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The More Americans Who Read the Torture Report, the Better
Thick, footnote-laden reports from official government bodies have played a surprisingly important role in shaping American policy and public opinion. To give a few examples from my conscious lifetime:...
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A Vibrant American Musical Career, far From America's Cultural Capitals
In the early 1970s, a young singer-songwriter named Larry Groce was launching his career in the music business. He had grown up in Texas, moved to Los Angeles, started recording albums, and in 1976 had...
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California High-Speed Rail: It's Happening
This doesn't count as the long-awaited No. 15 Finale in the California High-Speed Rail series. (For previous episodes see No. 1, No. 2, No. 3,No. 4,No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, No. 10, No. 11,...
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That Winning Bid for California's High-Speed Rail: Is It Suspiciously Low?
Yesterday I noted two seemingly positive developments in the California High-Speed Rail saga. That was installment No. 14 1/2 in the series. For previous episodes see No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5,...
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Envisioning a River of Air
By the classification rules of the world of physics, we all know that the Earth's atmosphere is made of gas (rather than liquid, solid, or plasma). But in the world of flying it's often useful to think...
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Fascinating New Ways of Depicting the Motions of the Air and the Seas
Yesterday I mentioned a fabulous site for envisioning the swirl and flow of winds around the world. Seriously, if you haven't seen it, and if you have any interest in the geophysical world, take a...
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"Don't Do Stupid S**t Is Under-rated as a Guiding Principle
For at least 35 years, the U.S. embargo on diplomatic or commercial dealings with Cuba has been the single stupidest aspect of U.S. foreign policy. Not the most destructive: that title would go to the...
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The Diplomatic Life: It's Not All Striped Trousers and Sips of Tea
Yesterday I did a brief compare-and-contrast on the U.S. decision to normalize relations with the People's Republic of China, under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter in the 1970s, and yesterday's...
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Travel Chronicles, from West to East
Everyone has got lots of things to think about at the end of a year. But I wanted to note things we've seen, have reported on, and are about to cover in our ongoing travels across the country. 1. This...
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The Tragedy of the American Military
/* */ /* make embed taller on portrait mobile devices */ @media only screen and (max-width : 320px) { .full-width.defense-map .embed-wrapper { padding-bottom: 105% !important; } } /* */ In...
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A Reading List on the Tragedy of the American Military
In the January/February 2015 Atlantic, James Fallows argues that a specific example of flawed defense decision-making, under what he calls "Chickenhawk Nation" circumstances, involves the contrasting...
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How Gary Hart Tried to Change Military History
In his January/February Atlantic cover story, I write about politicians' reluctance to reform the military: In the spring of 2011, Barack Obama asked Gary Hart, the Democratic Party’s most experienced...
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My Story on 'Chickenhawk Nation'
Several times this past fall, I've mentioned that I was concentrating on a big project for the magazine and thus was deferring most other commitments, from our ongoing (and soon-to-be-revamped)...
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The Pentagon's $1.5 Trillion Mistake
This article was originally published at http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/384088/the-pentagons-15-trillion-mistake/
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Readers on the 'Tragedy of the American Military,' No. 1
Last night my article on "The Tragedy of the American Military" went online. The article is here; an accompanying reading list is here; the "Gary Hart memo" that I mention in the article is here. And a...
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On Class War and Chickenhawk Politics, From Israel to America: Reader...
Background: My piece on "The Tragedy of the American Military" is here; the "Gary Hart Memo" is here; an extra reading list is here; and here is reader response No. 1. Next we have No. 2: Scott...
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Chickenhawk Nation, Reader Response No. 3: 'Quiet Gratitude,' or Dangerous...
Background: My piece on "The Tragedy of the American Military" is here; the "Gary Hart Memo" is here; an extra reading list is here; and here are previous reader responses No. 1 and No. 2. Background...
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Chickenhawk Nation, Response No. 4: 'Actually, Our Military Keeps Winning'
Background: My piece on "The Tragedy of the American Military" is here; the "Gary Hart Memo" is here; an extra reading list is here; and here are previous reader responses No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3....
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Chickenhawk Responses No. 5: 'Get the Hell Back in Your Foxhole'
If you're joining us late: My piece on "The Tragedy of the American Military" is here; the "Gary Hart Memo" is here; an extra reading list is here; and here are previous reader responses No. 1, No. 2,...
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Chickenhawk Response No. 6: Showing Gratitude in a Way That Matters
As we near the end of the year, background: My piece on "The Tragedy of the American Military" is here; the "Gary Hart Memo" is here; an extra reading list is here; and here are previous reader...
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