Outside the Beltway

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is bemused that the generals who worked for him lived more lavish lifestyles than he did.

It’s okay to criticize military veterans–even if you never served in the military.

The Republican Party needs a new message on foreign policy that is true to the conservative principles of the base and yet has a broad appeal to the American public.

Guess who’s back?

Are two-term Presidencies the new normal?

Fareed Zakaria declares “America’s election process an international embarrassment.” He’s right.

The scandal now surrounding David Petraeus should lead people to reassess his past record.

A surprise Friday resignation at the CIA.

If the Romney campaign looked shocked on Election Night, that’s because they didn’t believe the polls either.

Without question, Barack Obama won the foreign policy debate in the 2012 campaign.

First in a series of posts looking at the substance of the final presidential debate, ostensibly about foreign policy.

President Obama seems to have given away the store when it comes to the defense sequestration cuts.

President Obama is keeping the conflict in Syria at arms length. That’s a good idea.

The President has yet to tell us what he would do with a Second Term.

The worst elements among the Syrian rebels seem to be the ones getting the arms.

Don’t blame the Defense Department for following a bad law.

The argument that the United States should start assisting the rebellion in Syria has many flaws.

One of Mitt Romney’s own supporters didn’t like his foreign policy speech very much.

Where’s the beef?

Getting to the heart of the problem from my POV (plus historical numbers).

The Afghan Surge announced by President Obama in December 2009 is over. By any objective measurement, it was a failure.

Because some things are worth reinforcing.

Mitt Romney is a deeply flawed candidate, but that doesn’t mean the President is any better.

The Administration’s decision to stick with the meme that the Benghazi attack was about a movie becomes more puzzling.

With Mitt Romney and Barack Obama basically saying the same things about foreign policy, it’s time to take a look at an alternative.

The Romney campaign’s critique of the President’s foreign policy record is weak, and based on bad history.

For the fourth day, American and other embassies became the focus of mass protests in many Muslim nations.

The Romney campaign is doubling down on bizarre foreign policy pronouncements.

One Professor suggests we sacrifice yet more of our freedom in the wake of the embassy protests in the Middle East.

The GOP still hasn’t dealt with the legacy of George W. Bush.

Based on its recently passed platform, the Democratic Party has given up any pretense of putting civil liberties ahead of “national security.”

President Obama didn’t blow the doors off the Time Warner Cable Arena last night, but he didn’t need to.

General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent a message to Israel last week.

A new IAEA report may make an Israeli strike on Iran in the near future more likely than it has ever been.

My latest for The Atlantic, “Stop Feeling Sorry for American Veterans, has posted.

After three days of buildup to a “mystery speaker,” the closing night of the Republican convention featured a rambling performance by Clint Eastwood and an empty chair.