Articles

When remembering the dead, we should focus on their good deeds. But in the case of general-lieutenant Mikhail Kalashnikov, who just died at the age 94, the “creator” of the famous, or rather infamous, AK-47 automatic rifle, and a few other things could have been mentioned in the New York Times obituary of 24 December 2013. Indeed, a number of important facts deserve to be clarified.

In my book, Admiring the Goose-steps: How Hitler Succeeded in Intimidating the World Powers (Hamilton Books, 2007), I described how Hitler rebuilt the German Army and took command of it. The article by Nick Shepley included important explanations of how Hitler commanded his armies into an unprecedented military defeat. As I did with the article about the Blue Division, I would like to share some additional trivia that further illuminates this often-debated subject.

What happened to my friend is so powerful and unusual that I believe it deserves to be known by all my readers. It proves how little we know about ourselves, our profession and what is around us.

In the beginning, no German commander wanted to be near the Spanish volunteers: they were an undisciplined bunch of macho men who refused to practice drills, march in formation, salute, wear military uniform or obey orders.

From military and economical points of view, only a global superpower can assure a safer and more orderly world. The ancient Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans almost achieved that status. In the Middle Ages, the Spanish and the British built colonial empires, while Napoleon’s ambition was to create a modern United States of Europe. Across the ocean, the United States of America kept adding more stars to its striped flag, building a most successful capitalistic empire

Today, the United States of American remains the only global power, while its military strikes are perceived by the rest of the world as purely imperialistic expansion. With fifty states united by the same flag and language, the U.S. is the only empire in history to rule on the principle of freedom and justice. Its armies occupied the aggressive Germany and Japan and forced them to write peaceful constitutions. Its GIs gallantly fought in Indo-China to stop the spread of the Communist empire, and thus, America survived the Cold War, emerging more powerful than ever. Like any global power in any time in history, the U.S. found itself in the unenviable position of policing the world, ironically including former Communist countries.

At the time of the Roman Empire, a large population of Celts from central Europe migrated to Dacia in Eastern Europe. They brought with them skills and traditions that continue to be evident in today’s Romania, which roughly encompasses the former lands of ancient Dacia. What follows is the history about these unlikely partners: their shared culture, the major battles they fought against Rome, the construction of Hadrian’s Wall in Britannia and Dacia, and finally, an intriguing postulation about the legend of King Arthur.

It was 1973, and I was twenty-nine when I defected from my native Communist country and came to the United States to partake in the dream of freedom and opportunity. Like many others, I believed all Americans were rich and that soon I would have a better life. I arrived in New York City, where I pictured myself mingling with happy people and expecting to see cowboys and movie actors.

This summer in London two main events will attract the world’s attention: the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and the summer Olympic Games. British pomp and circumstance will remind the world that constitutional monarchy is alive and well, as it did celebrating Queen Victoria’s sixty years on the royal throne. While one hundred years separate the two jubilees, the biographies of the two queens have much in common: they reigned longer than other queens, married a prince in waiting, had many children, and ruled in peaceful times. From any point of view, both long lasting queens were bright, restless and adored by the world, regardless of their blunders.

The American invasion Iraq (with minimal help from its allies) revolted the Arab world which viewed it as a Judeo-Christian crusade against Islam. In the summer of 2003, bin Laden addressed the Iraqi guerillas, asking Allah to “bless their sacrifices and valor in fighting the Crusaders.” And he added, “Devour the Americans just like lions devour their prey. Bury them in the Iraqi graveyard!”