George Washington nearly lost the American revolution. The British had better-trained soldiers, more money, more weapons, better transportation, better officers, and a great many American sympathizers happy to supply food and shelter. The American people were deeply divided about the question of ... Continue reading
9/11: Lessons unlearned
September 11, 2006 By
If 9/11 was intended to frighten America into abandoning the Middle East, it failed. What the jihadists could not have anticipated was America's toughness.But they did hurt us, and we've been bleeding internally ever since. 9/11 deeply slashed American politics, as Daniel Henninger writes so ... Continue reading
Silent voices
December 9, 2005 By
I read these items in the morning newspaper: A woman testified that she had been tortured by members of Saddam Hussein's regime, because they considered her an enemy of the state; A young mother is suspected of murdering her 3-month-old son by putting him inside a running clothes dryer; A couple has ... Continue reading
Why did Abu Ghraib happen?
May 10, 2004 By 3 Comments
In 1971, Stanford University researchers created an experiment in which volunteers were divided into two groups, "prisoners" and "guards." The guards were left on their own to determine how to manage the prisoners. After only a few days, the guards had become so abusive towards their charges that ... Continue reading
Just war and Iraq
April 3, 2003 By 2 Comments
I saw a war protester on the news carrying a sign that read: "What Would Jesus Bomb?" Clever. And it's a good question, because it plays to the stereotype that many people have about Jesus, that he was a 1st-century pacifist.The trouble with stereotypes is that they contain a grain of truth ... Continue reading
