Lessons from History

1. Military History
2. Lessons and even advice from the past — and notes from the future
3. Economic History
4. Looking to the future
5. Contact info

(1)  Military History

1. ”Why do we lose 4th generation wars?“, 4 January 2007 — About the two kinds of insurgencies
2. How often do insurgents win? How much time does successful COIN require?, 28 May 2008
3. Was 9/11 the most effective single military operation in the history of the world?, 11 June 2008
4. Another note from our past, helping us see our future, 16 September 2009 — From the past or future, who can tell?
5. A history lesson recommended for the top of your reading pile, 17 September 2009
6. How the Soviet Menace was over-hyped – and what we can learn from this, 13 October 2009
7. Are islamic extremists like the anarchists?, 14 December 2009
8. We have endemic terrorism – but few wars and epidemics. That’s good news!, 15 December 2009
9. The CIA’s forecast about the Iranian Revolution – and the revolution prediction tool, 6 January 2010
10. France gives us tips for the Afghanistan War, from their successful role in the American Revolution, 11 March 2010
11. The key to success in Afghanistan: independence, 11 April 2010
12. Max Boot: history suggests we will win in Afghanistan, with better than 50-50 odds. Here’s the real story., discussing 7 alleged victories by foreign armies fighting insurgencies (Columbia, Iraq, the Malaysian Emergency, the Philippines-American War, Northern Ireland, the Dhofar Rebellion in Oman, and the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya).
13. A major discovery! It could change the course of US geopolitical strategy, if we’d only see it, a review of the present and past analysis of  counter-insurgency.  This could change the course of American foreign policy, if we pay attention.
14. A look at the history of victories over insurgents. How often do foreign armies win? – About a RAND study examining the victories of foreign armies over insurgents. It holds powerful lessons for us.

(2)  Lessons and even advice from the past — and notes from the future

1. Our futures seen in snippets of the past, 16 June 2008
2. America’s grand strategy: lessons from our past, 30 June 2008
3. President Grant warns us about the dangers of national hubris, 1 July 2008
4. de Tocqueville warns us not to become weak and servile, 21 July 2008
5. Let’s look at America in the mirror, the first step to reform, 14 August 2008
6. Can Americans pull together? If not, why not?, 29 August 2008
7. Dr. Gulliver explains why America has become so fearful of the future, 23 October 2008
8. The King of Brobdingnag comments on America’s grand strategy, 18 November 2008
9. About the state of economic science, and advice from a famous economist, 8 December 2008
10. Words of wisdom about the global recession, from the greatest economist of our era, 29 December 2008
11. Napoleon’s advice to President Obama about the financial crisis, 29 April 2009
12. A wonderful and important speech about liberty, 23 July 2009
13. A warning from Alexis De Tocqueville about our military, 7 August 2009
14. Another note from our past, helping us see our future, 16 September 2009
15. A note from America’s diary: “My power proceeds from my reputation…”, 22 September 2009
16. Seeing today through the eyes of a future historian, 25 September 2009
17. The SecDef gives the definitive analysis of the situation, a must-read, 30 December 2009
18. A lesson from the Weimar Republic about balancing the budget, 10 February 2010
19. France gives us tips for the Afghanistan War, from their successful role in the American Revolution, 11 March 2010

(3)  Economic History

1. A warning from Professor Niall Ferguson, 5 January 2008
2. The greatness of John Maynard Keynes, our only guide in this crisis, 4 December 2008
3. The eternal truths of history can guide us through this crisis, 11 March 2009
4. Fetters of the mind blind us so that we cannot see a solution to this crisis, 1 April 2009
5. An important and politically significant guide to the Great Depression, 30 April 2009

(4)  Looking to the future

1. Forecast: Death of the American Constitution, 4 July 2006
2. The Fate of Israel, 28 July 2006
3. Is America’s decline inevitable? No., 21 January 2008
4. Experts, with wrinkled brows, warn about the future, 2 May 2008 — Remarks by General Michael V. Hayden, Director of the Central Intelligence
5. Good news about the 21st century, a counterbalance to the doomsters, 9 May 2008
6. COIN – a perspective from 23rd century textbooks, 10 June 2008
7. Words to fear in the 21st century: Lǎo hǔ, lǎo hǔ, Lǎo hǔ, 14 July 2008
8. Some thoughts about the economy of mid-21st century America, 12 January 2009 — Thoughts about future from one of the 20th century’s greatest minds
9. A look at our history – from the 23rd century, 13 April 2009
10. Seeing today through the eyes of a future historian, 25 September 2009 – Looking back at the Af-Pak War
11. “Welcome to 2025 – American Preeminence Is Disappearing Fifteen Years Early” by Michael Klare, 7 March 2010
12. A third American regime will arise from the ashes of the present one, 30 March 2010
13. A look at the future of the world’s political and economic order, 4 June 2010
14. A look back at our time from the 2100 A.D. edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 June 2010

Afterword and contact info