Outside the Beltway

It’s much bigger than it appears.

Moscow is playing a very strange game.

The West continues to close Moscow off.

It would be fitting but, alas, won’t happen.

The much-anticipated escalation has happened. Now to see how the United States and its allies respond.

The trailblazing soldier-statesman has died at 84.

A reckless campaign of violence has now targeted American journalists.

Can the ICC get him into the dock?

Because of course he did.

British authorities have charged two members of Russian military intelligence in connection with a poisoning attack on British attack.

There is no obvious strategy and even the expressed rationale makes no sense.

Even the United Nations has given up trying to maintain an accurate estimate.

Just about a year after President Trump attacked Syria over the use of chemical weapons, the Assad regime has again used chemical weapons. There’s not much we can do about, nor should we.

Theresa May has expelled 23 Russian diplomats and convened the North Atlantic Council.

The British prime minister and outgoing US Secretary of State declared a red line crossed. There’s no reason to think this White House will follow through.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham says war against North Korea would be worth it. Ignoring the fact that it would result in casualties unlike anything America has seen since the Vietnam War.

It’s not at all clear that there is a useful strategy at work here.

While you were celebrating Christmas, Israel was blasting the Obama Administration and cozying up to the incoming Trump Administration.

The godfather of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine has passed.

The United States and South Korea are hinting at increased military cooperation in the wake of last week’s North Korean nuclear test.

Getting nuclear weapons out of Ukraine in 1994 was a good idea, not a mistake.

The Budapest Memorandums pertain solely to nuclear attacks.

Russian invasion or legitimate secessionist movement? And does it matter?

I’ve been up since 3 am and drinking since 6 pm, so my reaction to a presidential war speech at 9 am may not be the definitive word

The president’s public dithering on Syria is drawing jeers from friend and foe alike.

The United States will go to war without UN or NATO approval.

As President Obama’s red line has been crossed more brazenly, he continues to sound reluctant to intervene in Syria while positioning forces to do just that.

The scandal now surrounding David Petraeus should lead people to reassess his past record.

Russia may be getting more involved in the Syrian conflict.

Is the rhetoric in the war of words between the U. S. and Iran ratcheting up?

We’re running out of excuses.

The U.S. and its allies are calling on Bashar Assad to step down, but there’s little we can do when he says no.

A take on the conflict that’s probably different from the one you’ve been reading.

Politicians in office have a nasty habit of behaving completely differently than they promise on the campaign trail.

Tom Ricks doesn’t understand why we need an exit strategy in Libya.

The uneasy coalition that coalesced around action in Libya will be strained by decisions to come.

What are the limits of Resolution 1973? Are there any?

America is about to enter a third war in the Muslim world with no clear idea of the end game.

The Obama Administration is asking the U.N. Security Council to authorize direct military intervention in Libya. The question is, why now?

The CNN Effect has given away to Twitter Standard Time.

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

The title says it all.

The federation governing international soccer joins a long list of international institutions — NATO, the G-8, the UN Security Council, and the EU come readily to mind — that need to be brought into the 21st century.