Outside the Beltway

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

Sharing some thoughts and soliciting feedback on what the 2nd amendment means.

John Cornyn tells Jennifer Rubin that he’ll oppose the confirmation of his former colleague, Chuck Hagel, for Secretary of Defense.

In a posting for New Atlanticist titled “Status Quo Election,” I note the near total absence of foreign affairs from a presidential campaign that’s mercifully coming to an end.

Mitt Romney is once again making completely false claims about the status of the United States Navy.

Mitt Romney’s speech at VMI today was billed as a major foreign policy address, but it was incredibly light on substance.

Iran’s currency has collapsed and there are riot police in the streets of Teheran. It appears the sanctions may just be working after all.

Where’s the beef?

Because some things are worth reinforcing.

My latest for The National Interest, “Insanity on the Iran Question,” posted last evening.

In another sign that things may not be going so well between Washington and Jerusalem, President Obama will not be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu when he’s in the United States.

An attack on Iran’s nuclear program would be far more complicated than a one-off attack.

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

Some troubling, sad, and downright puzzling stories

The war in Afghanistan has not been a topic of discussion in the Presidential campaign, but that’s largely because there’s not much left to talk about.

The new Red Dawn promises to be even sillier than the first.

Mitt Romney believes he could take America to war without Congressional involvement.

The United States may have slowed down Iran’s nuclear program without firing a shot–not counting the one at our own foot.

The first shots have been fired in cyberspace. How will it end?

Is there a Romney Doctrine?

Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb isn’t as easy as most think, Jacques Hymans argues in the current Foreign Policy.

Lt Gen Benny Gantz says Iran “is going step by step to the place where it will be able to decide whether to manufacture a nuclear bomb. It hasn’t yet decided to go the extra mile.”

Despite their rhetoric, there would be few differences between a Romney Administration and an Obama Administration when it comes to foreign policy.

There’s a big hole in the latest sanctions against Iran.

Russia is the most significant geopolitical player actively opposing significant American interests.

Mitt Romney called Russia our “number one geopolitical foe.” Is he right?

Rising fuel prices are starting to hurt the President in the polls, but it’s unclear what that means for November.

The differences between the parties when it comes to Iran are far less substantial than the candidate’s rhetoric would suggest.

Peter Berkowitz has presented a flawed legal argument for attacking Iran.

Will louder threats move the Iranian regime to back down?

We need to have opinions on a subject as serious as war with Iran.

He may be praising Ronald Reagan now, but Newt Gingrich was singing a different tune in the 1980s.

Mitt Romney is making claims about Naval readiness that are, at best, misleading.

The truth about a Second Obama Term is that it likely wouldn’t be all that remarkable.

To Republicans, even thinking about engaging in diplomacy is enough to accuse the President of appeasement.

Bernard Finel argues that those of us arguing against war in Iran are doing it wrong. He’s right.

If there’s anyone out there, why haven’t we heard from them yet?

How can we know what happens next in North Korea when we didn’t even know Kim Jong-il had died?

Big news from North Korea.

The final candidate clash of 2011 didn’t lead to the sparring that some expected.

After 3,193 days and more than 4,000 lives, the American war in Iraq is officially at an end.

Time Magazine has chosen “The Protester” as its Person Of The Year. Let the outrage ensue.