Outside the Beltway

Arming the Syrian rebels may do nothing more than prolong a seemingly endless war, and pull the United States into a conflict it shouldn’t be involved in.

My latest for The National Interest, “Why Terrorists Are Worse Than Guns,” has posted.

A former Navy SEAL charges that Blackwater snipers killed American citizens in New Orleans during Katrina’s aftermath.

The Navy’s Blue Angels demonstration team has canceled the rest of its 2013 season in response to budget cuts.

The reaction to President Obama’s comments about Kamala Harris raise interesting questions about propriety in the modern world.

So what, exactly, is going on in North Korea? And how should we respond to Kim’s bluster?

American troops may now earn the fourth highest combat medal from the comfort of their desk chair.

Chuck Hagel will be confirmed, but the campaign against him tells us much about the current state of Republican foreign policy

Tim Kane continues his campaign against the US military’s antiquated personnel system.

Is America’s focus on defense weakening the country?

The first seven men to be awarded the Medal of Honor for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan received it posthumously. Clinton Romesha will be the fourth in a row that’s lived to meet the president.

From the Department of What The Hell Were They Thinking, I present Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh’s new ceremonial uniform:

Gabrielle Ludwig played college basketball as a man 25 years ago; now, she’s playing as a woman.

It’s okay to criticize military veterans–even if you never served in the military.

Trending on Twitter this morning: “R.I.P. Paul Davis. The Navy Seal who killed Osama Bin Laden died in battle today. Retweet to honor him.”

It’s time to panic over anonymous guys in Philadelphia again, at least if you work at Fox News Channel.

One of the few areas of disagreement was how big our military should be.

The Center for Responsive Politics touts “Overwhelming Support for Obama” among military donors. The numbers show something more interesting: those associated with the military don’t give money to political campaigns.

Mitt Romney is once again making completely false claims about the status of the United States Navy.

The Afghanistan War is officially eleven years old today.

Senator Rand Paul suggests the GOP may want to reconsider its foreign policy aggressiveness.

Left with a choice between their hawkish foreign policy and their supposed commitment to fiscal conservatives, Republicans will, without fail, spend the nation into debt.

A new book by one of the Navy SEALs involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden differs significantly from the official version put forward by the government.

A true pioneer passed away today.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has a message for those who wear and have worn our country’s uniform: “We are not elected to serve; rather, we elect to serve.”

Charges that the Obama administration leaked classified information about the Osama bin Laden raid for political gain are bunk.

Two groups of former special operations soldiers are opposing Obama. Their military bonafides are not their most interesting credentials.

A group of former special operations and intelligence officers are criticizing President Obama for “Dishonorable Disclosures.”

Some troubling, sad, and downright puzzling stories

Doug Saunders makes the counterintuitive claim that things are better for Britons than ever.

Mitt Romney is no more of a wimp than George H.W. Bush or John Kerry.