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Guantanamo detention facility at dawn

Obama’s 20 Steps to Counterterrorism

Matt Vasilogambros | May 23, 2013
Unpacking the president's hour-long (with heckling) speech on drones, Gitmo, and everything in between. 
Food Stamps

Next Stops for Farm Bill: Senate and House Floors

Jerry Hagstrom | May 15, 2013
The House Agriculture Committee prides itself on bipartisanship, but when the panel met Wednesday to consider a new farm bill, the deep cultural divides between its Republican majority and Democratic minority members were in full relief.
U.S. Consulate in Benghazi

Under Pressure, the White House Releases More Than 100 Pages of Benghazi E-Mails

George E. Condon Jr. | May 15, 2013
The White House, in an effort to calm the swirl of controversy about the reaction to last year’s attacks on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, late Wednesday released more than 100 pages of e-mails leading to the development of talking points that attempted to explain the violence that left four Americans dead. The e-mails had earlier been shown to members of Congress but the White House had resisted releasing them, citing the precedent of protecting internal discussions within an administration.
Joe Lieberman

Lieberman Backs GOP Line on Security Failures in Boston Marathon Attack

Stacy Kaper | May 9, 2013
Joe Lieberman gave a boost to a Republican line of attack against the Obama administration for failing to fully investigate and share information that might have prevented the Boston bombings.
Obama and Clinton

Why Benghazi is a Blow to Obama and Clinton

Ron Fournier | May 9, 2013
Both parties are wrong about the scandal: It’s not Watergate and it’s not nothing.

Inside the Cover: Stopping Terrorism at the Source

National Journal Staff | May 3, 2013
In this week's National Journal cover story, Michael Hirsh looks at why the Obama administration's plan to use American Muslims as an early-detection system to spot radicals hasn't worked. In this video, go inside the story with the author himself.
Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

Stopping Terrorism at the Source

Michael Hirsh | May 2, 2013
Two years ago, the Obama administration launched a plan to use American Muslims as an early-detection system to spot radicals. So why hasn’t it worked?
Syria

Obama Is Looking for Reasons to Delay Response to Syria's Chemical-Weapons Use

Michael Hirsh | April 25, 2013
The White House is not eager to engage militarily in the Middle East again.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev

Was the Ball Dropped in the Tsarnaev Questioning?

Major Garrett | April 23, 2013
To paraphrase Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz: This is our @#$&%! Constitution.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev

How Tamerlan Tsarnaev Might Have Been Stopped

Michael Hirsh | April 22, 2013
Did the Obama administration fail to follow up on Muslim community outreach programs?
Paul LePage

The Hot Mic Rule

Reid Wilson | April 22, 2013
One might think that after President Obama and Mitt Romney got caught on a hot mic, politicians would learn an important lesson about politics: In an age of smart phones, there's no such thing as an off-the-record speech. Five years later, Obama is still taking flack for surreptitiously recorded co...

What is the Islamic Jihad Union?

Sara Sorcher | April 19, 2013
The FBI is reportedly investigating whether Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the brothers of Chechen descent suspected of carrying out the deadly Boston Marathon bombings on Monday, have links with the Islamic Jihad Union rooted in central Asia. Chechnya, which has a predominantly Muslim population and fought two wars attempting to split from Russia, has attracted Islamic extremist groups. Where does the IJU fit in?
Obama

Pray for Our President

Ron Fournier | April 19, 2013
Terrible moments like this past week tested Obama and his predecessor. 
Boston house crime scene

Were Boston Bombers Lone Wolves or Long Arm of al-Qaida?

James Kitfield | April 19, 2013
What pushed two seemingly normal young immigrants past the tipping point of youthful anger and into wanton terrorism?
Boston suspect search

Boston Suspects Demonstrate the Thin Line Between Amateurism and Terrorism

Michael Hirsh | April 19, 2013
U.S. Muslims fear a backlash. ‘It can’t get worse than this,’ says one community organizer.
Boston Marathon bomings

The Boston Bombs Remind Us That We’re Not Safe

Michael Hirsh | April 18, 2013
Just because law enforcement officials learned how to track terrorists doesn’t mean we’re not at risk. 
Lizzie Lee

The Way to Combat Terrorism

Ronald Brownstein | April 18, 2013
America can persevere by embracing diversity.
Boston aftermath

