History

REAL REASON JAPANESE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR

by Victor Davis Hanson // WND The Japanese did not see their attack on Pearl Harbor as foolish at all. What in retrospect seems suicidal did not necessarily seem so at the time. In hindsight, the wiser Japanese course would have been to absorb the orphaned colonial Far Eastern possessions of France, the Netherlands and […]

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‘To Hell With the Constitution!’

by Bruce S. Thornton // FrontPage Magazine  In 1902 Theodore Roosevelt intervened in a strike by Pennsylvania coal miners, exceeding his Constitutional authority as president. When this was pointed out to him by Republican House whip James E. Watson, Roosevelt allegedly yelled, “To hell with the Constitution when the people want coal!” This outburst reflected

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Obama’s Hazy Sense of History

For the president, belief in historical predetermination substitutes for action. by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online President Obama doesn’t know much about history.  In his therapeutic 2009 Cairo speech, Obama outlined all sorts of Islamic intellectual and technological pedigrees, several of which were undeserved. He exaggerated Muslim contributions to printing and medicine, for

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Sherman in Gaza

His march through Georgia has been gravely misunderstood ― as has Israel’s strategy in Gaza. by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online William Tecumseh Sherman 150 years ago took Atlanta before heading out on his infamous March to the Sea to make Georgia “howl.” He remains one of the most controversial and misunderstood figures in American

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A Quiet Mediterranean?

An unusual calm for history’s constant cauldron. by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online From the deck of a ship on the Mediterranean, the islands that pass by appear as calm as the weather. Huge yachts, not warships, are docked in island ports. I haven’t seen a naval officer in ten days. But it

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The End of NATO?

Major existential problems mean the organization may soon unravel. by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online Istanbul — April marked the 65th birthday of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, formed at the height of the Cold War to stop the huge post-war Red Army from overrunning Western Europe. NATO in 1949 had only twelve members,

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Sherman at 150

by Victor Davis Hanson // Ricochet One hundred and fifty years ago this September 2, William Tecumseh Sherman took Atlanta after a brilliant campaign through the woods of northern Georgia. While Grant slogged it out against Lee in northern Virginia all through the late spring and summer of 1864—the names of those battles still send

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Russia: Weaker than What?

VDH commentary on the ‘CAN OR SHOULD THE WEST TRY TO STOP VLADIMIR PUTIN’S ATTEMPTS TO REABSORB PORTIONS OF THE OLD SOVIET UNION?’ issue 13 of Strategika by Victor Davis Hanson // Strategika Our elites often diagnose Vladimir Putin as acting from “weakness” in his many aggressions. A list of Russia’s symptoms of feebleness follows: demographic crises,

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D-Day at 70 

Remembering the most brilliantly conducted invasion in military history by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online General Eisenhower speaks with paratroopers prior to the invasion. (Photo via Library of Congress) Seventy years ago this June 6, the Americans, British, and Canadians stormed the beaches of Normandy in the largest amphibious invasion of Europe since

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‘This Is the Last Territorial Demand I Have to Make in Europe’

by Victor Davis Hanson // NRO’s The Corner  Vladimir Putin all but said the above yesterday, after annexing the Crimea — and promising to let alone the rest of the Ukraine. If we just insert Ukraine and Russia for Czechoslovakia and Germany, the following speech could easily be Putin’s: Share This

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