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Inside Al-Qaeda’s Hard Drive
Budget squabbles, baby pictures, office rivalries—and the path to 9/11. By Alan Cullison. The Hollywood Campaign Want big money to get elected to national office? If you're a Democrat, you need to head for the hills—Beverly Hills. By Eric Alterman. [Free] In Search of a Pope Media commentators love to speculate about the power politics of the next conclave. They keep forgetting about the most important factor of all. By Paul Elie. Plus: P. J. O'Rourke talks with Colin Powell; Ryan Lizza rates Barack Obama; and more, in the September issue. Subscribe to The Atlantic today and save $25. Browse back issues that have appeared on the Web. |
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10 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC Reefer Madness (August 1994) "How does a society come to punish a person more harshly for selling marijuana than for killing someone with a gun?" In 1994 Eric Schlosser argued for a reconsideration of this country's harsh marijuana laws. America's Overextended Army "America has so many troops tied down in so many places that, for all its power, it is strangely hamstrung." In March of this year James Fallows warned that the U.S. military is stretched to the limit. 100 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC The House of the Dead Hand (August 1904) "The hand was a woman's—a dead drooping hand, which hung helpless as though it had been thrust forth in denunciation of some evil mystery within the house." A short story by Edith Wharton. 30 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC Computers Aren't So Smart, After All (August 1974) "Every culture has its misdirected enthusiasms which fail dramatically. The great computer craze of the late fifties and the sixties is such a case." In 1974 Fred Hapgood dismissed artificial intelligence as a passing fad. 85 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC A Jewish Palestine (July 1919) "The Jewish Palestine will be the home of many experiments. It will strive to replace the broken tyranny of the Turk by a harmonious cooperation between Jew, Arab, and Armenian." In 1919 H. Sacher forecast a peaceful future for a Jewish homeland. Bobby Fischer's Pathetic Endgame Chess genius Bobby Fischer has been detained in Japan for use of an invalid passport. In 2002 Rene Chun described Fischer's descent from chess champion to paranoia, hubris, and hatred. 35 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC Student Politics and the University (July 1969) "Would the university become the recruiting and launching ground for radical political activity directed to the overthrow of a democratic society?" In 1969 Nathan Glazer pondered the problem of student rebellion on American campuses. In the Footsteps of a Knight of the Round Table This month King Arthur comes to the big screen. In 1994 Cullen Murphy journeyed to "the heartland of Arthurian legends" in search of fodder for the comic strip Prince Valiant. 90 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC Meditations on Votes for Women (July 1914) "Multitudes of educated women are in influential positions, moulding public sentiment and directing large institutions. All the functions of citizenship they actually exercise except that of voting." In 1914 Samuel McChord Crothers advocated suffrage for women. Marlon Brando: An American Hero "He was our angry young man—the delinquent, the tough, the rebel—who stood at the center of our common experience." In 1966 Pauline Kael lauded Brando as too good for what Hollywood had become. 15 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC A Toxic Ghost Town (July 1989) "Today Love Canal is a forty-acre mound of clay ringed by warning signs, a high chain-link fence, and a drainage trench." In 1989 Michael H. Brown revisited the site of one of America's most notorious toxic waste crises. 145 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC The Stereoscope and the Stereograph (June 1859) "Form is henceforth divorced from matter. Give us a few negatives of a thing, and that is all we want of it." In 1859 Oliver Wendell Holmes famously proclaimed that our relationship to art and the world around us had been forever altered. 45 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC American Planes: The Lessons of History (June 1959) "Some clear and not too pleasant lessons are to be learned from a reflective perusal of the more than half century in which we have developed our air travel." In 1959 an aircraft engineer criticized the slow pace of progress in aviation. 25 YEARS AGO IN THE ATLANTIC The Nuclear Age (June 1979) "Nobody wanted to pray, but each of us blessed the bomb without guilt, and Sarah chanted, 'Fission, fusion, critical mass.'" A short story by Tim O'Brien. Reagan in Retrospect "'Reagan ... restored a belief that an extraordinary, but mortal, person can give leadership and a sense of direction to the American national government.'" In 1987 William Schneider assessed Ronald Reagan's impact on American politics. D-Day Remembered "Follow along with Able and Baker companies. Their story is lifted from my fading Normandy notebook, which covers the landing of every Omaha company." In 1960 a combat historian recalled the horrors of Omaha beach on D-Day. |
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"Those Americans—a majority according to the polls—who believe George W. Bush will do a better job handling the war on terror than John Kerry need to ask themselves: How has he handled it so far? Would we be safer today if Bush had not gone into Iraq?"