In Boston as in Baghdad, Tragedy Cannot Be Ignored

Lara Jakes | April 18, 2013
Friends and colleagues ask why, and how, this was possible. Perhaps this is the way the world already is, and has been for some time.
President Barack Obama, Boston Marathon

For Obama, a Rising Tide of Rage

Michael Hirsh | April 16, 2013
The Boston bombing is the first since 9/11, but only because of effective interdiction.
Boston marathon explosion

Don't Jump to Conclusions About Boston Marathon Explosions

Matthew Cooper | April 15, 2013
We don't know what happened. We don't know if they were bombs. We don't know if someone was angry at Boston in particular or at tax day or at anything else. 
Pat Toomey

The Conservative Senator Who May Control Obama's Fate

Ron Fournier | April 8, 2013
Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania emerges as a dealmaker on background checks, as he faces tough re-election in 2016.
Lizard

13% of Americans Believe President Obama Is the Antichrist

Matt Berman | April 2, 2013
New polling shows just how many conspiracy theorists lurk among us—and what they believe.
Pakistan missile test

Pakistan's 'Strategic Pivot' May Not Include Reforming Its Nuclear Policies

Elaine M. Grossman. | March 22, 2013
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The Pakistani military and the nation’s recently dissolved government have been touting a “strategic pivot” toward increased cooperation and transparency with regional neighbors, but it is far from clear whether these major shifts would affect Islamabad’s nuclear weapons. 
Obama

The Jerusalem Gambit

George E. Condon Jr. | March 21, 2013
Obama went in with two messages: "We're with you" and "Get real." He may have just pulled it off.
Barack Obama

Obama to Israelis: Don’t Listen to Bibi

Michael Hirsh | March 21, 2013
The president goes over Netanyahu’s head abroad, just as he has with the GOP at home.
Obama in Israel

Empty-Handed Tourist?

Major Garrett | March 19, 2013
JERUSALEM — President Obama arrives in Israel less burdened than any previous U.S. president by the diplomatic malignancy known as the peace process.
Cover 315

VIDEO: Inside This Week's Cover Story

National Journal Staff | March 15, 2013
In this week's National Journal cover story, Michael Hirsh discusses how the United States could contain Islamism in the Middle East. In this video, go inside the story with the author himself.
Arab Spring in Egypt

The Next Arab Challenge

Michael Hirsh | March 14, 2013
Two years after the Middle East revolts, the Obama administration has mounted no real effort to understand the dynamics of political Islam.
Pope Francis

New Pope Draws Praise and Prayers From Washington

Mike Magner and Christopher Snow Hopkins | March 13, 2013
President Obama wrapped up a rare meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday afternoon by giving his adversaries a piece of news. “I made the announcement that we saw smoke,” the president told reporters as he left the Capitol shortly after 3 p.m.
MANDA BAY

Outsourcing the Fight Against Terrorism

James Kitfield | March 7, 2013
The United States is using local soldiers to fight al-Qaida allies in East Africa.
Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Isn't Done Proving Why He's Not President

Josh Kraushaar | March 4, 2013
One silver lining for Republicans: The GOP’s presidential nominee in 2016 will be much more politically savvy.
Marco Rubio

Republicans Need to Think for Themselves, Even in Election Years

Jill Lawrence | March 4, 2013
Fixing the GOP would be a lot easier if its officeholders would stop trying to spot potential purer-than-thou primary opponents over their right shoulders.
Uranium Conversion Facility

If Nixon Can Go to China ...

Michael Hirsh | March 3, 2013
Why can't Obama go to Iran? Because in Washington, good ideas can often be toxic.
Hagel

Chuck Hagel, Strategic Thinker

Michael Hirsh | February 19, 2013
It looks awfully likely that Chuck Hagel will squeak through confirmation as President Obama's Defense secretary. But it is also likely that he'll enter the Pentagon a damaged figure, a nominee tainted by the lingering impression that he is not ready to handle the vast complexities of a defense budget slated for slashing.

Play of the Day: The States (And Colbert) Take on The Banks

Ross Gianfortune and Government Executive | February 15, 2013
Stephen Colbert looks at the government going after Standard & Poor's.
Scott Brown

Is Gabriel Gomez the Next Scott Brown?

