One year after the U.S. withdrawal, and a generation after seizing power for the first time, the Taliban returned to Kabul last August after enduring another long war with foreign invaders. Why do Afghanistan's holy warriors continue to mystify the world?
International terrorism expert Peter Bergen says al-Qaeda can overcome the assassination of its leader by a U.S. drone in downtown Kabul. Bergen assesses the Islamic fundamentalist movement that began changing history a half century ago.
The FBI investigation into former president Donald Trump's handling of top-secret documents has renewed curiosity in a WWI-era law rarely used to go after real spies.
Donald Trump's ongoing presence as a former president in American politics and culture is truly unprecedented.
Russia in Ukraine. The U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan. France in Algeria and Indochina. Sir Lawrence Freedman explains why powerful nations fail at war.
Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, a historian of early American history, decries the "racialist agenda" pervading modern interpretations of America's founding.
A distinguished historian of American social movements compares the twentieth century crusade to ban booze to efforts today by pro-life activists to outlaw abortion. No matter the issue, prohibitions are difficult, if not impossible, to enforce.
As the Cold War wound down, U.S. leaders and intellectuals saw a new world emerging as the 1990s unfolded, where American power could lead to peace and cooperation. Does that new world still exist? Did it ever exist?
The Supreme Court is redrawing the line separating church and state in America. Critics say the court is obliterating it.
In this year marking the bicentennial of his birth, historians say U.S. Grant deserves overdue recognition in the pantheon of civil rights presidents, alongside Lincoln and LBJ.
Nearly one year after the U.S. completed its withdrawal, Afghanistan is verging on state failure amid crushing poverty and hunger.
Americans of various political persuasions agree the U.S. is in decline. But what does that actually mean? Historian Michael Kimmage looks to the Roman Empire for answers.
Today's right-wing populists, with their appeals to racial, cultural, and class resentments, are the descendants of Alabama's segregationist governor.
Two seismic events in 1979, the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, continue to shape a Middle East where President Biden is seeking help from Arab autocrats.
Historian and Schlafly biographer Donald Critchlow discusses the crusader's legacy in light of the conservative movement's success in ending a constitutional right to an abortion. It is a timely reminder of the importance of persuasion in politics.
Even with no end in sight to the fighting in eastern Ukraine, there appears to be no diplomatic pressure on Ukraine's leaders to cede territory to the Russian invaders.
From communism to international terrorism to autocracy, the U.S. continues to believe it has a responsibility to fight era-defining conflicts for the benefit of the world.
The Supreme Court's ruling striking down Roe versus Wade is raising fundamental questions about whether the Constitution protects an implied right to privacy.
Douglass' speech on July 4, 1852 has enduring significance. It speaks to America's failings, but also to the nation's possibilities and the greatness of its ideals.
The fiftieth anniversary of the Watergate break-in refocusing our minds on the dangers of conspiratorial thinking and unchecked executive power.
