Roundup

Even if we defeat the Islamic State, we’ll still lose the bigger war

by Andrew J. Bacevich

As America’s efforts to “degrade and ultimately destroy” Islamic State militants extend into Syria, Iraq War III has seamlessly morphed into Greater Middle East Battlefield XIV.

Why conservatives are so upset with the new AP standards

by Tom Sullivan

More analysis now of the recent attempt by Colorado conservatives to present students with a properly soft-focused American history.

This is Elizabeth Warren's moment

by Julian Zelizer

The Massachusetts Democrat may be perfectly positioned to react to the revelation of secretly taped conversations within the Federal Reserve that have exposed the cozy relationship that exists between the regulators in Washington and the regulated on Wall Street.

Will Syria Be Obama’s Vietnam?

by Fredrik Logevall and Gordon M. Goldstein

Will Mr. Obama repeat history and commit ground troops?

If Obama Wants Congress' Approval to Attack ISIS, He'll Have to Ask—or Screw Up Badly

by Jack Goldsmith

"The truth is that neither the President nor the leadership in Congress wants a vote right now."

The Congressman Who Spied for Russia

by Peter Duffy

The strange case of Samuel Dickstein.

West Point historian asks … What good is war?

by Gregory A. Daddis

"War has not left us with a more stable international environment. And it seems increasingly incapable of deterring future war."

The Lessons of History

by Steve Hochstadt

Right now the lessons that history can teach have provoked a nationwide argument.

Heidegger was one of the most influential thinkers of the modern era. He was also a convinced Nazi.

by Peter E. Gordon

How, then, can one study his philosophy without taking some cognizance of his ignominious past?

Take the test: The College Board lets you compare the old and new AP history questions

by College Board

"The best way to understand the changes is by taking a closer look at the exam, before and after the redesign, as it directly impacts how teachers and students focus their study of U.S. history."

The psychology of torture (The Holocaust is the event that shaped the Milgram experiment)

by Malcolm Harris

The Milgram experiments showed that anybody could be capable of torture when obeying an authority. Are they still valid?

The Yasukuni Shuffle: China and Japan duke it out via T.V. Serials on the Wrongs of WW II

by Philip J Cunningham

Everyday hundreds, if not thousands of Chinese and Japanese kill one another on Chinese television.

Criminals and Culture Makers

by L.E. Neal

Detroit’s story of bankruptcy and rust is a quintessential Great Recession tragedy, but it is not the first major American city to grapple with bankruptcy amid structural economic change, class tensions, and pervasive urban desolation.

How the Pill Overcame Impossible Odds And Found a Place in Millions of Women's Purses

by Ann Friedman

The pill is now so common—four out of five sexually active women have used it—that it’s easy to forget that oral contraception was once the stuff of fantasy.

The Real Reason It's Nearly Impossible to End the Cuba Embargo

by Peter Kornbluh and William M. LeoGrande

Bill Clinton tried engaging Castro. After Havana shot down two U.S. planes, it all fell apart.

Obama’s misguided in claiming he knows which is the right side of history

by Jonah Goldberg

We’ve heard a great deal lately about the “wrong side of history.” Although a slogan that glorifies history, it is a statement about the future, not the past.

6 Mind-Blowing Tactical Tricks That Turned The Tide Of War

by Jeremy Bender

Technology and manpower never guarantee a military victory by themselves.

Welcome to Coca-Cola Town, USA: America’s scary corporate naming problem

by Jonathan Zimmerman

We now live in a world with KFC-sponsored manholes and McDonalds-issued report cards. Here's why it's killing us.

China’s president is invoking the Silk Road in diplomacy with neighbors. Does he understand what the Silk Road was all about?

by Tansen Sen

The romantic concept of a historic Silk Road by which camel caravans wend among the mountains and deserts of Central Asia is back in the news.

Hunger Growls in Egypt

by Daniel Pipes

Egypt, famed for millennia as the "breadbasket of the Mediterranean," now faces alarming food shortages.