Outside the Beltway

Some are criticizing the President for not going to Paris for yesterday’s rally.

In the wake of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on C.I.A. torture, some have suggested that eight years of Jack Bauer helped make torture more acceptable to the American public.

A dark and regrettable time in American history is finally seeing the light of day.

In the end, there appears to be very little, if anything, the GOP can do to stop or roll back the executive actions the President will announce Thursday evening.

Mission creep.

Not surprisingly, a law passed in the wake of the September 11th attacks has been used mostly for things that have nothing to do with terrorism.

Facing a tough re-election battle, Kansas Senator Pat Roberts is engaging in abject fearrmongering.

The plan won’t achieve achieve its stated goals.

The Global War on Terror isn’t over after all.

Viet Xuan Luong pins on a brigadier general’s star today, becoming the first Vietnamese-American officer to achieve that rank.

The C.I.A. has admitted spying on Senate investigators.

The justice system works, there’s no need to scrap it.

If President Obama does decide to use military force in Iraq, he should be required to seek Congressional approval beforehand.

Mostly because of politics, the hopes of some and fears of others will never be realized.

The President’s second speech to the Corps of Cadets is a vast improvement over the first.

Once again, President Obama’s attempt to communicate a foreign policy vision falls short.

An imperfect timetable, but better than nothing.

Congressman Walter Jones beat back a primary challenge from a former Bush aide who attacked him over his foreign policy views.

An award for breaking a campaign promise.

Republicans attack an attorney for doing his job. So much for that whole “constitutional conservative” thing, I guess.

Thanks to Edward Snowden, the Washington Post and the Guardian are Pulitzer Prize winners.

Americans are skeptical about getting involved in the Ukraine crisis. This isn’t a surprise.

One in ten Army helicopter pilot is a woman, yet men account for 97% of injuries in helicopter accidents.

Former SecDef Robert Gates is among those who believes that the Iraq War unduly diverted attention from fighting the War On Terror.

The “paper of record” joins the call for some kind of deal with Edward Snowden.

Another Federal District Court ruling on the Constitutionality of the NSA’s data mining program, this time more favorable to the NSA.

In a new interview, Edward Snowden explains his motives for absconding from the country with NSA secrets.

Newly disclosed details about the US role in Colombia.

The beginnings of a populist challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016?

Does a determination that NSA data collection practices are likely unconstitutional mean that Edward Snowden’s actions were, in some sense, justified?

A potentially big legal setback for a big National Security Agency program.

David Brooks thinks that the problem with American Government is that the Presidency isn’t strong enough.

Not surprisingly, Time’s editors chose Pope Francis as Person Of The Year. However, Edward Snowden arguably would have been the better choice.

My review of Andrew Bacevich’s latest book, Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country.

The argument that the Roberts Court has been overly “activist” does not hold up to examination.

The world changed significantly twelve years ago today. Will it ever change back even a little bit?

Prism ain’t got nothin’ on the Hemisphere Project.

Presidents have gotten away with ignoring Congress when it comes to foreign military adventures for a very long time.

Walter Russell Mead explains why a well intentioned, carefully crafted and consistently pursued grand strategy failed.

The Army and Navy are finally doing something about brass bloat.

Surprisingly, many pundits on the left don’t seem too thrilled about the idea of a Senator Cory Booker.

As many as 500 convicted al Qaeda terrorists were released Sunday night as part of a surge of violence that has killed thousands since April.

A Federal Judge wasn’t very pleased when Administration lawyers told her that she doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit over the President’s drone policy.

Contemporary Americans accept actions by the state that were once the cause for revolt.

Focusing on Edward Snowden is largely a waste of time.

Edward Snowden has likely violated many laws, but, absent additional facts, treason is not one of them.

President Obama’s poll numbers seem to be suffering under the weight of nearly two months of scandals and/ media attention.

My latest for The Atlantic, “Why Should Congress and the Courts Care About Snooping If Citizens Don’t?” has posted.

Even if you trust the current occupant of the White House to exercise the powers granted to the agencies operating in secret under him, do you trust all future Presidents?