Outside the Beltway

The United States and its NATO allies are in a dangerous standoff.

Russia’s leader sees the situation in the former Soviet Republic quite differently than the West.

Russia may invade Ukraine again. The United States would prefer otherwise.

President Biden was advised to keep troops in Afghanistan . . . for no apparent reason.

Our brains are wired to seek approval but may not be equipped to handle our modern existence.

If it’s made in France, it’s “sparkling wine.”

Some recent news items that add to concern about American democracy.

Some good news in the hacking wars.

Empowering authoritarians.

The fecklessness of U.S. human rights policy in full display.

The iconoclastic journalist is out at the publication he founded.

Rudy Giuliani and a hack tabloid are trying to revive the Burisma story.

A defense of the indefensible.

A shocking and yet completely unsurprising development.

CNN has a lengthy, deeply reported piece on Trump’s phone calls to other heads of state.

The President should have known about the plot. There’s a good chance he didn’t.

We need a better vocabulary for treating the spectrum between rude and horrific.

Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos alone have lost $15 billion in net worth since January.

There are two theories, neither of them good.

Moscow helped Trump in 2016. Do they want him back?

A bold new plan for security in the Middle East.

Notwithstanding Russia’s weak position vis a vis the west, It’s Putin who seems to be winning.

Ted Cruz is the latest Republican Senator to repeat discredited Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election.

Much like the President they obsequiously defend, Republicans have become useful idiots in Russia’s war on Western liberal democracy.

POTUS believes, and is propagating, a conspiracy theory.

An internal Justice Department investigation fails to find any evidence of political bias in the Russia investigation.

As Republicans and their conservative cohorts spread a discredited conspiracy theory about the 2016 election, Vladimir Putin smiles at yet another victory.

The final two witnesses in this week’s public hearings before the House Intelligence Committee reduced the Republican talking points in the President’s defense looking as absurd as they have always been.

After a long day of hearings, the case against the President is becoming clearer and Republican defenses becoming more absurd.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared that the NATO alliance is suffering brain death due to President Trump’s neglect and lack of leadership.

As American forces retreat, Russia and Turkey are dividing up northern Syria like,well,a turkey.

As the vultures continue to circle above the White House, the President continues to lash out.

As the Turkish invasion of northern Syria continues, Donald Trump responds with basically nothing.

A new Senate Intelligence Committee report adds to the evidence regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Turkish forces advance, American forces retreat, the Kurds seek new allies, and Syria and Russia come out the winners.

President Trump has reportedly pledged to Chinese President Xi Jinping that the United States would not speak out against Chinese actions in Hong Kong.

With the ongoing Ukraine scandal having an impact in Washington and Kyiv, the biggest winner is in Moscow.

A Senate report alleges that the National Rifle Association allowed itself to become a Russian asset,

Not surprisingly, President Trump told Russian officials early on that he didn’t care if Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Not surprisingly, there are other phone call transcripts and other communications that further complicate Trump’s position.

A little bit of this for a little bit of that.

Just days before he repeatedly pressured the President of Ukraine to reopen a closed investigation involving the son of former Vice-President Biden, President Trump suspended military aid that had been authorized by Congress.

The latest allegations about exactly what the President may have been trying to do in a phone call with a foreign leader that caught the attention of a whistleblower are becoming more serious by the day.

A mysterious conversation with a foreign leader is at the center of a controversy between the intelligence community and Congress.

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.

Donald Trump isn’t just admiring dictators now, he’s acting like one.

Once again, President Trump is doing Vladimir Putin’s bidding.

Under the Trump Administration, the American commitment to human rights around the world is basically dead.

Just over a week after Dan Coats announced he was stepping own as Director of National Intelligence, there are more shakeups at the top of the U.S. intelligence community.

Dan Coats is stepping down as Director of National Intelligence, and President Trump wants to replace him with an inexperienced, obsequious toady.