What kind of war is the war on terrorism? Ordinarily wars are fought against proper nouns—against Germany during the Second World War or against the Soviet Union during the cold war, for example. Now we're being asked to fight a war against a common noun, terrorism. Just how accurate and useful is the phrase "war on terrorism"? Is this a war? And who exactly is the enemy—Al Qaeda? Al Qaeda plus all other terrorists around the world? Al Qaeda plus all other terrorists plus all the countries in which the terrorists operate? In other words, just how good a job are the president and the administration doing, not just in prosecuting the war but in defining the objectives?
Christopher Hitchens
Newt Gingrich
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On the latest GoodFellows: Is economic strangulation the key to achieving Iranian cooperation, or another misstep in the Persian Gulf? Is a sequel to “Woke 1” in the works? And does playing the race card in the aftermath of a former Cambridge University professor's suicide make his death even more tragic – and distract from another tragedy: declining academic tragedy?
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Autonomous swarms will demand cutting-edge technology to communicate, navigate, and defend themselves.
August 19, 2026
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Taiwan is the most urgent test of whether the United States and its allies can deter China and preserve peace in the Indo-Pacific. Beijing is increasing pressure on Taiwan while exploiting gaps in allied coordination across military, economic, and political policy.
August 18, 2026