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 Blind Into Baghdadby James Fallows The U.S. occupation of Iraq is a debacle because a vast amount of expert planning was willfully ignored. Spies, Lies, and Weapons:
What Went Wrongby Kenneth M. Pollack A detailed account of why we were so far off in our estimates of Saddam's weapons programs. The Fifty-first State?by James Fallows Are we ready for a long-term relationship with Iraq? |
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Enter your e-mail address below to sign up for TransAtlantic, our free e-mail update on what's new each week in The Atlantic Online. [Click here to see a sample.] Enter your e-mail address below to get The Atlantic Preview, our monthly look at what's coming up in the next issue of The Atlantic. [Click here to see a sample.] |
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Inside Al-Qaeda's Hard Drive How helpful is it for us to learn about the daily lives and office politics of al-Qaeda's leaders? Weigh in on Alan Cullison's cover story in the September issue. The Hollywood Campaign Is it inappropriate for movie stars to try to shape policy? Join a discussion of Eric Alterman's article in the September issue. The Natural What do you think of Democratic whiz kid Barack Obama? Is he a future presidential contendor or a flash in the pan? Share your thoughts on Ryan Lizza's article in the September issue. See the complete forum index. |
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Lessons the UN and U.S. Have Learned in Iraq "I have more than a suspicion that the U.S.-led coalition didn't want the United Nations to get credit for its rehabilitation of schools and hospitals, for purifying 11 million liters of water or providing seeds and fertilizer for this year's crops, among other accomplishments." By Barbara Crossette. |
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Social Studies: Introducing The Senate Candidate Of the Future Introducing The Senate Candidate Of the Future: a zillionaire who may be clueless but can pay his own way. By Jonathan Rauch. Political Pulse: Which Way Do You Cut It? Today's politics has more to do with values than with class. And at the core of the values split is the 1960s. By William Schneider. Legal Affairs: The Threat That Bush, Kerry—and the Voters—Ignore Neither George W. Bush nor John Kerry is addressing the looming crisis in providing health care and retirement benefits to Baby Boomers. By Stuart Taylor Jr. Oil and the Wobbly Economy: A Long-Term Problem? The current economic slowdown may be a more persistent problem than the Federal Reserve expects. By Clive Crook. Political Pulse: Wedges Failing to Bite Was the president deliberately trying to create conflict? Of course he was. By William Schneider. Media: All Dialed In Summer-as-we-knew-it died a few years ago when people started talking about being "dialed in." By William Powers. Social Studies: Post-9/11, Financial Security Has a Whole New Meaning America has changed since Septermber 11. You don't always see the change, but it is there, at places such as Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. By Jonathan Rauch. Political Pulse: An Asset Outside the South? With John Edwards on the ticket, Democrats may be able to cherry-pick one or two Southern states. By William Schneider. Legal Affairs: Our Imperial, Unjudicial, Disingenuous, Indispensable Court The current Supreme Court justices have stretched their powers further than ever before. They've gone too far down the road of judicial supremacy. By Stuart Taylor Jr. More from National Journal. |
