

Saudi Arabia’s new King has shaken up the Royal Family, and that could have interesting results.

Marco Rubio’s Supposed Expertise On Foreign Policy Leaves Much To Be Desired

Marco Rubio is often described as one of the GOP’s leaders on foreign policy, but a close look reveals a decided lack of substance.

David Petraeus Given Slap on Wrist for Espionage Act Violation

The former CIA Director received no jail time and a nuisance-level fine in exchange for a guilty plea to espionage charges.

On Foreign Policy, Jeb Bush Would Be Another George W. Bush

Like nearly all of his fellow Republicans, Jeb Bush has adopted the disastrous foreign policy views that typified his brother’s Presidency.

Sen. Tom Cotton Thinks War Against Iran Would Be Easy And Painless

One freshman Senator seems to think that war with Iran would be easy, just like Republicans used to think that war against Iraq would be easy.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Convicted On All Charges In Boston Marathon Bombing Trial

An unsurprising outcome as we approach the second anniversary of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

Rand Paul Dodges Questions About Changes In His Foreign Policy Positions

Rand Paul has changed position on several foreign policy issues, but he doesn’t seem to want to talk about it.

Scott Walker Says He’d Nuke The Iran Deal Even If Our Allies Objected

Scott Walker’s response to the Iranian nuclear deal is perhaps the most irresponsible so far.

Reactions To Iran Nuclear Deal About What You’d Expect

The Iranian nuclear accords are barely 24 hours old and some people have already made up their mind about them.

George W. Bush Gets CIA Award

President George W. Bush had a running battle with the CIA throughout his eight years in office. Now, they’ve given him an award.

The New Republican Orthodoxy On Israel

More than ever before, even mild criticism of Israel seems to be verboten among Republicans.

Obama To Slow Withdrawal Of American Forces From Afghanistan

America’s longest war continues.

Ben Carson Flunks Foreign Policy, History

Ben Carson doesn’t seem to know much about foreign policy or history. And he doesn’t belong on anyone’s list of serious Presidential candidates.

Tom Cotton and Mutiny

The president is the commander-in-chief of the US armed forces. He’s not commander-in-chief of the United States.

Senate GOP’s Letter To Iran Likely To Achieve Exactly The Opposite Of What It Intends

Senate Republicans have done more harm to the goal of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons than they have done good.

ISIL Destroys Nimrud

The gang calling itself the Islamic State has destroyed another historical site.

Joint Iraqi-Iranian Operations in Tikrit

Iraqi army and Iranian army in joint offensive to retake Tikrit.

David Petraeus Pleads Guilty To Sharing Classified Information

The most widely honored General from the Iraq and Afghanistan War has plead guilty to sharing classified information with his mistress.

OTB Caption Contest Winners

The When The Levee Breaks Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over.

ISIS is What it Says it Is

The Atlantic has a fascinating cover story by Graeme Wood titled “What ISIS Really Wants.”

Brian Williams and the Pressures of War Correspondents

There’s no excuse for the former NBC anchor’s lies. But there are reasons.

ISIS Has Arrived In Libya, Just How Big A War Are We Looking At?

ISIS apparently now has a foothold in Libya, and is making inroads in Yemen.

FRANCE 24 | Screen grab of map showing areas controlled by the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq 14 October 2014 FRANCE 24 | Screen grab of map showing areas controlled by the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq 14 October 2014

Authorizations to Unlimited Military Force

Daniel Larison is far less ambivalent about our war on ISIL than me.

Obama’s ISIL AUMF A Convenient (But Necessary) Excuse

Explaining my ambivalence around the latest escalation in our intervention.

IR TOs WH NSS

Most in the international relations community are not amused by the president’s National Security Strategy.

Obama To Seek Authorization For A War That He Already Started

President Obama will ask Congress to authorize a war he started six months ago.

On Existential Threats

I don’t Think that Means What you Think it Means (Huckabee Edition)

King Abdullah Of Saudi Arabia Dies At 90, Crown Prince Salman Becomes King

A big change in an important nation in the most volatile part of the world.

ISIS Gaining Ground . . . But We’ve Stopped Their Momentum!

ISIS owns more territory than it did when the US bombing campaign began.

Oil Prices Continue To Fall, But Don’t Expect It To Last Forever

The price of oil is continuing to fall, but it won’t last forever.

Obama’s Absence From Paris Rally: Egregious Diplomatic Error, Or Much Ado About Nothing?

Some are criticizing the President for not going to Paris for yesterday’s rally.

Petraeus Committed Felonies, FBI Finds

David Petraeus provided highly classified secrets to his mistress. Will he be charged?

Charlie Hebdo Suspects Dead After Dual Standoffs

The men responsible for the Charlie Hebdo massacre are dead, but the problems for France, and the rest of Europe, may just be at the beginning.

2014’s Fickle News Cycle

The news cycle in 2014 seemed to be dominated by a series of real and phony “crises” that grabbed our attention for short periods of time.

US Ground Troops Fighting ISIL

The ground troops that United States has not sent into Iraq to fight ISIL are reportedly in Iraq fighting ISIL.

Iraq And Afghanistan Wars Cost $3 Trillion

The costs of more than a decade of war are far higher than many ever thought, and we’re still paying the price for the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bush Administration while they were being fought.