Outside the Beltway

John Bolton was not a good National Security Adviser, but the real problem with Trump Administration foreign policy comes from the man at the top.

President Trump took to Twitter late this morning to fire his third National Security Adviser.

President Trump announced late yesterday that he had called off secret meetings with the Taliban. The fact that they were even going to happen reveals yet again what’s wrong with his foreign policy.

An Army appellate court has rejected an appeal filed by Bowe Bergdahl that argued that the President’s attacks on him while a candidate unfairly influenced his court martial.

Just over nine years after retiring from the Supreme Court, former Associate Justice John Paul Stevens has passed away at the age of 99.

As we head toward a potential crisis in the Persian Gulf, the consequences of the President’s lies are coming home to roost.

John Walker Lindh, the so-called “American Taliban,” has been released from prison but the war in which he was captured goes merrily along.

President Trump is reportedly planning to pardon several American servicemen convicted of war crimes, an action that would be an insult to everyone who has ever worn an American uniform.

The U.S. military will no longer release reports regarding the success, or failure, of the current strategy in Afghanistan.

Sunday’s attacks in Sri Lanka make it clear that the claim that ISIS has been defeated are nowhere close to being true.

Pledges from wealthy men to help rebuild Notre Dame cathedral after a devastating fire is generating backlash.

The legendary figure was in charge of strategic forecasting at the Pentagon for decades.

Rather than pulling completely out of Syria the United States will be leaving behind a token force of about 200 troops. This is a mistake.

President Trump’s impending decision to declare a national emergency to get funding for his border wall will quickly face serious legal challenges. It may be more vulnerable than the White House suspects.

The arguments against withdrawing American forces from Afghanistan are becoming weaker and weaker.

President Trump is claiming that he could use authority to declare a “national emergency” to build his wall even if Congress doesn’t authorize it.

The Pentagon is being ordered to draw up plans to withdraw roughly one-half of the American forces remaining in Afghanistan. It’s about time.

American troops have been in Afghanistan for seventeen years now, it’s time to bring them all home.

Seventeen years ago, America was thrust into a war that seemingly has no end.

Donald Trump spent part of Labor Day engaged in yet another unhinged attack on his own Justice Department.

Once again, the President has thrown the Rule of Law under the bus.

Donald Trump continues to demonstrate that he has nothing but utter contempt for the Rule of Law. At some point, he will either be called to account for this or our nation’s institutions will suffer as a result.

In his time as President, Donald Trump has demonstrated as much contempt for the rule of law as he did as a candidate.

Bowe Bergdahl received a dishonorable discharge and reduction in rank, but will not serve time in prison.

The Bergdahl case comes to an end.

Progress in Saudi Arabia, but there’s still a long way for this backward, discriminatory society to go.

America’s longest war seems likely to soon turn into America’s never-ending war.

President Trump’s Afghanistan policy sounds awfully familiar, and it’s likely to lead to the same results.

Based on initial reports, Trump’s Afghanistan policy looks a lot like what we’ve seen for the past sixteen years.

We can not condone vandalism and worse.

America’s longest war is still going on, and President Trump’s advisers want him to continue his predecessor’s policies of continuing to re-expand American forces in a war that has seemingly no end.

A military judge has rejected a motion to dismiss the case against Bowe Bergdahl based on comments made by Donald Trump when he was a candidate for President.

Could Donald Trump’s comments about Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on the campaign trail lead to the case against Bergdahl being dismissed? A military judge will have to decide.

In a closer than normal vote for the position, Rex Tillerson has been confirmed as Secretary of State.

What is the deal with the love-fest for Julian Assange?

Wherein an initial attempt to understand something seen on Facebook leads to ruminations on religious liberty.

President Obama will leave office as the first two term President who presided over eight years of war. It didn’t start with him and it won’t end with him.

American forces will continue to stay in Afghanistan well after Barack Obama leaves office thanks to a new policy announced today.

The wave of Ramadan attacks continues, including a strike near the second holiest site in Islam.

Donald Trump responded to the attack on the Pulse nightclub by renewing his call to ban members of an entire religion from coming to the United States.

Bowe Bergdahl’s Court Martial has been delayed until 2017, which raises the possibility that comments by Donald Trump could result in Bergdahl getting off scot-free.

The President has another plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It’s as likely to be well-received on Capitol Hill as all of his other previous plans on this issue.

American forces will be deployed to a combat area in southern Afghanistan, reversing current policy and calling the President’s promised withdrawal date into even further doubt.

The Humphrey The Camel Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

The execution of a prominent Shi’ite cleric has led to a rapid deterioration of the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face a Court Martial for the circumstances that led to his being capture and held captive by the Taliban for five years.

President Obama came to office inheriting the legacy of one unnecessary war, and another that had faded from memory. He will leave office with Iraq and Syria in crisis, Europe uneasy, Yemen and Libya unstable breeding grounds for terrorism, and China doing whatever it is they’re doing.

The plan to withdraw nearly all American forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2016 is being put on hold.