When Barack Obama ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004, he jokingly referred to himself as a "skinny kid with a funny name." The self-deprecation won him points. As part of his now famous keynote address to the 2004 Democratic Convention, the quip was part of a well-delivered speech...

I work with veterans on a daily basis. Lately, I've been burning the midnight oil as part of Operation FREE, a coalition of veterans groups and national security organizations that are looking to raise awareness about the links between climate change and national security.

We're right in the middle...

I recently attended a luncheon in Washington hosted by the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI). Founded and run by prominent neoconservatives, FPI invited former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to hold a discussion on America's place in the world. I predicted that the former presidential candidate's hair would be more...

Barack Obama is the LeBron James of the Democratic Party. At least when it comes to national security. Republicans have dominated Democrats on the security question for decades, but according to a new survey by Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, President Obama is relegating that long-standing Republican edge...

Whenever I want to figure out whether a politician is worth supporting, I take a look at the "issues" section of his website. Different candidates are bound to care about different issues, so no two lists are exactly alike. I wouldn't expect a Senator from Mississippi to have a page...

It seems like realism is enjoying a worldwide renaissance. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev took to the editorial pages of the Washington Post today, trumpeting a return to national interests as the foundation of international affairs.

Overcoming our common negative legacy is possible only by ensuring equality and mutual benefit...

President Obama is sending 17,000 combat troops to Afghanistan. It is possible more will follow in the months to come. While this allows the President to live up to his campaign promise to refocus America's fight against terrorism, it fails to answer a basic question: What is it we're trying...

After seven years of incessant warfare, the Bush administration has put the military in a difficult place. Equipment is wearing out more quickly than it can be replaced, to the tune of $17 billion a year. Amorphous missions have stretched our armed forces to the breaking point. West Point...

Leo Tolstoy was always a dark horse candidate for Secretary of Defense. For starters, the Senate would never confirm a dead Russian to such a critical post. More importantly, Tolstoy never would have accepted the appointment. A Christian pacifist, Tolstoy's writings on non-violence laid the intellectual and spiritual groundwork that...

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a retired general. He gave me a gift that I hardly expected and heartily accepted: the option of patriotism. Of course, neither generals nor anyone else has the power to bestow or withhold the "patriot" title. However, this particular general spoke passionately...

Although Barack Obama is ahead in the polls, it's safe to say that conventional wisdom is winning this election. Yes, I understand that if we had listened to conventional wisdom two or three years ago, Senator Obama would be nowhere near the presidency. Fair point. Yet a lot has changed...