The United States enjoys two things more than just about anything else: doing war and making up doctrines about doing war. If you include “domestic” conflicts like the genocide of Native Americans, the United States has been at war for almost its entire existence, and of its 44 presidents, at least a quarter of them … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Eisenhower Doctrine, or: They All Lived Happily Ever After (1957)
Author: DWD
writer, blogger, lover, fighter
Welcome to 2016: don’t forget potable water, it’s very important
(fourth in a short series: here are part one, part two, and part three) This tweet is so good, I'm stealing it: https://twitter.com/sexypitabread/status/683716453388828672 Now, I am no expert in the details of grazing rights or the Bureau of Land Management and its long history of conflict with western ranchers (or the apparent connection with Mormonism). … Continue reading Welcome to 2016: don’t forget potable water, it’s very important
Welcome to 2016: make sure your first aid kit is intact
(third in a short series: here are parts one and two) In "scary things that are happening that don't involve Saudi Arabia or Iran," Kashmiri militants have attacked an Indian air base in Pathankot: A Kashmir-based militant coalition has said it carried out the deadly attack on an Indian air force base. The United Jihad … Continue reading Welcome to 2016: make sure your first aid kit is intact
Welcome to 2016: I hear dried goods are also very helpful in a crisis
(second in a short series; here's the first entry) One of the casualties of the total collapse of Saudi-Iranian relations is likely to be any chance of ending the civil war in Yemen, where on Saturday the Saudi-Hadi coalition ended a ceasefire that had been in place, despite periodic violations, since December 15. But maybe … Continue reading Welcome to 2016: I hear dried goods are also very helpful in a crisis
Welcome to 2016: maybe you should stock up on canned goods
(first in a brief series) Hey, Happy New Year! Isn't the first part of a new year kind of exciting? All the dregs of the past year are gone and replaced with the promise of something new. It's a time of optimism and hope. You haven't had time to break any of your resolutions yet. … Continue reading Welcome to 2016: maybe you should stock up on canned goods
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Faysal-Weizmann Agreement (1919)
As World War I was wrapping up, and the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, the question of what to do with a very large swathe of soon-to-be-former Ottoman land loomed large. Most Ottoman territory outside of Anatolia was predominantly Arab, and the 1916-1918 Arab Revolt had done much to advance British war aims in the Middle … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Faysal-Weizmann Agreement (1919)
Today in European history: the “Reconquista” ends (1492)
January 2, 1492, was the official end-date of the cleverly-named Reconquista, as it is the date upon which the last Muslim hold-out in Iberia, the city of Granada, was formally handed over to Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. While this obviously is a date of significant historical import, it’s also a little anti-climactic. … Continue reading Today in European history: the “Reconquista” ends (1492)
attwiw’s 10 best-read posts of 2015
Before you read this, if you haven't already, please check out the fine writing to be found in the "Jon Swift Memorial Roundup 2015" over at Vagabond Scholar. Something of mine is listed there alongside a number of other great pieces. I actually find it almost physically painful to write self-referential things, a fact that … Continue reading attwiw’s 10 best-read posts of 2015
If this is what passes for “moderate”…
Zahran Alloush, Syrian rebel bigshot and leader of the Jaysh al Islam ("Army of Islam") rebel faction, which is active in the Damascus neighborhoods of Douma and Eastern Ghouta and forms the backbone of the "Islamic Front" rebel coalition, is tragically* no longer among the living: The commander of one of the most powerful Syrian … Continue reading If this is what passes for “moderate”…
If this is what passes for “moderate”…
Zahran Alloush, Syrian rebel bigshot and leader of the Jaysh al Islam ("Army of Islam") rebel faction, which is active in the Damascus neighborhoods of Douma and Eastern Ghouta and forms the backbone of the "Islamic Front" rebel coalition, is tragically* no longer among the living: The commander of one of the most powerful Syrian … Continue reading If this is what passes for “moderate”…
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 