Outside the Beltway

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.

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

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

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

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

Yet another attack on religious freedom in Europe.

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

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

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

Has the legislative branch abdicated its responsibility in US foreign policy?

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

The State Of The Union Address was more of the same, and the same will be true of Washington going forward.

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

At least 11 are dead and 10 wounded in an attack on free expression.

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

A hostage crisis has been unfolding overnight at a cafe in Sydney, Australia that has apparent links to international terrorism.

It looks like Congress has averted a budget fight for the second straight year.

A surprising change at the top of the military’s civilian chain of command.

Our supposed Syrian allies seem to have a different idea of who the enemy in Syria actually is.

You thought the American combat role in Afghanistan would end on December 31st? Think again.

The idea that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists is simply not historically accurate, so should we be reconsidering the policy of not negotiating with ISIS for the release of Western hostages?

The latest ISIS video is horrible and barbaric but we should not take the bait they are offering before considering the consequences of our actions going forward.

As things stand right now, there is no legitimate legal authorization for the President’s war against ISIS, and that’s largely because Congress has failed to act.

Mission creep.

The GOP added to its majority in the House, giving it the biggest majority it has had since Truman was President.

Quietly, oil prices have been falling for months now. That’s potentially a very big deal.

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

It’s been three months, but there’s been no action on the lawsuit that the House of Representatives said it was filing against President Obama.

Yesterday’s apparent terrorist shooting in Ottawa reveals again a phenomenon that seems difficult if not impossible to stop in advance.

A new report from the New York Times confirms the adage that, in war, the first casualty is the truth.

The Turks have entered the conflict in Syria. Unfortunately for the United States, it’s not on the side we would prefer.

So far at least, the air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria do not seem to be having much of an impact.

A massacre is about to unfold “a stone’s throw” from Turkey’s border.

Germany’s new defense minister has promised a more robust role but lacks the ability to back her words with action.

Corporal Jordan Spears died in a V-22 accident in operations against the Islamic State.

Elected representatives, not soldiers, make policy. But there are times when generals should make a stand.

Speaker Boehner wants to delay a vote on the ISIS war until January, but any such debate will be meaningless because Congress has already abdicated responsibility.

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

The Khorasan Group is, functionally, al Qaeda. Or is it?

A fired Oklahoma worker beheaded a woman and was attacking another when he was shot. Workplace violence? Or terrorism.

The Administration’s policy in the President’s war against ISIS has no coherent plan, and that virtually guarantees escalation.

The former Virginia Senator is talking about running for President.

The war against ISIS continues to silently escalate, with little input from the people’s representatives in Congress.