They see us killing each other... over and over since time began. -- Akira Kurosawa's Ran.Malak Khaled interviews Lebanese refugees:Their grand daughter, Marwa, looks at us with sad eyes.“Why are you sad,” I ask her.“I want to go home.”“Why aren’t you home?”“Israel is bombing a lot.”“What do you feel when you hear the bombing,” I ask her.“I feel so afraid. The sound is very very very loud.”“And what do you do when you feel afraid?“I cry, and I...

Over recent days, however, we've seen a flurry of talk about the end of Pax Americana and the coming of multipolarity.It wasn't long ago that America was the "New Rome". In fact, only a few months ago did I finish Deepak Lal's In Praise of Empires, in which he argues that “the contemporary academic theory” that “Ph.D. practitioners have learned has by and large been devised for the anarchical European state system which developed with the fall...

But he's not going to abandon work altogether. And what kind of work will he do?BUSH WILL MIX work with vacation time at Crawford ranch. Aides explore August swing to battleground state such as Pennsylvania, where Republicans are defending three endangered House seats and Sen. Santorum. Also planned: one-year commemoration of Hurricane Katrina, viewed by Republican strategists as biggest second-term setback.The Duck really isn't supposed to be...

Via LGM:Shorter United States Army LTC Ralph Kauzlarich: Pat Tillman's parents are only unhappy about the death of their son and the subsequent Army coverup of that event because they aren't Christian."In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for...

Yassar asks the kind of question academics both love and hate: "What is exactly the thesis of your book?" We love it because, well, we like to talk about our work. We hate it because, well, we kind of also don't like talking about our work--particularly when much of our discussion depends on arcane disciplinary debates.So, as a temporary evasion, I've decided to post the penultimate introductory chapter of my book manuscript, clumsily entitled...

Current events are depressing.My book manuscript looks at religious warfare and state collapse in early modern Europe. It is depressing.So some depressing-but-exciting escapism seems in order. Courtesy of YouTube: the 3rd Season BSG preview:I could've done without the background music.I've actually agonized about whether to pull this. Sometimes current events and the stark reality of actual warfare can make it difficult to enjoy, well, stories...

Two very interesting pieces by Robert Kaplan in the past two days.First, Kaplan reviews a new book by Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew. The book, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat, discusses the different methods, motivations, and goals of our primary adversaries in the GWOT. Why does it look good to me? Because they apparently take the honor, pride, and prestige motives of these actors serioulsy,...

I spent today at and around our soon-to-be-not home with my daughter. Revisions to my book manuscript have been moving along nicely, so I thought it would be a good idea to give my wife some relief. My daughter's not only, as she will proudly inform anyone who will listen, "two," but also manifesting anxiety about moving in all sorts of strange ways. My wife needs some serious downtime and work time.My daughter, unfortunately, decided that she...

Coalition soldiers have recaptured both towns taken by the Taliban over the weekend.This shouldn't come as much of a surprise When the Taliban can hold towns against combined Afghan and coalition forces, than we'llknow the future of Afghanistan is in serious jeopardy. The fact that they have enough operational capability to seize them in the first place is bad enough news.The Post also notes that the Afghan government is going to try again to...

From the Washington Post:Michael Golden, spokesman for Schaefer, said the comptroller was speaking "in this sort of verbal shorthand that those of us who have worked with him can understand." Schaefer eventually voted for the contract.What did Maryland's Comptroller say?"Oh, we don't worry about any of those things like money. Or illegals crossing the border. That's nothing. That's just a given. Oh, come on. Korea is another one. All of the...

Via Think Progress: Kristol Suggests People of Iran Would Embrace U.S. Attack, Triggering Regime ChangeLet's see, where did I hear that one before--oh wait, I got it--Bill Kristol!February 2nd, 2002:The larger question with respect to Iraq, as with Afghanistan, is what happens after the combat is concluded. The Iraqi opposition lacks the military strength of the Afghan Northern Alliance; however, it claims a political legitimacy that might even...

It would appear that many conservatives have finally grown weary enough of the administration’s approach to foreign policy that they are beginning to make themselves heard. I agree with them on the basic point—the Iraq campaign made the US weaker and demonstrates that everyday. From the Washington Post:“Conservatives complain that the United States is hunkered down in Iraq without enough troops or a strategy to crush the insurgency. They see...