Some of WQ's pieces on conflict, soldiers, defense, motivations, history, and the civilians caught in the crossfire.
Women won’t just succeed in combat, they’ll excel
Inside the ‘Amazonian edge.’
Do drones contradict lessons from centuries of war?
“There’s something about pilotless drones that doesn’t strike me as honorable”
Who’s afraid of nuclear terrorism?
Even the most evil regime wouldn't hand nukes over to terrorists.
The rewards of being wrong about nuclear war
America’s Cold War wizards botched many predictions. But that was often for the better.
The After-War: “Thank You For Your Service”
Why do most troops return from war just fine, while others kill themselves to escape its lasting effects?
“I heard the screams for medic. This was on Mother's Day.”
U.S. veterans give their firsthand stories of life & war in Afghanistan.
Michael Rhoads’ Long Road Home
An injured Marine stuck inside Walter Reed yearns for the action of Afghanistan.
From Flames to Fury
The 2011 burning of a sacred Quran in Florida provoked a deadly, little known, and massively misunderstood maelstrom in Afghanistan.
Short Docs: Strides During Strife
How have the wars in Afghanistan & Iraq changed life for amputees? A short documentary film explores.
A less-than-splendid little war
How you should actually think about the Persian Gulf War.
Save the Nukes!
America’s nuclear arsenal isn’t dangerous. Getting rid of it might be.
Why did Israel fail to anticipate the Yom Kippur War?
After the war, citizens and politicians alike were left wondering, what happened?
A world on the edge
Exploring the ties between market democracy and the dangerous escalation of ethnic tensions around the world.
How American Isolationism Would Make the World Less Safe
Pulling back from America’s global commitments would amount to a “massive experiment.”
How soldiers got the right to a burial in a cemetery
Until the Civil War, hasty burials on the battlefield were the norm.
Guerilla warfare's epic history
Just because they're guerillas doesn't mean they're primitive.
The surge in Afghanistan had some awful side-effects
The surge goes awry.
Hiding in Plain Sight: WWI, WWII, and Surprising History of Camouflage
From zebra-like patterns on military ships to using Hollywood-style effects to disguise California, World Wars I and II were the dawn of a new age of camouflage.
Drones have decreased the risk of military acts — with major downsides
The nature of drone warfare has decreased financial (and, most importantly, human) risk. This has allowed military and political leaders to more freely sanction these operations.
Left out of the "Greatest Generation"
Millions of men saw combat during World War II. Others were so far removed from the action that their guilt and regret endures to this day.
The Swastika and the Crescent
How Nazi Germany's leaders tried to recruit Muslims to their war against Jews, Britain, and Bolshevism.
Failure to Lead
With the exception of a few senior commanders (and recently promoted junior officers), the global war on terror hasn't been kind to the reputation of U.S. Army generals.
Exit Lessons
The search is on for graceful strategies for exiting Iraq and Afghanistan. Apart from victory, history suggests, there are none.
What Would Churchill Do?
Putin isn’t Hitler, and this isn't WWII. But as Europe is threatened, it’s worth asking: What would Churchill do — and what do the people who invoke him get wrong?
Future Wars: Reshaping the Ethics and Norms of War
Technology's forward march will require us to reconsider and even rewrite the rules of war.
Good Fortune and Great Sorrow: The Civil War Generation’s Place in History
The generation that lived through the American Civil War faced a changed nation, and used their shared experiences to shape and reflect on the new society they had to build on the ashes of the old one.
