national security — Bunk History

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A picture of a woman at a protest against Islamophobia.

The Most Patriotic Act

A warning from September 2001 about government overreach in the name of national security.

by Eric Foner via The Nation on September 20, 2001

The Carter Doctrine

Carter’s speech heralded a dramatic shift in foreign policy toward a policy of containment of Soviet influence.

via Voices & Visions on January 23, 1980

Screenshot of JFK's televised address.

President Kennedy's Cuban Missile Crisis Oval Office Address

In response to the build-up of Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, JFK ordered a quarantine of the island and military surveillance missions.

via C-SPAN on October 22, 1962

Soldiers watching a nuclear explosion.

Why Don’t We Take Nuclear Weapons Seriously?

The risk of nuclear war has only grown, yet the public and government officials are increasingly cavalier. Some experts are trying to change that.

by Rivka Galchen via The New Yorker on September 2, 2025

Aftermath of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

After Hiroshima and Nagasaki: How Allied Media Reported on the Atomic Bombs’ Devastation

An oral history of the coverage: what the United States attempted to cover up.

by Garrett M. Graff via Literary Hub on August 20, 2025

A Supreme Court Justice Wrote the Greatest “No Kings” Essay in History

This opinion is a milestone in the rule of law and is regularly cited by conservative and liberal justices alike.

by Gerard Magliocca via Slate on July 10, 2025

Collage of Richard Nixon and vintage images of mushroom clouds.

The President’s Weapon

Why does the power to launch nuclear weapons rest with a single American?

by Tom Nichols via The Atlantic on June 26, 2025

Bars evoking the border wall superimposed on a photo of a river.

The New Politics Of Territorial Expansion

“Never again” and the “responsibility to protect” now license forcible territorial annexation.

by Nils Gilman, Dirk Moses, Zachariah Mampilly via Noema on May 29, 2025

Chief Justice John Roberts.

So, How Much of Korematsu Did the Supreme Court “Overrule,” Exactly?

Chief Justice John Roberts called it “obvious” that the infamous decision has “no place in law under the Constitution.” Recent events suggest otherwise.

by Madiba K. Dennie via Balls And Strikes on April 14, 2025

Declassified and redacted White House top secret documents.

JFK Files: Revelations from the Covert Operations High Command

Special Group and PFIAB meeting minutes provide dramatic view of CIA operations.

by Peter Kornbluh, Arturo Jimenez-Bacardi via National Security Archive on April 7, 2025

Two women smiling together.

Lesbians and the Lavender Scare

Lesbian relationships among government workers were seen as a threat to national security in the 1950s. But what was a lesbian relationship?

by Livia Gershon, Robert Byron Genter via JSTOR Daily on April 6, 2025

Donald Trump and the presidential seal in an empty theater.

The Hoax that Spawned an Age of American Conspiracism

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are just the latest populists to weaponise fears of a sinister “deep state”.

by Phil Tinline via New Statesman on April 2, 2025

Thousands of shipping containers at the terminal at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey.

No Tariffs Without Representation

Executive trade power has gone too far.

by Erik Matson via Law & Liberty on March 19, 2025

The US Used the Alien Enemies Act to Detain Their Families. Now, They are Watching History Repeat

During World War II, the law justified the imprisonment of thousands like Heidi Gurcke Donald.

by Isabela Dias via Mother Jones on March 18, 2025

A padlock around the Pentagon.

The Left-Wing Origins of ‘Deep State’ Theory

Those who wish to restore democratic rule, regardless of political orientation, must take it seriously.

by Christian Parenti via Compact on February 28, 2025

Protestors use the celebrated Hamilton lyric, “Immigrants: We Get the Job Done” to protest the first inauguration of President Donald Trump.

“The Premise of Our Founding”: Immigration and Popular Mythmaking

On the tension between celebratory rhetoric and restrictive policy surrounding immigration.

by Connie Thomas via The Panorama on February 24, 2025

Sign along empty road reading "Private Road No Entry" in Hebrew and English.

How Israel Deceived the U.S. and Built the Bomb

Newly declassified documents reveal how Israel operated under the noses of U.S. inspectors.

by William Burr, Avner Cohen via Foreign Policy on February 7, 2025

A satellite orbiting the Earth.

Inside the CIA’s Decades-Long Climate “Spy” Campaign

How a top-secret satellite surveillance program accidentally documented climate change.

by Rachel Santarsiero via 3 Quarks Daily on February 7, 2025

Baseball caps that read "Canada Is Not For Sale."

Trump Shares the Founders' Delusions on Canada

Attempts to add Canada to the U.S. have gone poorly since the 1770s. Trump's rhetoric threatens a repeat.

by Lawrence B. A. Hatter via Made By History on February 4, 2025

Poofs of smoke in the sky.

An “Iron Dome for America”: A History Repeating Itself

How America’s search for total security keeps making the world more dangerous.

by Athena Drakou via The Climate Historian on February 3, 2025

Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos shake hands after signing the Panama Canal Treaty in 1977

The Panama Canal Treaty Declassified

Kissinger warned: “This is no issue to face the world on. It looks like pure colonialism.”

by Peter Kornbluh via National Security Archive on February 3, 2025

Three identical pictures of the explosion of an atomic bomb with different coloring.

How Literature Predicted and Portrayed the Atom Bomb

On Pierrepoint B. Noyes, H.G. Wells, and the “Superweapons” of early science-fiction.

by Dorian Lynskey via Literary Hub on January 28, 2025

Sound waves.

Listening Devices

The veterans of Kagnew Station saw the early growth of the surveillance state. Has the passage of time given them a new understanding of their work?

by Ann Neumann via The Baffler on January 6, 2025

Mugshots of Ethel Rosenberg in 1951.

President Biden Should Pardon Ethel Rosenberg

A newly released classified document shows that the National Security Agency knew Ethel Rosenberg was not a spy—and that the government executed her anyway.

by Phillip Deery via The Nation on January 2, 2025

Collage of Jimmy Carter reading documents, and excerpts of documents he notated.

Jimmy Carter: A Declassified Obituary

Highest-level national security documents reveal a tough-minded, detail-oriented president.

by Malcolm Byrne, Autumn Kladder via National Security Archive on December 29, 2024

President George W. Bush delivering the first State of the Union speech after the 9/11 attacks.

The Legacy of the ‘Axis of Evil’

One speech permanently influenced American diplomacy—and not for the better.

by Kourosh Ziabari via The American Conservative on December 20, 2024

Richard Nixon at a press conference pointing at a reporter.

Nixon’s Official Acts Against His Enemies List Led to a Bipartisan Impeachment Effort

An enemies list isn’t a weapon against ‘the Deep State.’ It was a tool Richard Nixon used to create a deep state of his own.

by Ken Hughes via The Conversation on December 18, 2024

Ronald Reagan and Paul Nitze.

A Cold Warrior for Our Time

James Graham Wilson makes a compelling case that the under-celebrated example of Paul Nitze is both instructive and worthy of our emulation.

by Max J. Prowant via Law & Liberty on December 9, 2024

Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinxing looking away from each other.

The Bipartisan Origins of the New Cold War

Starting with Obama, American presidents embraced the idea of arresting China’s rise, opening the door to Trump’s trade wars and hawkishness.

by Michael Brenes, Van Jackson via Jacobin on November 25, 2024

Protestors after Nixon's Election protesting the end to war.

US Labor and the Gaza War: Historical Perspective

Are we doomed to repetition? It’s something I worry about.

by Tim Barker via Origins of Our Time on November 15, 2024

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