Like all political news and commentary websites should, this one will cover the anniversary of the start of one of the most devastating events in the history of the West — World War I. Every month offers up a handful of “learning moments” as news items present themselves as object lessons for all of us to benefit from.
This entire year, and in fact the next four and a half years, Americans can profit from the focus that has already begun by historians as they revisit what took place between July 1914 and November 1918. Many more Americans are familiar with what took place in World War II than about what happened in WWI. The reason for that is, in itself, an interesting topic to be touched upon later.
This week the Heritage Foundation kicked off their month-long focus on national security issues with a forum about “The Great War.” If you have an hour to give, it won’t be wasted watching this video. Here is how Heritage summarized the presentation:
A centennial from the beginning of World War I is a grim reminder of just how important U.S. leadership in the world is. The U.S. needs military capabilities to exercise this leadership and to fulfill the federal government’s obligation to “provide for the common defense.”
Dr. Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the New York Times bestseller, The World America Made, will open our 2014 Protect America Month lecture series with a public address on the prevailing defense issues that are of the greatest concern to the United States, the lessons learned from World War I, and the dangers of isolationism to U.S. interests and security.
The nation must recommit to living the principles that made us safe, free, and prosperous. A complacent America, either at home or abroad, is the greatest threat to a peaceful and productive future for the United States, its friends, and allies.
Join us as we focus on these important issues and discuss how the preservation of peace and liberty requires a sustained and vigorous U.S. national foreign policy.
