Cold War

20 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Will Another Superpower Meet Its End in Afghanistan?

Loretta Napoleoni | Posted 11.10.2009 | World


Loretta Napoleoni

Remarkably, the central Asian country of Afghanistan seems once again to be shaping our future. It is paradoxical that the graveyard of one superpower should become a battlefield for the other.

Top-Secret Reagan Letters to Soviet Leaders Now Online

Jason Saltoun-Ebin | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics


Jason Saltoun-Ebin

As the letters show, Reagan and Gorbachev were instead discussing how to minimize the threat of nuclear war by first reducing and then eliminating all nuclear weapons.

Cold War's End -- The Wall Comes Down

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

The fall of The Wall signified the fall of the Soviet Union, and an end to the Cold War. And while this was of enormous historical import, I fear that future generations won't really pay much attention to it.

Who Caused the End of the Cold War?

Joseph Nye | Posted 11.09.2009 | World


Joseph Nye

The lessons for today are clear. While military power remains important, it is a mistake for any country -- especially the United States -- to discount the role of economic power and soft power abroad.

The True Story of Area 51's UFOs

Keith Thomson | Posted 11.06.2009 | Technology


Keith Thomson

Area 51 is heard in the same breath as Roswell, Amityville and Loch Ness. But now, with the CIA's declassification of aircraft testing there, we can finally know the truth.

"Our Weapon Is Fear"

Tom Sullivan | Posted 11.05.2009 | Politics


Tom Sullivan

Conservatives have resurrected "socialist" to smear anyone to the left of Genghis Khan as anti-American or a heretic.

365 Days and Still Thanking Jesus

Lorelei Kelly | Posted 11.05.2009 | Politics


Lorelei Kelly

In looking at Obama's first year, we must not fall into the typical trap that pits idealism against pragmatism, where the virtuous line up against the effective, and the purists fight the negotiators.

When Will the U.S. and Russia Stop Acting Like It's Still the Cold War?

Russ Wellen | Posted 11.04.2009 | World


Russ Wellen

Unless nuclear states can shed the Cold War mentality once and for all, it's hard to be optimistic about the long-terms prospects for disarmament.

Think Tank's Advice To Europe: Stop 'Fetishizing' American Relationship

Spiegel Online | Gregor Peter Schmitz | Posted 11.03.2009 | World


The council released a study on Monday called "Toward a Post-American Europe," based on wide-ranging interviews and research conducted in the 27 EU me...

Lessons For US Economic Policy From The Fall Of The Berlin Wall

Newsweek | Michael Hirsh | Posted 11.03.2009 | Politics


The abrupt and miserable end of the socialist experiment--it all happened so fast, with East Germany getting absorbed into West Germany on Oct. 3, 199...

From The Pentagon To Monty Python: The Internet Turns 40

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.29.2009 | Technology


Chris Weigant

Technology has grown by such leaps and bounds since 1969 that it's hard to conceive how things were before we all had access to computers.

Checkpoint Charvet

Nick Foulkes | Posted 10.26.2009 | Style


Nick Foulkes

This Museum reminded me just how cool Jack looked. Kennedy showed that you could be a man who shopped and still face down the Soviet Union when the need arose.

5 Certifiably Insane Cold War Projects

Cracked.com | Posted 10.24.2009 | Comedy


The upcoming movie The Men Who Stare at Goats tells the story of a military operation that attempted to create Jedi warriors who could teleport throug...

Dick Cheney Keeps the Flame Aloft

Jacob Heilbrunn | Posted 10.22.2009 | Politics


Jacob Heilbrunn

It might be tempting to dismiss Cheney's remarks -- about Obama allegedly dithering when it comes to Afghanistan -- as so much conservative boilerplate. But that would be a mistake.

Commander in Chief: Yes He Is

Lorelei Kelly | Posted 10.22.2009 | World


Lorelei Kelly

Obama and his team (and an increasing number of voices on Capitol Hill) know that, in today's world, security problems are beyond the purview of the military acting alone.

Networking Governments

Gary Hart | Posted 10.22.2009 | World


Gary Hart

More can be done in linking national research laboratories, networking financial regulatory regimes, linking universities, networking environmental protection efforts, and the list goes on.

New Documents Show Increased Cancer Risk For Baby Boomers After Nuclear Testing

Politics Daily | Posted 10.21.2009 | Living


Even with a half century's hindsight, the U.S. government's willingness to risk the health of the nation's children seems somewhere between unfathomab...

Counter-Factual History: McCain Is President and Bono Wins the Nobel Prize

Leon T. Hadar | Posted 10.14.2009 | World


Leon T. Hadar

"I have to admit that I'm beginning to miss George W. Bush," is the way former Republican Senator "Chuck" Hagel responded when being asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer to assess the foreign policy record of the administration of Republican President John McCain.

Hillary Clinton Tells Russia To Move Past Cold War

AP | MATTHEW LEE | Posted 10.14.2009 | World


KAZAN, Russia (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday challenged Russians to open up their political system and embrace di...

On the Road: Why Do We Want To Travel?

Robert Fuller | Posted 10.10.2009 | Living


Robert Fuller

Fear is part of what makes travel so enlivening and revelatory. You're perpetually off-balance and on guard. After a while one yearns for the mindlessness of familiar routines.

Our Best Way Forward in Afghanistan is Out

Mary Ellen McNish | Posted 10.06.2009 | Politics


Mary Ellen McNish

Afghans and Americans deserve is a full, public discussion of the policy choices looming in the next weeks. We must choose to demonstrate a commitment to the rule of law, and not violence.

A Lesson From History

Lance Simmens | Posted 09.30.2009 | Politics


Lance Simmens

The fact that Eisenhower and Khrushchev could meet and share ideas speaks volumes to the need to reach out to the world community to solve what sometimes seem to be intractable problems.

Exorcising America's Diplomatic Demons

Robert Scheer | Posted 09.30.2009 | Politics


Robert Scheer

What we need is for Obama to pull a Nixon and attempt to cut a deal with Tehran as well as with competing forces in Afghanistan that meets their nationalist aspirations and our security interests.

US, Cuba Held Unannounced Talks

AP | MATTHEW LEE and PAUL HAVEN | Posted 09.29.2009 | World


NEW YORK — A senior American diplomat has held unannounced, high-level talks in Havana with the Cuban government, three State Department officia...

Remembering 1989, Diversity in Post-Communist Europe

Barry D. Wood | Posted 09.29.2009 | World


Barry D. Wood

Today, nearly 20 years after the Berlin Wall came down, freedom and diversity are the realities in post-communist Europe.