Outside the Beltway

The government contractor that conducted Edward Snowden’s background investigation faces criminal indictment.

Keeping 166 detainees in Gitmo costs taxpayers $454 million.

The military has declared that Playboy and Penthouse don’t violate its standards but banned them from its exchanges, anyway.

Congress really, really wants to give soldiers a 1.8 percent pay raise. Generals are begging them to hold it to 1 percent.

The Defense Department may have found the money to furlough its civilian workers fewer than 11 days.

Sequestration is even dumber than we thought.

In response to North Korean saber rattling and the rise of China, Japan is reassessing it’s military posture

Not surprisingly, the United States is not going to place aid to Egypt’s military in legal jeopardy by calling this month’s events a coup.

Conservatives are doing what the criticized JournoList for doing—even though JournoList didn’t.

The two ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are clashing on defense appropriations.

Last month, a retired Navy SEAL came out as transgender. Those still in uniform, however, must serve in silence.

A late-night announcement that Gitmo detainees will get hearings raises more questions than it answers.

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

The United States has far and away the most capable navy on the planet. But it’s not very capable at the moment.

Once again, a Federal Court rules that the First Amendment rules does not protect a reporter from being compelled to reveal sources or the results of an investigation.

My first piece for RealClearDefense, “Enough with the QDR Hype,” has published.

The Pentagon has canceled a popular air show even though it operates at a profit and takes place next fiscal year.

The Defense Department will freeze promotions, cut workers, and suspend training in the face of across-the-board funding cuts.

The US military’s lavish new headquarters in Afghanistan has been completed just in time for our exit.

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

Frustrations with the mercurial leader of Afghanistan may increase the pace of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The complicated issues surrounding U.S. aid to Egypt.

Jerry Brown’s second go-round as governor has been very, very good to the Golden State.

We’re paying a lot of money for defense contractors. It’s not clear how much of this is wasteful.

Focusing on Edward Snowden is largely a waste of time.

Does David Gregory consider Glenn Greenwald to be a reporter deserving of protection, or “just a blogger” who may be a potential criminal?

About $7 billion in military equipment now in Afghanistan will be scrapped rather than returned to the U.S.

Did President Obama’s comments about taking a tough stand on military sexual assault constitute “undue influence” on specific cases? One military judge says that they did.

One Congressman thinks it would be a good idea to treat journalists as criminals.

If there’s one thing that our generals and admirals agree on it’s that generals and admirals should retain their power.

Several top Administration officials have secret email addresses, the Associated Press reports.

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.

Christine Fox, the real-life inspiration for Charlie of “Top Gun,” and the casual sexism of 1985.

Republicans looking to Benghazi for political ammunition are likely going to be disappointed.

Once again, politics is dictating military policy.

There are far too many appointed positions in the US government. And many of them are unfilled.

Chuck Hagel has countermanded his predecessor and canceled the Distinguished Warfare Medal.