Outside the Beltway

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

Yesterday’s apparent terrorist shooting in Ottawa reveals again a phenomenon that seems difficult if not impossible to stop in advance.

A new report from the New York Times confirms the adage that, in war, the first casualty is the truth.

President Obama has opened a new front in his “war” against ISIS

Iran and the United States are on the same side in the fight against ISIS, whether they like it or not.

Basically, the answer is that nobody really thought there was much of a risk that a plane could be shot down.

Some questions for the Republicans who would be President about the actions of the last Republican President.

Twenty-five years after his seminal “End of History” article, Francis Fukuyama reflects on its legacy.

An imperfect timetable, but better than nothing.

A new poll indicates that most Americans don’t want to see the United States intervening overseas.

Hillary Clinton’s numbers aren’t at the incredibly high levels they used to be, but they were never going to stay that high anyway.

In retrospect, and in comparison with other recent Presidents, George Herbert Walker Bush’s four years in office were pretty darn good.

Veteran newsman Garrick Utley has died from prostate cancer at the age of 74.

Dave Weigel has identified “The funniest part of Robert Gates’ very serious new memoir.”

The U.S. sends a mostly weak signal to the Egyptian military.

The destruction of Syria’s stockpiles will be slow and laborious even if all goes according to script.

Why are chemical weapons a “red line” in a war where so many have been killed?

Bombing Country B to “send a message” to Country A is not a valid argument for bombing Country B.

West Point graduates account for nearly one in fifty deaths in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rather than asking whether it was “worth it,” the important historical question regarding the Civil War is whether it could have been avoided.

Last January 1, some of us made a series of predictions. Here’s how we did.

The Sonny and Chair Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Slowly but surely, we’re giving up on Afghanistan.

With Mitt Romney and Barack Obama basically saying the same things about foreign policy, it’s time to take a look at an alternative.

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

Two centuries ago, a war that makes less and less sense with the passage of time began.

In office less than a day, Francois Hollande has already been forced to admit he can’t withdraw French forces from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

Is there a Romney Doctrine?

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

An attack on Iran is likely to unleash consequences that we are unprepared to deal with.

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

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

American politics is as polarized as ever, and it shows no signs of changing regardless of who wins in November.

Higher gas prices in the spring could have an impact on the economy, and the election.

So, what’s next?

Why we shouldn’t be surprised that police are using tools of violence against protestors.

An attack against Iran’s nuclear weapons research facility won’t be an easy thing.

President Obaama’s poll numbers are lower than where Reagan and Clinton were at this point, but not by very much.