Outside the Beltway

An unconvincing column from an old pro.

Finally, a rationale that makes sense.

Membership is stalled by more support is coming.

A bad idea fueled by desperation.

Is America’s military capable of fighting the next war?

And some cable “news” thoughts.

Well, that de-escalated quickly.

A stupid move by a crackpot? Or a turning point?

My two cents.

The Biden Administration is pushing for a half measure.

When a go-to “nonpartisan” defender breaks rank does that change your opinion?

Ukraine is heavily censoring foreign media.

The leveling of Bakhmut is the latest Russian atrocity.

A bad idea backed up by worse reasoning.

He’s turned Russia from a G-8 member to an international pariah.

Do we have to pick one?

Debt-trap diplomacy has finally come home to roost.

Normal diplomacy with an abnormal ally.

Leaked intelligence intercepts take us inside the Ukrainian war room.

CNN gave the former Liar in Chief a huuuge platform.

The city once known as Koenigsberg is now Krolewiec, at least in Polish government documents.

The Pope is siding with evil.

As widely expected, Air Force Chief of Staff Charles “CQ” Brown will become the nation’s top military officer.

He’s likely to make heads explode.

A weird twist to the online leak story.

You’re not helping, Mr. President.

The United States has not learned from Snowden and Manning.

The problem has intensified—and spread beyond Ukraine secrets.

Russia is circulating doctored versions of plans for a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

When winning is the only acceptable outcome.

A refreshing instance of normal democratic politics amid interesting times.

Sanctions and a costly war are taking their toll.

The would-be President is floundering as he tries to position himself.

The Russian leader’s status as an international pariah is cemented.

As memory of the Cold War fades, so does support for American primacy.

A wrongheaded if longstanding position.

A brief primer on trauma and a link to an interview and paper on being trauma informed

Alliance leaders have significantly different priorities regarding the conflict.

Many in the Global South see the war very differently than we in the West.

President Biden’s dangerous gambit seems to have succeeded.

Putin is losing but no one is winning.

Old men still bitter about where they went to college.

And this time, we mean it.

Another bill doomed to die.

The state of the union is . . . not good.

The PRC is skirting sanctions to supply a frienemy.

The appetite for more resources approaches infinity.

Playing two-level games.

An object lesson on the challenges of alliance politics.