Soviet Union

Obama's Nobel Lecture: Speaking Truth From Power?

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 12.16.2009 | Politics


Joseph A. Palermo

Obama's Nobel lecture might have showed us that the US has reached a turning point: either the national security monster we've created is going to eat us alive by bankrupting the country or we're going to have to shift course.

Afghanistan: The American Experience (New York Review)

The New York Review of Books | Posted 12.17.2009 | Books


Amy Hertz, Huffington Post: Two major powers have struggled for control of Afghanistan over the last few decades, The Soviet Union and the US. Facing ...

Kashmiri dispute looms large in politics of South Asia

WorldFocus.org | WorldFocus.org | Posted 12.14.2009 | Home


A de-miner near Srinagar, Kashmir. Photo: Flickr user Haumont Ambassador S. Azmat Hassan is a former Ambassador of Pakistan to Malaysia, Syri...

Afghanistan: The Soviet Experience (New York Review)

The New York Review of Books | Posted 12.17.2009 | Books


Amy Hertz, The Huffington Post: With the surge in Afghanistan expected to begin this week, we thought it was time to take a look at the long view of A...

Firework blaze in Russia nightclub kills at least 109

The Independent | Independent | Posted 12.05.2009 | Home


A blaze sparked by onstage fireworks tore through a nightclub ceiling covered in decorative twigs and plastic sheeting early Saturday, k...

Putin lauds expat Lieberman's 'brilliant political career'

Haaretz. | Haaretz | Posted 12.04.2009 | Home


Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin praised Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Friday for having risen to a senior cabinet position in Israel aft...

What Are We Fighting For In Afghanistan?

Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould | Posted 12.04.2009 | World


Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould

For 60 years the United States played both Pakistan and Afghanistan against each other in a Manichean, dualist game of superpower politics with little regard for the consequences.

Barack Obama's War: 10 Key Things To Know

William Bradley | Posted 12.04.2009 | World


William Bradley

It's Barack Obama's war now -- a war in which the Nobel Peace Prize-winner has placed himself at the helm of the largest military force ever sent to Afghanistan. Here are some key things to know.

The Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan Through CIA Eyes: Lessons for the United States Today

Bennett Ramberg, Ph.D. | Posted 11.24.2009 | World


Bennett Ramberg, Ph.D.

History suggests that when internal political dysfunction overwhelms external attempts at stabilization, getting out sooner rather than later is in the best interest of an occupying power.

Annals of Unsolved Crime: The Oswald Mystery

Edward Jay Epstein | Posted 11.21.2009 | Politics


Edward Jay Epstein

The endless tangle of bullets, trajectories, wounds, time sequences and inconsistent testimony that has surrounded the JFK assassination will probably never be satisfactorily resolved.

Even the Taliban Supports Local Radio

Alexia Parks | Posted 11.16.2009 | Impact


Alexia Parks

Today, most of the world lives in information poverty. But with the rapid rise of cell phone technology and information equity, the world will transform.

Gorbachev's Sermon on the Mount

Robert Scheer | Posted 11.11.2009 | World


Robert Scheer

When Gorbachev came to power he, like Obama, inherited a war that was not in the interest of his nation. If the response of a Soviet dictator was to end it, might we not be justified in doing the same?

An Open Letter to President Obama About Afghanistan From William R. Polk

The Nation | Posted 11.11.2009 | World


I was an early supporter of yours. So I hope you will accept the following analysis and proposals as being from a friend as well as a person with cons...

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, 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.

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 11.10.2009 | World


Joseph Nye

The end of the Cold War was a greater historical transformation than 9/11, but controversy persists about its causes.

Mikhail Gorbachev Supports US Withdrawal From Afghanistan (Video)

Posted 11.08.2009 | World


Mikhail Gorbachev supports a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The former president of the Soviet Union spoke to CNN's John King Sunday on State Of ...

John Reid: The enduring implications of the fall of the Berlin Wall

The Independent | Independent | Posted 11.08.2009 | Home


The fall of the Berlin Wall, on November 9, 1989, was one of history's truly epochal moments. During what became a revolutionary wave sweeping ac...

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.

Keeping Afghanistan Safe from Democracy

Robert Scheer | Posted 11.04.2009 | World


Robert Scheer

The most idiotic thing being said about America's involvement in Afghanistan is that the best way to protect the 68,000 U.S. troops there now is by putting an additional 40,000 in harm's way.

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.

Women at Work: Insights From Women on the Front Lines of Polish Design

Chauncey Zalkin | Posted 10.22.2009 | Style


Chauncey Zalkin

Design is about people -- the handiwork of the creator, human ingenuity, and the social ramifications of design in use.

Obama in the Thicket of "Afghaniranistan"

William Bradley | Posted 10.21.2009 | World


William Bradley

Obama is in a multi-faceted complex of geopolitical crises. He is actively using military force in two of the countries, and has threatened, at the least, tough sanctions in the third.

Getting the Vietnam Analogy Right in Afghanistan

Leon T. Hadar | Posted 10.21.2009 | World


Leon T. Hadar

The ghosts of the Vietnam War seem to be hanging around the White House Situation Room as President Obama and his national security aides debate a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

Stalin Libel Suit: Josef Stalin's Grandson Loses Case Against Newspaper

AP | Posted 10.13.2009 | World


MOSCOW (AP)- A Russian court ruled against Josef Stalin's grandson Tuesday in a libel suit over a newspaper article that said the Soviet dictator sent...