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SHAFR Opinion

Beware Presidents’ Use of History

by John Prados

We are told that history plays as tragedy and repeats as farce. But perhaps that is changing. In the summer of 2007 President George W. Bush invoked the Vietnam analogy to justify an equally or more tragic war in Iraq. And in the West Point speech announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan, President Barack Obama [...]

Posted in Afghanistan, Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Terrorism, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vietnam: 1945-1961, Vietnam: 1961-1975 | No Comments »

The State Department Wants You! (or does it?)

by Molly Wood

In October 2007, presidential candidate Barack Obama promised a new approach to American foreign policy.  “It’s time to make diplomacy a top priority,” he announced.  “Instead of shuttering consulates, we need to open them in the tough and hopeless corners of the world. Instead of having more Americans serving in military bands than the diplomatic [...]

Posted in Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Iraq War: 2003-present, Post-9/11: 2001-present, State Department, Theodore Roosevelt administration: 1901-1909, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Afghanistan and the Chinese Civil War

by William Stueck

Any political historian will tell you that government decisionmakers frequently use historical analogies in making up their minds and that, more often than not, they do so badly.   And Kimber Quinney reminded us in her thoughtful November 9 commentary that historians are not immune to employing such analogies either, or in doing so badly.
Yet as [...]

Posted in Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Central Asia, George W. Bush administration: 2001-2008, Harry Truman administration: 1945-1953, Imperialism/Colonization, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Twenty Years On: Merkel in Washington

by William Glenn Gray

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the idea of creating new structures for a post-Cold War world is still quite radical. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s approach represents a familiar way of doing business, one that continues to bank on the essential unity of “the West.” But is it effective?

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Presidential Analogy and the Obama Administration

by Kimber Quinney

“Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone,
You’ll never walk alone.”
—Rogers and Hammerstein, 1945
I confess to be a diehard Liverpool FC fan.  The mantra of the football club is “you’ll never walk alone.”  One year after Barack [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Love Will Keep Us Together (?) – Immigration Reform and Same-Sex Couples

by Laura Belmonte

With Congress poised to revisit the delicate issue of immigration reform, there are 36,000 bi-national lesbian, gay, and bisexual families in the United States whose love and lives hang in the balance. In the absence of policy changes allowing Americans to sponsor their same-sex partners for residency, these families will continue to face the threat [...]

Posted in Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Human Rights, Immigration | No Comments »

The Peace Prize in Historical Perspective

by Molly Wood

On October 9, 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize: President Barack Obama.  The initial reaction was largely one of surprise, followed quickly by criticism.  Some suggested that Obama should turn down the prize.  Others began to interpret the award as a non-too-subtle indictment of former President George [...]

Posted in Anti-War Efforts, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Disarmament, Domestic groups and organizations, Peace and dissent, Public Opinion, Theodore Roosevelt administration: 1901-1909, Vietnam: 1961-1975, Wilsonian Era: 1913-1921 | No Comments »

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