War

Armistice Day, the Great War, and Brains: A Tale of Woe

Dan Agin | Posted 11.07.2009 | Politics


Dan Agin

Had the politicians of various countries been obligated to live in combat on the front lines, it's doubtful that the ferocious carnage of the First World war would have occurred.

Waging a War on Violence in Los Angeles

Brian Center | Posted 11.06.2009 | Impact


Brian Center

I looked at the faces in the small room and heard the voices and realized that this is war. This is why people kill each other. It was fear.

One Term President? New York Review Blog By Garry Wills

The New York Review of Books | Garry Wills | Posted 11.05.2009 | Books


Garry Wills The New York Review of Books Blog I am told by people I respect that Barack Obama cannot pull out of both Iraq and Afghanistan without be...

Our National Journey? Get Out A Map

Jeffrey Shaffer | Posted 11.04.2009 | Politics


Jeffrey Shaffer

While media attention in Iraq and Afghanistan focuses on car bombings and combat casualties, other disturbing events in the region are slipping through the news cycle almost unnoticed.

Liberia: The Real Danger is Not Spending Enough

Ruthie Ackerman | Posted 11.03.2009 | World


Ruthie Ackerman

Conservatives will ask why during an economic recession should we spend even more money in Liberia. My answer: for the security of Liberia and the entire West African region.

One Year Later: A Return to Normalcy

Lincoln Mitchell | Posted 11.03.2009 | Politics


Lincoln Mitchell

Th Obama normalcy is a welcome relief from eight years of the Bush administration, but it is only a start. If Obama builds on this start with true reforms, much of the hope will come back.

My Dialogue with President Obama

Stephen C. Rose | Posted 11.05.2009 | World


Stephen C. Rose

Relax. This is a way of writing. It is imagined. The scene is a room in the White House, setting is informal. The President has asked if I prefer that and I do.

Think It's Over Once You're 60? Check Out The Purpose Prize

Julia Moulden | Posted 11.02.2009 | Living


Julia Moulden

This is the true story of a couple of ordinary Americans who thought, once they turned 60, that life would be uneventful. Instead, they've just won a prestigious award that honours their world-changing work.

Martians in New Jersey: Remembering the War of the Worlds

Michael Kaplan | Posted 10.30.2009 | New York


Michael Kaplan

Orson Welles was a talented director, and, at the age of 22, a very naughty boy.

Somalia's True Colors

K'naan | Posted 10.29.2009 | Impact


K'naan

Why do they call Mogadishu grainy, ugly and hellish? It is a difficult place, where war is tattooed on hands and tongues, but you have to have loved a place to see its true colors.

Afghanistan: A Whole New Approach

Jim Wallis | Posted 10.29.2009 | World


Jim Wallis

When you massively intervene in a country as much as the U.S. has in Afghanistan, you can't responsibly just walk away. We must lead with what works -- development.

Rock Band OAR Asks America to Open Up Your Arms -- and Focus on What Matters

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 10.28.2009 | Politics


Paul Rieckhoff

With the noise clogging the media landscape, it's hard to get the public to pay attention to anything important. Fortunately, some extremely talented musicians are working to change that.

Is Obama Keeping His Promises?

Newsweek | Anna Quindlen | Posted 10.24.2009 | Politics


History will judge Barack Obama over the long haul. But we've learned something in the short term that is simple, obvious, and has less to do with him...

Friday Talking Points [99] -- Misdirection

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.26.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

The real head-scratcher for serious media-watchers right now is what the "war" between the White House and Fox News was meant to distract us from this week. The "war" itself is laughable, for a number of reasons.

Historic Day: Obama Signs Advance VA Funding into Law

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 10.22.2009 | Politics


Paul Rieckhoff

Rey Leal has fought on the streets of Fallujah; for mental health care in south Texas; and in Washington, for a solution to years of late veterans' health care budgets. Today, Rey and millions of veterans have won their fight.

The Twin Brother of Annihilation

Robert Koehler | Posted 10.22.2009 | World


Robert Koehler

The argument: In a world held hostage by nuclear weapons, there are smaller aggregate numbers of war dead; therefore, God bless nukes. Or maybe not.

Cheney: Stop The "Dithering" As Troops Face Danger

AP | DOUGLASS K. DANIEL | Posted 10.22.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday night accused the White House of dithering over the strategy for the war in Afghanis...

What Is Patriotism?

Janet Ritz | Posted 10.21.2009 | Politics


Janet Ritz

President Obama may deserve criticism. But trying to undermine his presidency, his legitimacy, his personal safety, especially in a time of war, is unpatriotic at best.

Obsessions: Small and Monstrous

Thomas Scheff | Posted 10.20.2009 | Living


Thomas Scheff

Humiliation can spiral to the point that it haunts us. Emotions, at their core, are bodily states of arousal. It is bodily arousal over which one has no direct control that makes the obsession painful and compulsive.

Afghanistan: An Election Without Results

Abdulhadi Hairan | Posted 10.19.2009 | World


Abdulhadi Hairan

Everyone here is impatient to know the outcome of the much-discussed, controversial Afghan elections, but two months have passed and still no one has a clue about the real situation.

Was "Ardi" a Liberal?

Frans de Waal | Posted 10.18.2009 | Politics


Frans de Waal

What if we descend, not from a blustering chimp-like ancestor, but from a gentle, bonobo-like ape? What if we share characteristics with both of these relatives instead of the one favored by our political ideology?

Drugs: Losing the Longest War

Michael Kaplan | Posted 10.15.2009 | Politics


Michael Kaplan

On October 14, 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared war on drugs ... again. There have been one or two conflicts in human history that lasted longer -- though we'd better win this before 2012, or we'll find ourselves alone in a league with the Hundred Years' War.

Afghan Troop Request Hides Real Numbers

Jeff Stein | Posted 10.15.2009 | World


Jeff Stein

Despite grim new portraits of U.S. fortunes in Afghanistan, Washington's debate over troop levels continues unhinged from reality.

Women Warriors: Supporting She 'Who Has Borne the Battle'

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 10.15.2009 | Politics


Paul Rieckhoff

After honorably fighting overseas, female veterans shouldn't have to wage new battles once they get home. And they should be treated like heroes, not candy stripers.

Achilles and the Dodgers

Gershon Hepner | Posted 10.15.2009 | Home


Gershon Hepner

ACHILLES AND THE DODGERS Putting Agamemnon down as sack of wine, with dog's eyes and the heart of deer, Achilles anticipates the way the Dodgers too...