House US President Barack Obama meeting with members of his national security team in the Situation Room of the White House in Washington. White House Photo, Pete Souza
Why We Fight Wars -- Paul Krugman, NYT
A century has passed since the start of World War I, which many people at the time declared was “the war to end all wars.” Unfortunately, wars just kept happening. And with the headlines from Ukraine getting scarier by the day, this seems like a good time to ask why.
Once upon a time wars were fought for fun and profit; when Rome overran Asia Minor or Spain conquered Peru, it was all about the gold and silver. And that kind of thing still happens. In influential research sponsored by the World Bank, the Oxford economist Paul Collier has shown that the best predictor of civil war, which is all too common in poor countries, is the availability of lootable resources like diamonds. Whatever other reasons rebels cite for their actions seem to be mainly after-the-fact rationalizations. War in the preindustrial world was and still is more like a contest among crime families over who gets to control the rackets than a fight over principles.
Read more ....
Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- August 18, 2014
Why Americans Go to War -- Max Boot, Commentary
Nouri Maliki's departure sets stage for deeper U.S. role in Iraq -- David S. Cloud and Brian Bennett, L.A. Times
Obama’s War in Iraq Marks the Return of the Global War on Terror -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast
Into the Iraqi void? Team Obama is over its head -- George F. Will, New York Post
All the President's Men and Women -- Michael Weiss, NOW
Peace may be the true threat to Hamas, Israel’s leaders -- Amy Wilentz, Reuters
The fantasy of Middle Eastern moderates -- Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post
Dem Iraq Vet: If Our Mission Isn’t to Take Out ISIS, ‘We’ve Got a Real Problem Here’ -- Bridget Johnson, PJ Media
If We Must Work with Iran v. ISIS, So Be It -- Malcolm Rifkind, Telegraph
Pope Francis, ISIS, and the Last Crusade -- Christopher Dickey, Daily Beast
In Nigeria, child beggars are easy recruits for Boko Haram extremists -- Robyn Dixon, L.A. Times
North Korea's Dangerous Invasion Bluff -- Christopher Lee, RCD
Behind Closed Doors, Obama Crafts Executive Actions -- Julie Hirschfeld Davis, NYT
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