Jeb Bush Re-Writes the History of the Iraq War by Joseph A Palermo Nothing illustrates better the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the Republican war hawks who call themselves presidential candidates than their attempts to whitewash the history of how this nation went to war in Iraq.

Is it the US that isn’t stepping up to fight Daesh/ ISIL? by Juan Cole Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s blunt remarks on Sunday about the Iraqi army not having the will to fight have ruffled feathers in Baghdad and Tehran.

Michelle Obama Breaks the Rules by Garry Wills In her own quiet way Ms. Obama was breaking all of the four rules of racial discourse the right wing now wants to enforce.

The war on Rome by Maura Jane Farrelly For centuries, Americans saw the Catholic Church as a dangerous foreign enemy. Not any more. What changed?

Why it’s important to focus on the loss of heritage sites like Palmyra in Syria even as people are dying by Stephennie Mulder "Clearly, we must have have concern for people first, but culture is also an essential part of us as people, as human beings."

To Have and to Hold by Jill Lepore Reproduction, marriage, and the Constitution.

Reflections on the Marshall Plan by Henry Kissinger Henry Kissinger recalls when George C. Marshall, speaking at Harvard’s Commencement in 1947, extended America’s hand to a battered Europe, helping to create a stable postwar order.

Do America’s political parties matter in presidential elections? by RICHARD M. VALELLY The evolution of the presidential selection system suggests not that American political parties abandoned a key function of party politics sometime in the 1970s, that is, the task of picking the presidential nominee.

US Kneejerk support for Israeli Nukes Torpedoes UN Disarmament Talks by Juan Cole The US vetoed the document because it contained a clause requiring Israel to meet with Arab neighbors and to participate in talks leading to the making of the Middle East a nuclear free zone.

The Making of a Great Ex-President by Justin S. Vaughn Which of Mr. Obama’s predecessors have been the best ex-presidents and which have been the worst?