Victor Davis Hanson One post-WWII problem has been the U.S. military’s effective tactical record that has not resulted in achieving strategic resolution. After MacArthur had unwisely and rashly raced far northward into abject disaster, amid the wider expanses of North Korea after the incredible victory of Inchon in September 1950—ever closer to the Chinese border,… Continue reading America at War. Successes and Failures. Part Five
The New, New Antisemitism
The old antisemitism was more a right-wing than a left-wing phenomenon—perhaps best personified by the now-withered Ku Klux Klan. A new antisemitism followed from the campus leftism of the 1960s. It arose from and was masked by a general hatred of Israel, following the Jewish state’s incredible victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. That lopsided… Continue reading The New, New Antisemitism
America at War. Successes and Failures. Part Four
Victor Davis Hanson What have the American armed forces often failed at? Democracies and consensual societies grow large bureaucracies for several reasons. And often stasis sets in, and ossified clerks and calcified careerists resent the talented outsider and the maverick, not-by-the-book loudmouth. And a result, brilliance is resented and smothered, and America is no exception… Continue reading America at War. Successes and Failures. Part Four
America at War. Successes and Failures. Part Three
Victor Davis Hanson In sum, American war production was characterized by mass quantities, reliability, pragmatism, and affordability. What good did it do Panther tanks that they could blow apart Shermans at great distances if their hours of maintenance to hours of deployment were the inverse of Shermans? So what if the Tiger or Tiger II… Continue reading America at War. Successes and Failures. Part Three
What Will the FBI Not Do?
The FBI on Wednesday finally broke its silence and responded to the revelations on Twitter of close ties between the bureau and the social media giant—ties that included efforts to suppress information and censor political speech. “The correspondence between the FBI and Twitter show nothing more than examples of our traditional, longstanding and ongoing federal… Continue reading What Will the FBI Not Do?
America at War. Successes and Failures. Part Two
Victor Davis Hanson Innovation It is no accident that the big-ticket, new weapons systems in World War II were American-made, or ironclads designed from the hull up with powerful guns, like the Monitor and its two state-of-the-art 11-inch Dahlgren turret guns, first appeared in the U.S. That is not to say friends and foes did… Continue reading America at War. Successes and Failures. Part Two
Are Universities Doomed?
Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness In a famous exchange in the The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway wrote: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually, then suddenly.” “Gradually” and “suddenly” applies to higher education’s implosion. During the 1990s “culture wars” universities were warned that their chronic tuition hikes above the rate of inflation were… Continue reading Are Universities Doomed?
America at War. Successes and Failures. Part One
Victor Davis Hanson In reviewing America’s long wartime record, what does the United States do well, and what not—and what can we learn from both successes and failures? Production and Mobilization If America is often lax in maintaining deterrence during peace—cf. the disarmed era between 1870–1914 or 1920–1940—it is phenomenal at the 11th hour in… Continue reading America at War. Successes and Failures. Part One
Angry Reader: WikiLies
Some time ago Wikipedia posted a strange character assassination paragraph in its biography of me. It should by now be taken down, but only after repeated and earlier failed attempts to persuade them it is defamatory, incoherent, untruthful, and simply a lie. Here is the offending paragraph as originally posted by Wikipedia. Democratic Party Criticism… Continue reading Angry Reader: WikiLies
10 Steps to Save America
Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness Most Americans know something has gone terribly wrong—and very abruptly—with the United States. They are certain that our wounds are almost all self-inflicted. The current pathologies are not a result of a natural disaster, an exhaustion of natural resources, plagues, or an existential war. Crushing national debt and annual deficits, spiraling… Continue reading 10 Steps to Save America