Outside the Beltway

For years, analysts have worried that Iraq’s tenuous hold on stability would collapse upon the withdrawal of US forces. We’re now watching it happen.

After 3,193 days and more than 4,000 lives, the American war in Iraq is officially at an end.

The Turkey Roast Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Just a reminder: Turkey is a NATO ally.

We’re hearing the howls of a wounded bear.

We’re running out of excuses.

William Shatner loves deep-fried turkey, but over many Thanksgivings and Christmases he’s made mistakes, burned himself, and nearly burned down his house. In this dramatic retelling, Bill shows us how dangerous turkey fryers can be.

President Obama is being attacking from the right for following through on a policy decision made by his Republican predecessor.

Why does what was painted on a rock 30-odd years ago matter today?

Rick Perry’s speech criticizing the President’s policies in the Middle East raised more questions than it answered.

International options with respect to Syria are limited and likely to have little impact on the governments treatment of civilians.

Ousting evil dictators is harder than it looks.

My latest piece for The Atlantic, “Is the U.S.-European Relationship Really in Decline?” is posted.

Turkey has had elections, and the ruling AKP has retained a majority in parliament. The next major issue appears to be constitutional reform.

The War Powers Act’s 90 day limit is in sight. Will Congress force the president’s hand?

Is China’s drought caused by human action?

Remember Egypt?

The question of how the world’s most wanted man could’ve hidden in plain sight in Pakistan continues to be asked.

A version of a piece I wrote Wednesday, titled “NATO’s Death Greatly Exaggerated,” has finally been published at Foreign Policy under the title “Back in the Saddle: How Libya Helped NATO Get Its Groove Back.”

President Obama’s grand coalition against Libya is a lot less than meets the eye.

John Kerry’s Washington Post op-ed supports U. S. leadership in establishing a no-fly zone in Libya.

Intervening to “help” the Libyan revolt is very tempting, but it’s a temptation we ought to resist.

The American right has become infected with the notion that Barack Obama isn’t just wrong, but evil. That won’t be healthy in the long run.

The usage of the recess appointment process is just another example of the need for institutional reform in the Senate.

The Shiite Christmas Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Joe Ratzinger, the future pope, lobbied hard against Turkey’s membership in the EU.

The The Farce Is Strong With This One Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

The major outlets that received document drops from Wikileaks are covering the story in different and interesting ways.

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.

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

Police in Turkey have arrested 12 people suspected of links to Islamist militant network al-Qaeda in Istanbul and Van province.

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.

Turkey reformed its constitution over the weekend, in what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised “will go down in history as a turning point in Turkish democracy.” But there’s strong disagreement over which way it’s headed.

If you think anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States is running high, a look across the Pond will put things in perspective.