Month: May 2011

The Reinvention of Historical Memory

As Americans take to the roads for a long Memorial Day weekend, eager to get out of the cities and out of their routines — and more than ready for a little rest and relaxation — the origins and meaning of this holiday are lost – or, at least, hardly anyone thinks of them anymore. … Continue reading “The Reinvention of Historical Memory”

The Brilliance of Randolph Bourne

Randolph Bourne was an American intellectual journalist who flourished for a few years in the second decade of the 20th century—in the Teens, the decade that ran from 1910 to 1920. Bourne wrote mostly for magazines during this period. His byline was particularly familiar to readers of The New Republic—until his radically antiwar views on … Continue reading “The Brilliance of Randolph Bourne”

The New Face of War

The assassination of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden did more than knock off U.S. Public Enemy Number One. It formalized a new kind of warfare, where sovereignty is irrelevant, armies tangential, and decisions are secret. It is, in the words of counterinsurgency expert John Nagl, “an astounding change in the nature of warfare.” This type … Continue reading “The New Face of War”

Settlers See New Support From Obama

The leader of Israel’s most right-wing government since the establishment of the Jewish state 63 years ago, has returned to Israel with his popularity surging since talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington. A survey carried out by the Israeli daily Haaretz found that following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s return from the US, … Continue reading “Settlers See New Support From Obama”

House Votes Suggest Growing War Weariness

In a sign of growing war weariness in Congress and among the general public, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted Thursday to bar the deployment of U.S. troops to Libya and narrowly defeated a provision requiring President Barack Obama to submit a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The latter measure, one of dozens … Continue reading “House Votes Suggest Growing War Weariness”