Outside the Beltway

The antiwar movement has been strangely silent despite the fact that U.S. foreign policy hasn’t really changed that much since Barack Obama became President.

The Doo Wa Diddy Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Public support for the war in Afghanistan continues to plummet, but will that hurt the President when 2012 rolls around?

Nine years into a war that seems to be without end, it’s time to declare victory and go home.

A few thoughts/historical examples, as to why I am guarded in my optimism on Egypt.

Time for midterms.

Despite anecdotal evidence debunking global warming, 2010 was another record year for warm temperatures.

A capsule look at the world situation as 2010 draws to a close.

One has to love the Telegraph headline “Drone kills white al-Qaeda pair in Pakistan mountains.”

One of the most active American diplomats of the past twenty-five years has passed away.

The latest wrong of documents from Wikileaks show that American diplomats are as worried about Pakistan as the rest of us, and not quite sure how to deal with the situation.

The two English language newspapers who have been Julian Assange’s accomplices in disseminating stolen secrets defend themselves.

Another FBI sting operation results in the arrest of a “terrorist,” or did it create a crime where none existed before?

A new round of Wikileaks documents is out, and it opens the door on diplomatic correspondence previously hidden from the public.

Somali-born teenager plotted to carry out a car bomb attack at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown Portland on Friday, but the bomb turned out to be a dud supplied by undercover agents as part of a sting.

North Korea has unveiled to the world a new nuclear processing facility that puts back on the table the question of just what we should, or can, do about the fact that a rogue state possesses nuclear weapons and wants to build more.

The first civilian trial of a Guantanamo detainee ends with the Defendant being acquitted on all but one charge, and shows us why the entire process is little more than a show trial.

Terrorism risk assessment: Russia at “Extreme Risk”, Greece at “High Risk”, U. S. at “Medium Risk”, Canada and Germany at “Low Risk”.

Hamid Karazi says that the United States needs to reduce it’s military presence in his country. Perhaps we should listen to him.

According to reports, the Obama Administration is set to abandon the July 2011 withdrawal deadline that was set earlier this year.

We already knew that Hamid Karzai was corrupt, now we know he takes bribes from the Iranians.

While Americans concern themselves with domestic politics and mid-term elections, the situation in Pakistan seems to continue to get worse.

Pakistan yesterday blocked NATO’s primary supply line into Afghanistan in retaliation for an air strike that killed three Pakistani paramilitaries. Are the two countries truly allies?

Nine months after a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, more than a billion dollars in reconstruction aid still hasn’t reached the country.

If the United Nations has its way, E.T. will be meeting an obscure Malaysian astrophysicists if he arrives.

Is there a quiet cyberwar going on and we are just starting to notice it?

According to a new book from Bob Woorward, American policy in Afghanistan is the result of a decision making process that can only be described as chaotic at best.

Dan Drezner asks, “Has Bob Woodward jumped the shark?” My snarky response is that he did that in Bob Casey’s hospital room.

Newt Gingrich is drawing fire for his comments about that the President has a “Kenyan world view.” But, will Newt every pay the price for his inflammatory rhetoric ? Don’t count on it.

Ted Koppel thinks our actions since 9/11 have helped Osama bin Laden fulfill his goals. He couldn’t be more wrong.

Will Israel attack Iran ? You’d better hope not.

Four news items and articles about China that have caught my eye.

The floodwaters are starting to recede, although the disaster is far from over.

Epic flooding in Pakistan is a humanitarian crisis which dwarfs the combined devastation of the 2004 Asian tsunami, the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Why aren’t we paying attention?

Tonight’s topics: Anything but that damned mosque. Possibilities include: Tuesday’s primaries, the continued economic malaise, and the flooding in Pakistan.

The task of getting aid to the 20 million victims of Pakistan’s floods may have just gotten a lot more difficult

While American politics concerns itself with trivial issues, Pakistan finds itself dealing with a devastating natural disaster that could have real geo-political implications.

The United States has promised $150 million in aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan. Should we have?

Strippers didn’t attack us on 9/11. Then again, neither did American Muslims.