The most significant parallel between Afghanistan and Vietnam isn’t the potential quagmire abroad.

Comparisons between Afghanistan and Vietnam are popular these days, as worries of another “quagmire” mount. But the most significant parallel might not be the wars themselves, but rather the divisions they cause among Democrats in Congress. As with Vietnam, Congressional divisions could set the public narrative on Afghanistan and leave the President with a political quagmire at home.

Democrats won big in the 1964 election,…

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In case you missed it, Nicholas Kristof had an interesting piece about Afghanistan late last week where he posits that instead of a doomed-to-fail attempt at counterinsurgency, we should spend the money on education instead. Why? Because “for the cost of a single additional soldier stationed in Afghanistan for one year, we could build roughly 20 schools there.”

He builds the argument well, citing awesome organizations that have successfully built and maintained schools in the country—none of which get…

Read & Discuss

In the minds of far too many Americans, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are little more than ideas: words and phrases bandied about by politicians, dinner party talking points for the moderately informed, momentary segments blipped above ticker stats on cable news shows. Yet no matter how far away those zones of conflict may seem, they are, in fact, quite real and quite consequential. And the men and women who’ve actually served on the front…

Read & Discuss

The soldiers we have lost and will lose will not be forgotten. This is a quick few questions to approach this topic related to design. Please feel free to comment and throw out some creative ideas and concepts.How can design be implemented to remember a lost American Soldier? What type of product would..
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Heroin makes Lou Reed feel like Jesus, and it won’t leave Guns N’ Roses alone, but how does it end up here in the United States? We take a look at the global opium trade from the poppy fields of Afghanistan to a shady street corner near you.

…
Read & Discuss

The most significant parallel between Afghanistan and Vietnam isn’t the potential quagmire abroad.

Comparisons between Afghanistan and Vietnam are popular these days, as worries of another “quagmire” mount. But the most significant parallel might not be the wars themselves, but rather the divisions they cause among Democrats in Congress. As with Vietnam, Congressional divisions could set the public narrative on Afghanistan and leave the President with a political quagmire at home.

Democrats won big in the 1964 election,…

Read & Discuss

In case you missed it, Nicholas Kristof had an interesting piece about Afghanistan late last week where he posits that instead of a doomed-to-fail attempt at counterinsurgency, we should spend the money on education instead. Why? Because “for the cost of a single additional soldier stationed in Afghanistan for one year, we could build roughly 20 schools there.”

He builds the argument well, citing awesome organizations that have successfully built and maintained schools in the country—none of which get…

Read & Discuss

The soldiers we have lost and will lose will not be forgotten. This is a quick few questions to approach this topic related to design. Please feel free to comment and throw out some creative ideas and concepts.How can design be implemented to remember a lost American Soldier? What type of product would..
Read & Discuss

In the minds of far too many Americans, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are little more than ideas: words and phrases bandied about by politicians, dinner party talking points for the moderately informed, momentary segments blipped above ticker stats on cable news shows. Yet no matter how far away those zones of conflict may seem, they are, in fact, quite real and quite consequential. And the men and women who’ve actually served on the front…

Read & Discuss

Heroin makes Lou Reed feel like Jesus, and it won’t leave Guns N’ Roses alone, but how does it end up here in the United States? We take a look at the global opium trade from the poppy fields of Afghanistan to a shady street corner near you.

…
Read & Discuss