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Dec 15, 2023 | 
americanpurpose.com | Richard Aldous |Katherine Zimmerman |Allison R. Shely
For a movie about such a prodigious historical figure, set in such a momentous era, director Ridley Scott’s new film Napoleon has surprisingly little to say. Artistically, any overriding message Napoleon may have is hobbled by critically uneven tonal choices made throughout the film.
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Dec 13, 2023 | 
americanpurpose.com | Richard Aldous |Katherine Zimmerman |Nicholas Misukanis
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta (Harper, 506 pp., $31.50) Tim Alberta’s latest book, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, argues that contemporary American evangelicals have shifted their focus to the political and visible world around them, and that they risk both losing sight of the unseen eternal kingdom and alienating future generations of potential Christians if they...
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Dec 13, 2023 | 
americanpurpose.com | Richard Aldous |Katherine Zimmerman |Josef Joffe
Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz’s insight into the essence of war has held since the dawn of civilization when Stone Age man wielded clubs and spears. As Clausewitz taught in On War in the 19th century, “War is . . . an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will.” That “is the object of war.” The specific aims were security, glory, booty, or hegemony—even nubile women, to recall what the Romans did to the Sabines in their quest for wives.
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Dec 7, 2023 | 
americanpurpose.com | Richard Aldous |Katherine Zimmerman |Jeffrey Gedmin
On the banks of the Volga and Kazanka rivers, Kazan has been known for cosmopolitan vibrancy and culture. The capital of Tatarstan—500 miles east of Moscow and one of the Russian Federation’s 21 republics—is home to 10 universities, a dynamic theater scene, abundant jazz cafes, a cluster of top music schools, and some 50 museums. Since summer, Ukraine war-watchers know Kazan as home to an Iranian drone factory. I know it now as the place where our journalist Alsu Kurmasheva is being detained.
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Dec 7, 2023 | 
americanpurpose.com | Richard Aldous |Katherine Zimmerman |Michael Mandelbaum
The Spanish-American War formally ended 125 years ago this month, with the signing of a peace treaty in Paris on December 10, 1898. The anniversary will go largely unnoticed. That war has largely faded from the collective consciousness of the United States. It is perhaps best remembered today, insofar as it is remembered at all, as the event that made Theodore Roosevelt a national figure.
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Nov 14, 2023 | 
americanpurpose.com | Richard Aldous |Katherine Zimmerman |Samuel Estreicher
Each day brings new accounts of tragedy from Israel and Gaza. Reasonable people agree that the atrocities Hamas committed on October 7—deliberate, videotaped killings of innocent civilians; maiming in the most gruesome fashion of Israeli women and children; and taking Israelis as hostages into its warren of tunnels—stand as deeply disturbing violations of human rights and the laws of armed conflict.
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Aug 11, 2023 | 
straightarrownews.com | Katherine Zimmerman
Few Americans will have paid much attention to the passing of the one year anniversary of the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri. On July 31, 2022, a U.S. drone strike killed the al Qaeda leader in an upscale neighborhood in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. Even when it happened, Zawahiri’s name lacked the recognition of his predecessor, Osama bin Laden, and the headlines that splashed across front pages referred to him as Al Qaeda leader, or Bin Laden successor.
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Jun 22, 2023 | 
straightarrownews.com | Katherine Zimmerman
While the threat of a terrorist attack against America and its interests abroad has decreased in recent years, the war on terror is far from over. Leaked U.S. intelligence indicates ISIS is using Afghanistan as its base of operations to plot attacks in Asia, Europe, and possibly even the United States. This comes as the Biden administration has reduced counterterrorism resources due to rising global competition and different priorities.
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May 12, 2023 | 
straightarrownews.com | Katherine Zimmerman
The fighting in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) caused hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. The East African country is facing a humanitarian crisis and is on the brink of a civil war. With the increasing violence, the U.S. shuttered its embassy indefinitely and evacuated staff using elite special operations forces. But what about the private American citizens initially stranded in Sudan?
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May 8, 2023 | 
washingtonexaminer.com | David McGarry |Katherine Zimmerman |Philip A. Wallach
With the news that the Treasury Department may exhaust its extraordinary measures as soon as the beginning of June, this year’s debt ceiling confrontation is rapidly coming to a boil without a deal in sight. House Republicans and President Biden’s White House are making incommensurable demands, preparing for combat, and shifting blame instead of finding a way out of the impasse. There is still plenty of time to bargain or kick the can down the road with a short-term suspension of the debt limit.
