In history, as in fiction writing, where you decide to start your narrative plays a major role in shaping your story. The story of the causes of a particular historical event can be shaped by the historians and writers who have access to the media and publishers...

At least 374 people were killed today, mostly militants. Another 78 were wounded. The numbers may be considering higher, considering that few reports of security personnel deaths are reported by the government. Also, it appears that yesterday’s kidnapping of the Baghdad’s council’s chairman was perpetrated by militiamen. It is unknown whose orders they were following.

At least 312 people were killed today, mostly militants. However, morgue officials in Baghdad suggest the casualty figures are much higher. Also, a senior Sunni politician may have been arrested today. At least 56 were wounded.

The most bizarre conspiracy theory surrounding the recent downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine comes from a leading pro-Russian separatist, Igor Girkin. Relying on secondhand information, Girkin asserted that many of the passengers from the crash had already...

When the Soviet Union imploded in 1991, the United States – and its junior partners in Europe – found itself bereft of an enemy. One scholar, Francis Fukuyama, concluded by 1992 that this represented the "end of history" and the beginning of an age in which...

At least 45 were killed in prayer day violence, and 28 more were wounded. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Sistani reiterated his desire to see Prime Minister Maliki step down, and militants destroyed two more shrines.

The overwhelming Israeli firepower unleashed on the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the ongoing battle in Gaza is perhaps reminiscent of the Algerian war of independence (1954-1962) when France, the colonial power, used its vastly superior military strength to...

In 1933, the Holodomor was playing out in Ukraine. After the "kulaks," the independent farmers, had been liquidated in the forced collectivization of Soviet agriculture, a genocidal famine was imposed on Ukraine through seizure of her food production. Estimates of the...

I was originally planning on taking my summer break next week, starting Monday, but medical issues – nothing serious, but pretty distracting – have intervened and so I'm starting it today. I definitely need a rest: hey, I'm not getting any younger! But never...

A common slur from interventionists is that so-called isolationists condone oppressive regimes, cruel warlords, or bloody civil wars simply because they do not wish to militarily engage. To wish to keep your tax dollars, your name, and more importantly,...