#OTD 1944 the Sonderkommandos at Auschwitz staged a revolt
07 Oct 2016 Leave a comment
in war and peace Tags: Nazi Germany, The Holocaust, World War II
Would ceasefires have shortened WWII? The American Civil War? #Syrianconflict
22 Sep 2016 Leave a comment
in defence economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: American Civil War, game theory, Middle-East politics, Syrian Civil War, World War II
Edward Luttwak in his essay Give War a Chance speculated that if there was a United Nations in the 1860s, there would still be UN peacekeepers stationed between the warring Union and Confederate troops on the Mason Dixon line as of this day.
If you can work out a way in which ceasefires would have shorten World War II in either the European or Pacific theatres, you have got a better crystal ball than me.
There were long interludes on the Western front; several years in which the Nazis fortified the French beaches while the Allies built up their invasion force in England. For all practical purposes, there is a land-forces ceasefire from Dunkirk to D-Day across the English Channel.
Luttwak wrote that cease-fires permit space for both sides to heal while only intensifying and prolonging the struggle once the cease fire ends — and it almost always ends.
This was true in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949. It is true of the dozen of ceases fires in Gaza negotiated by the Security Council. It was true of all the cease-fires that failed in the fall of Yugoslavia with Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians who negotiated month-long cease fires where
John Stevenson studied 170 ceasefires. He pretty much vindicated the position that each side uses the lull in the fighting to regroup, rebuild and reinforce when for when the fighting starts again.
Ceasefires are perplexing in the many sided civil war in Syria. Aside from the Kurds, it is hard to work out who you want to win.
The Kurds just want to be left alone with their own country.
But Turkey is not happy about that prospect nor is Iraq.
A useful guide to Who's Who in the Syrian Civil War. And how many fighter they have.
Chart by @EP_ThinkTank https://t.co/oGbN4A67w0—
Paul Kirby (@paul1kirby) February 09, 2016
You can work out who you want to lose territory but as for who might replace them, maybe the free Syrian army is a bit of an improvement.
Who's Fighting in Syria
(or: Why more intl focus won't fix this) https://t.co/RLo7kTtyK5—
ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) November 15, 2015
There will be a bloodbath in reprisals if any of the other sides win apart from the Kurds. The Kurds are only willing to fight as far into Syria as they need to defend their own territory.
The World at War 1973 E2 Lightning War
18 Sep 2016 Leave a comment
in defence economics, television, war and peace Tags: World War II
The World at War 1973 E2 Distant War September 1939 May 1940
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in defence economics, economics, television, war and peace Tags: World War II
The World at War E1 A New Germany 1933 – 1939
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in defence economics, television, war and peace Tags: World War II
Women and WW II – Rosie the Riveter
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in economics, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, population economics, war and peace Tags: female labour force participation, female labour supply, World War II
The World’s Strangest Borders Part 1: Panhandles
10 Sep 2016 Leave a comment
in economic history Tags: maps, World War II
#OTD the Blitz began – the start of 57 consecutive nights of bombing
07 Sep 2016 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history Tags: The Blitz, World War II
Paris Delivered (1944)
26 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history Tags: France, Paris, World War II
Was it Wrong to Drop the Atom Bomb on Japan?
06 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: bombing of Hiroshima, World War II
First Motion Picture Unit: Army Air Forces” on YouTube
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in defence economics, economic history, economics, economics of media and culture Tags: World War II
Archive Video Of The D-Day Normandy Landings
06 Jun 2016 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics, war and peace Tags: D-Day, World War II
Eisenhower recalls sacrifices of #DDay, 20 years later
06 Jun 2016 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics, war and peace Tags: D-Day, World War II
Listening to this video reminds me of the performance evaluation General MacArthur gave of Major Eisenhower in the 1930s. He said that in a war this man should go straight to the top. I can see why he also quickly and easily became president when he wanted to such is his remarkable insight.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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