Andrew Bacevich

Of the several monks who taught us English, Father Allen was the easiest to relate to. Father P. was ­obviously gay—we used different terms in those days—which ­created a certain unease among boys during adolescence. As for Father G., though he was just a few years older than we were, . . . . Continue Reading »

John Foster Dulles is a largely forgotten figure. Had he not served as U.S. secretary of state from 1953 to 1959, that largely would be entirely. Whatever interest his life retains stems from his tenure as the nation’s chief diplomat during the tense early years of the Cold War. . . . . Continue Reading »

The Cold World They Made:The Strategic Legacy of Roberta and Albert Wohlstetter by ron robin harvard, 365 pages, $35 Today all but forgotten, Roberta and Albert Wohlstetter were once the First Couple of Armageddon. During the Cold War, with World War III seemingly just around the corner, they played . . . . Continue Reading »

A state is not a church. A state exists not to redeem humankind or to do God’s work but to provide for the security and well-being of the people who reside within its boundaries. This defines the primary, indeed the overriding, moral obligation of those who govern. This dictum applies to those who . . . . Continue Reading »

From the perspective of Israel and its (few remaining) friends, the Six Day War was—and remains—both just and necessary. Nothing in Michael Oren’s book calls this basic judgment into question. Yet thirty-five years after this seemingly decisive victory, Israeli citizens cannot ride a . . . . Continue Reading »

Less than a year after the attack of September 11, Americans have just about succeeded in absorbing the war on terror into their daily routine. In the home, the classroom, and the workplace, normalcy has returned. For most of us, the day said to have changed everything has changed remarkably . . . . Continue Reading »

Abdulaziz Sachedina is a man with a mission. He is determined to demonstrate that when it comes to the West’s relations with Islam, there need be no “clash of civilizations.” Properly understood, Islam is compatible with—indeed, is positively conducive to—democratic pluralism, . . . . Continue Reading »

Like Israelis and Palestinians eyeing each other suspiciously from adjacent hilltops in the West Bank, Americans who were on opposing sides of the Vietnam War may share the same space, but there should be no confusing cohabitation with reconciliation. Even in the best of times, what passes for . . . . Continue Reading »

In 1996, Robert Kagan and William Kristol published a widely read article in Foreign Affairs advancing the case for unabashed American hegemony”benevolent, to be sure”on a globe“straddling scale. In arguing for a “neo“Reaganite” foreign policy, the authors, two of . . . . Continue Reading »

Throughout the Cold War, Sovietologists contended fiercely with one another over the nature of Communist regimes. Engrossed in that pursuit, they missed altogether the one development that really mattered. Taking for granted the permanence of the Soviet Empire, virtually none of them perceived its . . . . Continue Reading »