Despite Israel, Not Because of It
Israelis repeatedly warned the Bush administration that invading Iraq would be a disaster.
David Brog
· 10 min read
History
A collection of 451 posts
A Self-Created Tyrant
In a new biography of Stalin, William Nester does his best to locate a human being within the monster, but those efforts eventually run aground.
Ron Capshaw
· 6 min read
The Middle East Will Not Improve
Decades of free riding has meant that many Middle East countries lack the skills and institutions necessary to maintain and build upon the favourable circumstances in which they now find themselves.
Eric Bordenkircher
· 10 min read
The Central Dichotomy
An appreciation of Richard Herzinger (1957–2025).
Jeffrey Herf
· 7 min read
David’s Unholstered Sling
Lessons from 7 October and the 2023–25 war.
Brian Stewart
· 17 min read
A Subterranean Celebration
How the 6 Gallery reading in San Francisco on 7 October 1955 changed the counterculture.
David S. Wills
· 13 min read
The Good War No More
Jon Lee Anderson’s powerful new book on Afghanistan reminds us that the justness of a cause is no guarantee of its success.
Brian Stewart
· 6 min read
The Liberal-International Order Will Survive
...but it will need to be reimagined in the post-Trump era.
Matt Johnson
· 20 min read
Peace and Appeasement
Israel now stands accused of genocide for refusing to accept its own annihilation.
Yuki Zeman
· 8 min read
The Phantom Enemy of the Culture War
The postwar decline of the West was not sabotage, it was conviction slowly unwound in the face of horror.
Joseph Zeller
· 9 min read
The 100 Million Killed Under Communist Regimes Matter
The death toll under Communist regimes is of incredible magnitude. Yet whenever I attack Communism for being an evil ideology, I get a serious number of rebuttals.
Razib Khan
· 6 min read
Another JFK Assassination Nothingburger
Jefferson Morley’s dogged pursuit of a CIA connection in Miami is all smoke and no fire.
Fred Litwin
· 16 min read
Detonation Days
Garrett Graff’s new book provides the story of America’s quest for the bomb with a valuable human quality without sacrificing the epic sweep.
Ron Capshaw
· 10 min read
Ancient Indian Tradition—Or Twentieth-Century European Export?
Evidence suggests that today’s common yoga practices were inspired by a popular 1924 Danish gymnastics manual.
Carl von Siemens
· 20 min read
Getting China Wrong
American conservatives show no interest in understanding their country’s greatest geopolitical foe. The consequences of this incuriosity could be disastrous.
D. Marshall
· 17 min read