The last 70 years of modern warfare have been filled with atrocities, from the first bomb that exploded the tranquility of Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941 to the advent of large-scale saturation bombing of civilian centers culminating in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, from the terror attacks of 9/11 to the ill-advised invasion of Iraq and subsequent quagmire. In his ambitious and comprehensive comparative study Cultures of War, historian John Dower exposes many striking similarities between the thoughts, actions, and attitudes of Imperial Japan, the United States, and radical Islamists.
Korean Brinkmanship, American Provocation, and the Road to War
The exchange of artillery fire between South and North Korea on 23 November, 2010 had predictable results – a great increase of tension on the peninsula, a show of force by the United States, and a torrent of uninformed media articles and pontificating from the security industry.
Islamists Bite the Ballot
Recent elections in Bahrain and Egypt are being criticized for all the usual reasons. Authoritarian regimes — one a monarchy, the other a quasi-military dictatorship — cracked down on the media and the small opposition forces that challenged them in the run-up to the polls, eventually holding ballots with little or no monitoring.
Does Prague Stop With START?
The difficulty getting New START passed means ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty isn’t happening anytime soon.
Resolving the Face-Off in Korea
Seconds before I appeared on Al-Jazeera International Sunday night, the producer informed me that South Korea, despite pleas from both Russia and China to cancel the live fire artillery drills, had in fact started the exercises. Having been to North Korea several times, and knowing how their worldview centers on the right to defend their sovereignty, I feared the worst.
Cultures of War
Cultures of War should be mandatory reading in our military academies and in government.
60-Second Expert: Kashmir
In recent memory, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan have received the lion’s share of the attention of U.S. policy in Central Asia. This is not surprising. It would be hard to ignore two wars and the issue of preventing nuclear proliferation either by Iran or from an unstable Pakistan. Yet, U.S. foreign policy has omitted a region that has sparked conflict between two nuclear armed states as recently as 1999. That region is Kashmir.
New START Closer to Breaking Out of the Blocks
Ratification is like the starter’s gun — but is the finish line disarmament or a nuclear-industrial complex more deeply entrenched than ever?
WikiLeaks XXIV: Security for Radioactive Materials in Yemen Goes From Bad to Nonexistent
It’s not just Libya that demonstrates hair-raising casualness about nuclear security, but Yemen.
South Korea: Seeking Reunification by Live Fire?
Rather than waiting patiently for reunification to take place through negotiations, South Korea’s Lee Myoung-bak administration wants to accelerate the process, by force if necessary.