Outside the Beltway

Americans are skeptical about getting involved in the Ukraine crisis. This isn’t a surprise.

Getting nuclear weapons out of Ukraine in 1994 was a good idea, not a mistake.

As everyone anticipated, the Crimean referendum came out in favor of secession from Ukraine and union with Russia. What happens next is another question entirely.

My first piece for The Hill, “Crimea is not Armageddon,” posted this morning.

The West owes Ukraine nothing.

Russian invasion or legitimate secessionist movement? And does it matter?

Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign a new security agreement may result in all U.S. troops leaving Afghanistan by the end of the year.

President Obama is rewarding unqualified hacks who raised huge sums for his campaign with ambassadorships.

The Cold War may be over, but the negative opinions in the U.S. regarding Russia and its leadership seem to have continued.

Victoria Nuland, Asistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, pithily expressed her frustrations about the European Union.

The defense authorization law requires the Defense Department to go back to a single camouflage pattern.

A new poll finds the American public far less supportive of the idea of the U.S. as the world’s policeman.

Heading into an intense week of Congressional lobbying, the odds still seem against the Administration on Syria.

The president’s public dithering on Syria is drawing jeers from friend and foe alike.

Presidents have gotten away with ignoring Congress when it comes to foreign military adventures for a very long time.

Humanitarian wars have their own grammar but not their own logic.

The United States will go to war without UN or NATO approval.

We’re almost certainly going to launch punitive strikes against Syria. They’ll almost certainly be ineffective.

As President Obama’s red line has been crossed more brazenly, he continues to sound reluctant to intervene in Syria while positioning forces to do just that.

Lieutenant General Michelle Johnson will be the first woman to lead a service academy.

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

David Bosco wonders, “Why is the United Nations Ambassador in the Cabinet?”

The latest NSA leaks are likely to prove to be diplomatically embarrassing.

Not surprisingly, Edward Snowden has been formally charged in connection with the leak of classified NSA documents.

As if the region didn’t have enough problems.

Syria isn’t Libya.

Has the Arab Spring come to Turkey?

My latest for The National Interest, “Never Again, Except This Time,” has posted.

It’s 365 days and counting since the last reported case of piracy in the Horn of Africa.

Last night, the Atlantic Council honored Hillary Rodham Clinton, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, John S. Watson, Tony Bennett, and Juanes.

Rand Paul’s questions about the nation’s drone war were only the beginning.

My latest for The National Interest, “Was Afghanistan Worth It?” takes issue with the Marine commandant’s assessment of that question.

The smear campaign against defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has taken a bizarre turn.

My latest for The National Interest, “Obama Doctrine, Reagan Doctrine,” is out.

The notion that guns prevent tyranny is based on fantasy and movies, not reality.

The idea of completely pulling out of Afghanistan after 2014 is very compelling.

Would a formal guarantee of Israel’s security deter Iran from whatever nuclear weapons development program it has?

NATO has agreed to deploy Patriot missiles along the Turkey-Syria border to protect Turkish airspace and territory, while making clear no escalation is intended.

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.

If nothing else, the Petraeus affair is teaching us a valuable lesson in just how extensive the Surveillance State has become.