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Articles on George W Bush

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Nixon resigned after tapes he had fought making public incriminated him in the Watergate coverup. Bettmann/Getty

Trump wants the National Archives to keep his papers away from investigators – post-Watergate laws and executive orders may not let him

Donald Trump’s lawsuit to stop the release to Congress of potentially embarrassing or incriminating documents puts the National Archives in the middle of an old legal conflict.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks during a congressional committee hearing on the withdrawal of American troops Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)

Afghanistan shows the U.S. folly of trying to implant democratic institutions abroad

This summer’s disintegration of the Afghan government and continuing political turmoil in Iraq provide valuable lessons for the U.S. and its mission to impose democracy on the rest of the world.
In the early 1960s, Barry Goldwater, a Republican U.S. senator from Arizona, called for the GOP to adopt racist principles. AP Photo/Henry Burroughs

Texas voting law builds on long legacy of racism from GOP leaders

For much of the country’s history, the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and racial equality, and the Democratic Party backed Jim Crow laws and white supremacy. The two parties switched.
America’s political leaders rushed the nation into war just weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, just like ancient Greeks and Romans did in response to similar traumatic events. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

At the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, ancient Greece and Rome can tell us a lot about the links between collective trauma and going to war

Ancient Athenians and Romans also let shared mass tragedies propel justifications for going to war – even when it wasn’t clear what that violence would solve.
U.S. soldiers stand guard along the perimeter of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Hundreds of Western nationals and Afghan workers have been flown to safety since the Taliban reasserted control over the country, but still in hiding are Afghans who tried to build a fledgling democracy. (AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani)

How Afghanistan is — and isn’t — Vietnam all over again

The Vietnam War was the defining issue for Joe Biden’s generation. His botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan could be the defining act of his presidency.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, is visible as President Joe Biden holds a virtual meeting with the Mexican president at the White House in March 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Joe Biden’s first 100 days: A nostalgia for past foreign policy bravado?

What do Biden’s first 100 days in office mean for the next four years in terms of foreign policy? There are already some clues — but questions too.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, standing at center and facing left just above the eagle, takes the presidential oath of office for the third time in 1941. FDR Presidential Library and Museum via Flickr

Has any US president ever served more than eight years?

Only one president has done so – Franklin Delano Roosevelt – but others considered it, and even tried.
The White House never provided the National Archives with an official transcript of what Trump said at this rally in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 20, 2017. John Minchillo/AP Photo

Trump, defying custom, hasn’t given the National Archives records of his speeches at political rallies

All presidents must deposit transcriptions of their public statements with the National Archives. But in the case of Donald Trump, there’s something missing.
Trump falsely declaring a win in the early hours of Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the US election, as ballot counting continued in Pennsylvania and other battleground states. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

History tells us that a contested election won’t destroy American democracy

Five of the six disputed presidential elections in US history were resolved and the country moved on – but one ended in civil war. What will happen if the 2020 election is contested?

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