According to his most fervent supporters, George W. Bush’s Second Inaugural Address has already taken its place among the great speeches of modern American politics. Whether history confirms that verdict remains to be seen. For the present, it is not the quality of the oratory but the implications for U.S. policy that deserve attention. On...
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May 1, 2003June 22, 2022Vital Signs
Illusions of a Tidy War
In the final days and hours preceding the current Persian Gulf war, reports extolling the dazzling information-age capabilities that American troops would take into battle against Saddam Hussein became a media staple. Newspapers, newsweeklies, and television vied with one another in enthusing about the latest in satellite-guided bombs, unmanned aircraft, and state-of-the-art digital gadgetry. The...
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May 1, 1996April 21, 2022Vital Signs
Clinton and the Troops
“I’m angry. I’d like to ask President Clinton why is my dad dead? And what are we doing fighting in Bosnia in the first place?” Coming from the 15-year-old son of Sergeant First Class Donald A. Dugan, the first operational fatality of the United States intervention in Bosnia, those questions command respect. But they are...