As Exhibit A, we have the exquisite sarcasm of General Robert E. Lee: It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers. In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers … Continue reading →
One of Bush’s less well-publicized roles is to pay condolence calls on families of soldiers who have been killed in the war. To date, he has visited: …more than 1,500 relatives of the 4,255 American troops who have lost their … Continue reading →
The Syrians are not happy. The details are all very hush-hush, but rumor has it in the intelligence community that earlier this month something what very wrong with the shiny new missile defense system they had recently ordered from Russia. … Continue reading →
Here’s a great summary of a recent symposium on Vietnam history. It was written by Cinnamon Stillwell, another “changer”—and, in the interests of full disclosure, a friend of mine. Stillwell writes: The significance of the Vietnam War, both from a … Continue reading →
When I began my blog, I knew I wanted to specialize in trying to explain how change of mind—especially in the political sense—happens. I’ve written here how therapy involves change on three dimensions—mind, emotions, and action—and how intervention on any … Continue reading →
[Part I here.] The 60s in Vietnam represented a sea-change in attitude towards the military, and not only on the fringes of the Left. Respected mainstream jounalists began to see their task less as transmitting information and more as questioning … Continue reading →
The antiwar, anti-Bush Leftist organization MoveOn isn’t keen on preemptive strikes—except for its own towards its designated enemies, who now seem to include General Petraeus. MoveOn has drawn quite a bit of metaphorical flak for its ad in the NY … Continue reading →
In a recent Atlantic article by Robert Kaplan entitled “Rereading Vietnam,” the author discusses a number of books that have been given little press and short shrift by reviewers. These are histories and memoirs written by men who served in … Continue reading →
Remember those tests of perception known as figure/ground drawings? As a child I was fascinated by their magical “now you see it, now you see something else” mutability. Here are two of the most popular—the vase/profiles one and the young … Continue reading →
To continue with the theme of the last few days, this article that appeared in The American Prospect back in February is edifying in describing exactly how an increasingly antiwar Congress pressured Nixon back in the late 60s and early-to-mid-70s … Continue reading →
I’ve got an essay up at PJ today entitled “Finessing the Surge,” about politicians staking out a position on the current situation in Iraq. In my essay, I mention that they keep referencing that tragic image of helicopters attempting to … Continue reading →
Bush’s speech yesterday seems to have spawned a further opening of that wound that’s never really closed, the Vietnam War. Bush’s critics are incensed: after all, Iraq/Vietnam is their analogy, always good for a negative spin on what we’re doing … Continue reading →