Commentary

Note to Teachers: I taught a course on the Vietnam War and the antiwar movement at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1980s. Each time I began the very first class with a “pop quiz.” It wasn’t a serious...

Across the world, demand for oil is growing. By 2015, China alone may have to import over 5 million barrels per day. Much of that oil will come from the Persian Gulf, a region graced with unrivaled oil reserves...

In a tender love song from the late 1970’s, Bob Dylan asked, “Can you cook and sew and make flowers grow, do you understand my pain?” To the ensuing barrage of feminist criticism, the somewhat shaken but unrepentant song...

“Pay attention!” That was the message I heard on a recent visit to Hong Kong. In one form or another, it was the message from government officials, business community boosters, as well as political leaders critical of the current...

In the early 1990s, St. Petersburg’s First Deputy Mayor Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was a powerful figure in Mayor Sobchak’s liberal administration, often regarded as acting mayor. Without his help my American-owned company would probably have disbanded. Because of his...

The capture of Abdullah Ocalan by Turkish commandos last February ignited a national celebration in Turkey.  After all, Ocalan, the supremo of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), was held responsible for the deaths of some 30,000 people, half...

As anyone who has tried knows, teaching teenagers about places far away, and in which they have no particular knowledge or special interest, is a challenge. It is especially a  challenge when typical American teenagers—generally affluent, monolingual, and seemingly...

Almost 150 years ago in California, and about 100 years ago in Alaska, the discovery of gold lured thousands to seek fortunes that seemed all but certain. Ultimately, of course, the only certainty was hardship. Very few of the...

The Greater Middle East — defined as the Arab world, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and the Caucasus — is the site of the world’s largest supply of fossil fuels and a place where several ambitious powers actively seek...