Outside the Beltway

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

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

There must be something odd in the water in the Lone Star State, because a bizarre conspiracy theory seems to have taken root there.

U.S forces in Afghanistan have been involved in missions that go far beyond the counterterror mission the Obama Administration said they would be limited to.

Seventy years ago, Harry Truman became President in the final months of a war. He wasn’t prepared for it, but most Vice-President’s after him have been.

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

Explaining my ambivalence around the latest escalation in our intervention.

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

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

As expected, the Senate passed the so-called “Cromnibus,” but not before a self-aggrandizing maneuver by Ted Cruz ended up being exploited by Democrats to pass outstanding nominations.

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

A critic of the imperial presidency becomes an imperial president.

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

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.

We’ve handed off operations in Helmand Province to the Afghanistan army.

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

President Obama is still insisting that his war against ISIS will not require American ground troops. He’s not being honest with the American people.

As talk begins of expanding the war against ISIS into Syria, it is becoming long past time for Congress to exercise its Constitutional function.

American journalist James Foley has been beheaded by the terrorist network calling itself the Islamic State.

The rebels in eastern Ukraine continue to suffer setbacks, and Russia is massing troops on the border again.

Another incident involving a Malaysia Airlines 777, but this one could be far more serious.

An effort yesterday to bring about a cease fire in Gaza came to naught when Hamas rejected the proposal.

The Iraqi government seems to be panicking.

Diplomatic word games.

China sends a message to Kim Jong Un.

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

Democracy was nice while it lasted.

The U.S. position on China’s new air defense zone is exceedingly clear. The question is where it goes from here.

China sends a message, and the U.S. responds. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

A proposed Syria authorization being considered in the Senate places several limits on Presidential authority to act, but it’s unclear if those limits can actually work.

The Pentagon is considering doing away with two combatant commands—and no longer calling them combatant commands.

As Congress eyes the Defense budget for cuts, some are drawing attention to the lavish housing of our top brass.

The military’s finance and accounting system has been dysfunctional for decades and is getting worse.

Words don’t always mean what you think they mean.

The sequestration cuts are two months old, and it seems pretty clear that the claims of doom we heard before they went into effect were heavily exaggerated.

We treat violence by lone individuals differently than organized violence. Race, religion, and national origin have nothing to do with that.

American troops may now earn the fourth highest combat medal from the comfort of their desk chair.

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

The Pentagon considers those killed by Nidal Hassan at Fort Hood three years ago victims of workplace violence, not terrorism.

A former Obama official says government should learn from business, but is private industry really more efficient?