military history

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• 11/6/2022
  

  From Torch to Tunis to El Alamein: Events 80 Years Ago Made the Modern Middle East

  by Robert Satloff

  80 years ago Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa, opened a second front against Nazi Germany. Today, it has proven equally important for establishing models for America's relationship to the Middle East. 

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• 11/6/2022
  

  Lindsey Fitzharris on the Pioneering Facial Reconstruction Surgeon Who Remade the Faces of Great War Veterans

  by James Thornton Harris

  As one battlefield nurse wrote home, “the science of healing stood baffled before the science of destroying.” Dr. Harold Gillies let the effort to catch up, arguably the only lasting "victory" of the Great War. 

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  10/27/2022
  

  Newly Translated Documents Give Fuller Picture of Nuclear Danger During Cuban Missile Crisis

  The National Security Archive has released an English translation of the account of a Soviet submarine officer of events in October 1962 tells the story of how his vessel's commander nearly launched nuclear weapons against US Navy ships enforcing the quarantine of Cuba.  

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• 10/16/2022
  

  Putin's Strategy Echoing Hitler's Mistakes on Eastern Front

  by James Thornton Harris

  Although Vladimir Putin has called the Ukrainian leadership "Nazis" to justify invasion, the longer the Ukraine war drags on the more Putin's strategic errors resemble those made by Hitler on the eastern front.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  10/11/2022
  

  Bombing Kyiv Into Submission? History Says "Unlikely"

  The utility of bombing civilian centers has been overrated, and the strength of the backlash such bombing creates underestimated, by military strategists. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  10/7/2022
  

  A Missed Opportunity to Honor Black Troops in Base Renaming Process

  Dwight Eisenhower was a visitor to Fort Gordon en route to golf outings at Augusta National. Critics wonder if Ike was the best choice for renaming the base. Military historian Ty Seidule defended the naming process as open and suggested complete consensus was not possible. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  10/5/2022
  

  Matthew Delmont Examines How Black Americans Saw the Second World War

  For Black Americans, everything about the second world war looked different, including the start date, which the Black press dated to the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. A new book centers the issue of global racism in a narrative of the conflict. 

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  9/28/2022
  

  Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz are Wrong about the Weakness of "Woke" Militaries

  by Phillips Payson O’Brien

  It turns out that hypermasculinity, ruthlesness and reflexive brutality are liabilities in modern warfare. Ukraine is exhibit A. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  9/26/2022
  

  If Putin Says Nuclear Weapons Threat is No Bluff, Believe Him (and Prepare)

  by Joseph Cirincione

  The first use of nuclear weapons is a part of both Russian and American military strategy; the task for the world is to assess the most likely scenario and plan to respond effectively. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  8/22/2022
  

  The New Army Tactical Brassiere Latest Episode of Military Connections with Fashion

  by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox

  The move to create new undergarments reflects the military's recent efforts to incorporate a more diverse population of servicemembers, as well as a longstanding concern with managing the appearance of women in service. 

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• 7/8/2022
  

  The Wagner Group is Just the Latest Example of Privatized War

  by Lawrence Wittner

  Hiring soldiers of fortune to wage war has long been profitable to mercenaries and politically advantageous to rulers. Its modern resurgence with the American Blackwater organization and the Russian Wagner Group show the need for stronger cooperative security to prevent human rights abuse.

• 
• 6/19/2022
  

  Clearing the Name of a Horse Blamed for Near-Defeat at Waterloo

  by Stephen Dando-Collins

  A failed cavalry attack nearly doomed Wellington at Waterloo. For years, Major General William Ponsonby's Irish horse was blamed to deflect from the tactical mistakes of human officers. 

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• 6/12/2022
  

  Top-Gunning for Empire

  by Scott Laderman

  "Top Gun: Maverick" is ressurecting the theatergoing experience. Will it do the same for American enthusiasm for the imperial ambitions it represents? 

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• SOURCE: National Interest
  6/4/2022
  

  Security Studies Scholar: NATO Must Push Ukraine to Negotiate End of Hostilities with Russia

  by Hugh DeSantis

  The US and NATO must use the leverage of arms supplies to push Ukraine to negotiate with Russia or risk an interminable – and wider – conflict. 

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• SOURCE: TIME
  6/3/2022
  

  Could the US Win a Modern-Day Battle of Midway?

  by Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor

  With growing Chinese naval power in the Pacific, two historians consider how well the Navy could respond to a confrontation on the high seas. 

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• 6/5/2022
  

  Can Ukraine Harness the Power of the Small to Survive Russia's Attack?

  by Paul J. Croce

  While Ukraine’s fate hangs in the balance, its greatest strengths, like those of lowly insects and microscopic pathogens, rests with its readiness to use the strengths of the small.

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• SOURCE: Vox
  5/27/2022
  

  "Top Gun: Maverick" Latest Chapter in Love Affair Between Hollywood and Pentagon

  Despite its characterization as liberal and cosmopolitan, the film industry has eagerly embraced the military in the pursuit of box office. 

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• SOURCE: TomDispatch
  6/2/2022
  

  Destroying the Town is Not Saving It

  by William Astore

  An imagined graduation speech to the Air Force Academy encourages listeners to refuse to become death dealers. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  5/27/2022
  

  Memorial Day Was a Chance to Reflect on Hard Truths about Racism in the Military

  by Thomas A. Guglielmo

  The veneration of the surviving members of the Greatest Generation shouldn't hide the fact that discrimination in the WWII military and in postwar veterans' benefits shut many Black servicemembers out of American prosperity. 

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• SOURCE: War on the Rocks
  4/21/2022
  

  The Russo-Ukrainian War At Sea: Retrospect and Prospect

  by B.J. Armstrong

  "The fact that our Twitter feeds and Instagram scrolls are not filled with naval or maritime news does not mean that nothing is happening."