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CONVENTION DISPATCHES "The Right Thing?" Bush's notion of "the right thing" for Iraq was a disaster for America. By Jack Beatty The Signs They Carried Bush's detractors take to the streets with pithy eloquence. By Jack Beatty FLASHBACKS Notes on the Conventions Four articles spanning nearly a hundred years consider the changing role of political conventions in America's electoral process. SAGE, INK Custody Battle [Free] The Big Leagues [Free] Cartoons by Sage Stossel. INTERVIEWS David Brooks: Onward and Upward David Brooks, the author of On Paradise Drive, talks about the American creed, the dark side of hope, and life on the New York Times op-ed page. INTERVIEWS Anonymous: Councils of War "Anonymous," the CIA insider who wrote Imperial Hubris, argues that we must annihilate our Muslim enemies, while heeding their point of view. FLASHBACKS Athens, 1896 A gold medal-winning hurdler and an eminent Classics scholar recall their experiences at the 1896 Olympics. FLASHBACKS The Joy of Advertising At the dawn of the advertising age a century ago, the industry had already learned how best to connect with consumers. INTERVIEWS Christopher Buckley: Veiled Optimism Christopher Buckley, the author of Florence of Arabia, talks about women's lib, exploding camels, and the making of the modern Middle East. CONVENTION SKETCHBOOK Scene & Heard Around Boston [Free] Op-Art by Sage Stossel. CONVENTION DISPATCHES Notes on the Unseen Convention The underside of the Democratic National Convention. Humphrey Redux? Like Humphrey in '68, Kerry is out of step with voters on an upopular war. The "City Upon a Hill" Jack Beatty advises Democrats on what they can learn from Boston. FLASHBACKS Facing Up to Stalin Articles from the 1950s to the present on the painful process of demystifying Stalin and his devastating legacy. POLITICS & PROSE Scoop! An advance look at the speech John Kerry will—or at any rate should—deliver at next week's Democratic convention in Boston. By Jack Beatty. INTERVIEWS Bret Anthony Johnston: Stories to Break Our Hearts Bret Anthony Johnston talks about the fiction of grief and loss, skateboarding, and choosing a hometown setting for his first collection of stories. INTERVIEWS Alice Fulton: Justice + Beauty = Sublime The acclaimed poet Alice Fulton talks about Cascade Experiment, her new collection of poems, and why art must aim to be "fair"—in both senses of the word. FLASHBACKS Do We Really Need a Vice President? Is the office of the Vice President merely "a resting place for mediocrities"? Arthur Schlesinger, Gerald Ford, Hubert Humphrey, and others weigh in. INTERVIEWS Franklin Foer: Soccerworld Franklin Foer, the author of How Soccer Explains the World, on what soccer has to tell us about globalization, identity politics, and the future of baseball. INTERVIEWS Trevor Corson: Livin' la Vida Lobster Trevor Corson, the author of The Secret Life of Lobsters, talks about fishing for lobsters, and the quirks of our favorite crustacean. INTERVIEWS Alain de Botton: The Status-tician Why do the successes of our peers drive us crazy? Alain de Botton, the author of Status Anxiety, explains. POLITICS & PROSE Bush's Monica Moment Clinton's affair with Monica called his character into question; Bush's true colors emerged on 9/11. By Jack Beatty. INTERVIEWS Edwidge Danticat: Grappling With Haiti's Beasts Edwidge Danticat talks about reconnecting with her homeland—and coming to terms with its legacy of violence—through fiction. FLASHBACKS The Paradoxical Case of Tony Blair Articles from 1996 to the present chronicle Tony Blair's career, from his meteoric ascent to his fall from favor. INTERVIEWS Robert D. Kaplan: In the Line of Fire Journalist Robert D. Kaplan joined U.S. Marines as they stormed Fallujah, and returned to share his impressions. INTERVIEWS Robert Olen Butler: Faraway Voices Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler talks about tapping into different points of view and writing "from the place where you dream." INTERVIEWS David Bezmozgis: From Toronto With Love David Bezmozgis on his sudden literary success and his first collection of stories, a wry and intimate portrait of a Russian-Jewish immigrant family. INTERVIEWS Niall Ferguson: Our Imperial Imperative Niall Ferguson, the author of Colossus, laments the emasculation of American imperialism. INTERVIEWS Brian Greene: The Universe Made Simple Brian Greene, the author of The Fabric of the Cosmos, on opening readers' eyes to the hidden forces that govern our world. POLITICS & PROSE History's Fools In the wake of Iraq, the term "neo-conservative" may come to mean "dangerous innocence about world realities." By Jack Beatty.
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