The Folly of World War IV
by Andrew Bacevich Assume that the hawks get their way — that the United States does whatever it takes militarily to confront and destroy ISIS. Then what?
Vietnam
Waging Endless War From Vietnam to Syria
by Greg Grandin In April 2014, ESPN published a photograph of an unlikely duo: Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and former national security adviser and secretary of state Henry Kissinger at the Yankees-Red Sox season opener. In… Continue Reading
The Hazards of Metaphors in Foreign Policy
by Paul R. Pillar Physical, spatial imagery has long been applied to discourse about U.S. foreign policy. During the earlier portion of the Cold War, for example, the image of oozing red paint as representing the advance of communism—somewhat like… Continue Reading
Vietnamization 2.0
by Andrew Bacevich First came Fallujah, then Mosul, and later Ramadi in Iraq. Now, there is Kunduz, a provincial capital in northern Afghanistan. In all four places, the same story has played out: in cities that newspaper reporters like to call… Continue Reading
Afghan Army Now Ready … to Lose to the Taliban
by Charles Knight One need not be prophetic to sense a bad outcome for the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Almost nothing has gone by plan since the Bush administration joined forces with the Northern Alliance in 2001 to kick the… Continue Reading