Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
The Pentagon announced yesterday that its special forces had killed Abu Sayyaf, a top Islamic State commander in Syria. There’d been a firefight at his compound. The special forces seized a substantial amount of useful information. Four years and two weeks ago, we were told the same things about Osama bin Laden. There were some serious holes in that story, … >>
You’ve no doubt heard by now of the latest threat to international stability. A radical group called ISIS has rapidly taken over one third of Iraq and one third of Syria. ISIS is a coalition of known Sunni insurgent groups, including the Mujahideen Shura Council and Al Qaeda in Iraq. Saying they have a “take no prisoners” attitude is an … >>
You can see this in any war movie: When it’s raining bullets, one of the heroes falls to the ground on the middle of the battlefield. His buddy tries to save him. The wounded man objects. “Just leave me here! Don’t jeopardize the mission!” he says. His buddy won’t listen. Risking his own life, he drags or carries his injured … >>
You’ve got to love Michio Kaku. The smiling American physicist knows the answer to everything, and because he does, he appears in every single science documentary these days — at least those produced by the Discovery Channel. Kaku’s 2009–10 series Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible, currently showing on German TV, underscores the extent to which science fiction inspires today’s … >>
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — American philosopher George Santayana (1863–1952) “Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.” — American historian Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989) Americans love historical reenactments. In the Deep South, actors at historic mansions dress up as plantation owners and Southern belles. On both … >>
American filmmaker Oliver Stone is fascinated by history and those who make it. His JFK, Nixon, World Trade Center and W. have attempted to fill the gaps in our knowledge of what happened and what may have happened at key points in US history. Now he’s filled the gaps in his own timeline in an ambitious documentary called Oliver Stone’s … >>
Ten years ago today, the United States invaded Iraq — a country that had not threatened the US and that had no means of attacking it. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were killed; two million became refugees. A total of 4,475 American soldiers were killed, and another 32,221 suffered significant injury, disfigurement or amputation. Many more suffered traumatic brain injuries … >>
There was a time when I could have been a consul or an ambassador. No joke. An American consul in Germany said I had the makings of a diplomat, and he tried hard to convince me to join the foreign service. It was a tempting offer: excellent pay, a high level of responsibility, and an opportunity to see the world. … >>
Well, it’s been ten long years since those towers turned to dust; the memorial is being dedicated on that site on Sunday. The mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is rotting away somewhere after being waterboarded 130 times. His boss, Osama bin Laden, is (supposedly) at the bottom of the sea. An attack of the same magnitude has not … >>
The cold, wet weather that lasted into the early part of August didn’t provide much of an incentive to go outdoors. Fortunately, however, this year has offered some very interesting reality TV. In January and February I found myself watching what I call the Egypt show, a touching soap opera that was on every night. That series ended with a … >>