Elahe Izadi | February 13, 2013
Republicans getting behind political outsider, ex-Navy SEAL and businessman Gabriel Gomez.
Pope Benedict XVI

Pontifical Stats: U.S. Catholics, Spanish-Speakers, and Africans

Jody Brannon and Stephanie Czekalinski | February 11, 2013
The first resignation of a pope in centuries is a good time to take a look at statistics and figures at Catholicism, the world's largest Christian denomination.
Pope Benedict, Nationals Stadium

Pope Benedict and the Decline of American Catholicism

Amy Sullivan | February 11, 2013
Catholic churches in the U.S. have lost 5 percent of their membership during the last decade, and Americans never embraced Benedict as they did John Paul II.
tweet

Hill Staffer Tweets 'Me Likey Broke Girls' From Boss's Account, Gets Fired

Ben Terris | February 7, 2013
Rep. Raul Labrador's spokesman couldn't delete the errant tweet fast enough to save his job. Whoops.
Obama Netanyahu

Don't Expect Much From Obama's Trip to Israel

Michael Hirsh | February 6, 2013
The White House plays down expectations for peace between Israel and the Palestinians—and it should.
Yes We Can Obama Rally Grant Park

With New Support Base, Obama Doesn't Need Right-Leaning Whites Anymore

Ronald Brownstein | February 1, 2013
For decades, Democrats shaped their policies around fears of the culturally conservative white voters to the GOP. But Obama’s winning coalition has altered that calculus.
Barack Obama

Why Obama Is Giving Up on Right-Leaning Whites

Ronald Brownstein | January 31, 2013
For decades, Democrats shaped their policies around fears of losing right-leaning white voters to the GOP. But Obama’s winning coalition has altered that calculus.
Play of the Day! 1-24-13

With Friends Like Chuck Norris and Donald Trump, How Did Netanyahu Not Do Better?

Cory Bennett | January 24, 2013
Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart unearthed some terrific campaign videos from the recent Israeli elections. Apparently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has some American friends in high places.  "Israel has its own tough guy," a campaign ad starts off. "His name is Bibi Neta...
Benjamin Netanyahu

Why Benjamin Netanyahu Will Be the Big Loser in Israel's Election

Michael J. Koplow - The Atlantic | January 22, 2013
The current and future prime minister will be stuck with a coalition that's doomed to fail.
France Mali Fighting

What You Need to Know About Mali

Matt Vasilogambros | January 14, 2013
Northern Mali could become a failed state and a hotbed for militants, similar to what Afghanistan was when the Taliban took power during the 1990s.
John Huntsman

'No Labels' Adds Washington Muscle to Reform Washington

Ron Fournier | January 14, 2013
Centrist and squishy no more? Grassroots advocacy group shifts focus in bid to fix political system.
autopen

When a Robot Signs a Bill: A Brief History of the Autopen

Brian Resnick | January 3, 2013
While serving as 3rd president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson discovered a piece of technology that he could simply not live without.
Richard Carmona, Bill Clinton

Carmona Considering Ariz. Governor Run

Scott Bland | January 3, 2013
2012 Democratic Senate nominee and former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona is considering a 2014 gubernatorial bid in Arizona, he told the Arizona Capitol Times Wednesday. Carmona told the newspaper that numerous donors and other supporters have contacted him to urge him to mount another state...
Female Marine Corps recruits

The Enemy Within

James Kitfield | September 13, 2012
The military-justice system has failed to check the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the armed forces.
Religion stat

Religion: U.S. Demographic Snapshot

Next America Staff | July 19, 2012
The 10 facts to know about religion and faith in the U.S.

Hot Ticket

Michelle Bloom | December 5, 2010
And on the sixth night of Hanukkah there was happy hour. That’s right: Tonight the D.C. Jewish Community Center’s EntryPointDC hosts a Hanukkah Happy Hour on the Hill for Jewish young adults.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS - Reinventing Iraq

March 22, 2003
A country called Iraq has existed only since 1919. But some cities in that land were already 16 centuries old when the nearby Egyptians built their pyramids. Bureaucrats in Mesopotamia, as the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers was known, began keeping written records in 3400 B.C. And despite three decades of political repression, economic mismanagement, and military disaster under Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, Iraq today-unlike Afghanistan in 2001, Yugoslavia in 1995, and Germany in 1945-is not a "failed state." (See "Occupational Hazards," this issue.) From food-distribution systems to local police forces, essential institutions and infrastructures have survived Saddam, albeit barely, and they will survive a war that successfully ousts him. So the good news is that Iraq will not have to start over from scratch. Unfortunately, the bad news is also that Iraq will not be able to start over from scratch.
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