Outside the Beltway

Will the Tea Party Movement grow up?

With just over a week to go before the 112th Congress convenes, battle lines are already being drawn in battle over the defense budget.

Now that the US has ratified New Start, it’s Russia’s turn.

Sarah Palin waded into the foreign policy pool today with a piece about Iran, and it was about as empty as most of the other ideas on Iran that we’ve heard over the last six years or so from everyone else.

The 20th Amendment was supposed to eliminate lame duck sessions, but it didn’t.

A crippling, and technologically advanced, computer virus and attacks against Iranian nuclear scientists lead to only one conclusion; someone is doing everything they can short of military action to make sure Iran doesn’t develop nuclear weapons.

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

Israelis and Palestinians don’t agree on much these days, but they do agree that Barack Obama hasn’t helped the peace process at all since coming to office.

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.

NATO-Russia cooperation on missile defense is a welcome step forward.

Conservative Republicans who are typically deferential to the military are ignoring the advice of the military leadership on the new START Treaty.

The long awaited new strategic concept, launching what has been termed “NATO 3.0,” has been published under the banner “Active Engagement, Modern Defense.”

Unless there’s an emergency, is it proper for representatives who have been defeated in a mid-term election to be voting on controversial legislation?

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

While not inherently unconstitutional, lame duck Congresses have the potential for violating the spirit of the Constitution and create the potential for mischief on the part of Representatives who have been thrown out of office.

The Tea Party movement doesn’t seem to have a coherent view on foreign policy. Which means that a Tea Party victory will just mean more of the same Republican neo-conservatism.

Venezuela have reached a series of agreement on energy. Should the US be concerned?

Should the UN expand the number of permanent Security Council members?

General Jim Jones is stepping down as National Security Advisor.

Daniel Larison’s “The Case Against NATO” makes compelling reading. In my New Atlanticist post “The Case Against the Case Against NATO,” I explain why it’s wrong.

If it’s September, it must be time for Mahmoud Ahmadinjad to stand up before the United Nations General Assembly and say something completely insane.

Newt Gingrich is feeding the fires again, this time claiming that the President may be guided by a “Kenyan,” “anti-colonialist” worldview.

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

According to Paul Krugman’s latest column, the massive destruction of World War Two was actually good for the U.S. economy. Sadly, there are people who consider him an expert.

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

According to John Bolton, Israel has a deadline of August 21st to attack Iran’s nuclear program. This is the fourth deadline he’s set in the last three years.

The SHREK!!!! Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Time for the Thursday OTB Caption Contest^TM

The members of the Russian spy ring broken up last week by the FBI are headed back to Mother Russia.

If people feel the need to evoke Reagan, it would be nice if they would evoke the real one, rather than an alt reality version.

Ten Russian agents posing as Americans and living in the suburbs of DC, New York, and Boston for a decade to glean valuable intelligence have been arrested by the FBI.