Vietnam: the Hidden Asian Tiger
Explaining economic growth in Vietnam
On the Newsstand:Vietnam
The Resexification of War?
Grave of the Fireflies and Apocalypse Now showed malnourished toddlers and heads on stakes; Call of Duty shows badass special ops troopers shooting terrorists and riding snowmobiles.
A Hitch in Time
Christopher Hitchens was never quiet for a long enough time to allow anyone to ask him any questions about himself. Readers never had a chance to inquire about how his ardent and militant atheism reflected his Jewish heritage. No one was afforded the opportune moment to probe the former anti-Vietnam crusader’s personal transformation into one of the greatest intellectual supporters of the Iraq War. There was never time to ask, because the self-described “contrarian” preempted every question with a thoroughly developed answer.
No Apology – The Creation of a Man and a Myth
“No Apology” is Romney’s first attempt at collecting his thoughts, opinions, and views of the world in a coherent text for the public. Considering his past policies, which include legislation favorable for gay rights and pro-choice, many have wondered where the Republican candidate stands when it comes to both social and economic policies. Well, apparently Romney came back with a response: an over 300 page long answer to all those questions and doubts.
Afghanistan in the Media
Media coverage of, interest in, and justification for America's longest-running war.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and Harvard ROTC
At Harvard’s Reserve Officer Training Corps commissioning ceremony this Wednesday, Drew Faust urged Harvard’s class of 2010 future officers to: Help reinforce the long tradition of ties between Harvard and the military, as we share hopes that changing circumstances will soon enable us to further strengthen those bonds. What does the vague latter half of her sentence mean? By “changing ... Read More
The Relative Value of Valor
The New York Times Magazine has a fantastic article about the puzzle of the paucity of valor awards–those medals given for high acts of courage. Only six Medals of Honor have been awarded in Iraq or Afghanistan: a fraction of previous wars either absolute or percentage terms. In the Pentagon’s defense, the article quotes one spokeswoman: Addressing the drastic drop ... Read More
Blumenthal Follow-Up
Like Scott Lemieux and Nate Silver, I foolishly trusted the New York Times bombshell about CT attorney general Richard Blumenthal. I jumped immediately to the question of what should be done about Blumenthal assuming he lied about his military service. It’s very easy to assume the worst about politicians, but sometimes (probably not too often) their denials and explanations can ... Read More
Generational Inadequacy
I just finished watching Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ The Pacific, an HBO miniseries following a group of marines in WWII. And it was truly epic. Melodramatic and overwrought maybe, but the war in the Pacific was no jungle romp. As The Pacific vividly shows, it was unimaginably gruesome, traumatic, and relentless. The marines battled the unyielding and suicidal Japanese on malaria-infested, ... Read More
Scandals: Three-for-One Sale!
It’s scandal day in the world of politics. First, Sue Lowden, the front-runner in the Nevada Republican primary, looking to replace Harry Reid, seems to have broken campaign finance laws by accepting a luxury campaign bus from a donor. This could be good news for Reid because Lowden has been performing better in polling match-ups against Reid than have either ... Read More
Silly Things Published in the NYT
I’m hardly an expert on modern warfare, but this New York Times op-ed is pretty clearly silly and deserving of refutation. Defense consultant Lara Dadkhah is discussing the way that NATO air forces have voluntarily drawn down their airstrikes and are thus tying one hand behind their back. She argues that this is incredibly harmful since “America does not have ... Read More
The Taboo Solution
The silenced economics of legalization In 1998, the satirical newspaper The Onion boldly declared “Drugs Win Drug War.” Satire aside, the headline embodied the increasingly prevalent view that America’s War on Drugs is unwinnable, and that it has been ineffective at best, and counterproductive at worst. Still, the dominant view in American politics is that prohibited drugs are dangerous and ought ... Read More
