The Philippines, Australia, and even China helped the United States defeat imperial Japan in World War II.
UN Origins Project Series, Part 4: In WWII, It Took Teamwork to Defeat Not Only Germany, But Japan
read more
War & Peace
Pakistan: Tragic Trendsetter for Religious, Political, and Ethnic Violence
Many in Pakistan reflexively call for a “strongman” to quell violence in Karachi and the rest of the country.
Cut Deficit, Increase Militarization?
The recent deficit deal includes potentially deep cuts in U.S. security spending. One likely but perhaps counterintuitive outcome would be staffing reductions in foreign development programs and in diplomatic missions. The deal will also hit the budgets of domestic security programs like border patrols, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. These are not the sort of security cuts decried by hawkish lawmakers who fear that potential cuts to the military will hollow out the U.S. armed forces and cripple the military industry.
Treatment of Russian POWs in WWII Paved the Way for Holocaust
“The existing concentration camps changed their character upon contact with prisoners of war,” writes Timothy Snyder in Bloodlands.
Hiroshima, Mon Ami: “History’s Most Awkward Handshake”
Reality TV today has nothing on a show from the 50s that hosted both a prominent Hiroshima victim and the co-pilot of the Enola Gay.
Kim Jong Il’s Visit to Russia: Just More Mixed Messages?
Russia expressed optimism about its pipeline project from Russia to North Korea to South Korea.
Why Not a Fantasy Foreign Policy League?
Military intelligence threat assessments are like a counterterrorism version of fantasy football ratings.
Governments Kill
Governments kill on our behalf. This arrangement is a form of social contract, which means that governments are basically contract killers. Some states, like Nazi Germany, use the tremendous power of arms and bureaucracy to transform their territories into slaughterhouses. Regimes that are merely authoritarian can be equally brutal but display a greater selectivity in their tyranny. In our more decorous democracies, meanwhile, we perfume our conversations with words like “justice” and “national security” to mask the odor of death.
Naval Base Tears Apart Korean Village
“The land and sea isn’t something you bought,” explained Kang Ae-Shim. “Why are you selling something that was there long before you were born?” Kang Ae Shim is a haenyo, one of the legendary Korean women sea divers from Jeju Island who can hold their breath for up to two minutes while foraging the ocean floor for seafood. But today Kang and others are fighting to save their island from the pending construction of a South Korean naval base in Gangjeong village, which threatens to tear apart the age-old sisterhood of the haenyoand destroy the pristine ecology of Jeju’s shores. The government and construction contractors are attempting to stamp out the outcry by arresting, beating, fining, and threatening villagers and activists.
Loose Nukes: Real Threat?
The illicit market of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials puts the world’s population at risk of an attack that could decimate cities and kill millions of people. A lone wolf might get a hold of fissile material, the technical knowledge to build an atomic weapon, or a nuclear weapon itself. Or a whole host of criminal agents – rogue scientists, opportunist civilians, thieves, terrorists, or even government officials – could obtain radioactive materials (or bombs themselves) through informal means. The illicit market of nuclear weapons and related materials spans a whole host of suppliers, middlemen, and buyers.