Free Republic

Last week, following two days of heavy fighting along the southern front in Ukraine, I concluded that the expected push from the south into the back of the Ukrainian forces at the Donetzk frontline, was finally happening. Ukraine - Russian Army Activates Southern Front I was wrong. I, and other analysts following the war, had been deceived by the sudden rush of news from that frontline. It said that Russian forces made progress in a large number of towns. But nearly as soon as I had published my peace that news died down. In the following days nothing happened but...

The status of Iraq has always framed the strategic challenge of Iran. Until 2003, regional stability — such as it was — was based on the Iran-Iraq balance of power. The United States invaded Iraq on the assumption that it could quickly defeat and dismantle the Iraqi government and armed forces and replace them with a cohesive and effective pro-American government and armed forces, thereby restoring the balance of power. When that expectation proved faulty, the United States was forced into two missions. The first was stabilizing Iraq. The second was providing the force for countering Iran. The United States...

As we are living our lives back home, the war goes on. As we lay our heads down on a soft and comfortable pillow every night, there are soldiers fighting a war. As we run about our busy lives from errand to errand, our soldiers are fighting for our freedom. As we enjoy our delicious home cooked meals, our soldiers are eating less than desirable meals. While we are concerned with the next television show that comes on, our soldiers are concerned with the next I.E.D that is headed their way. While we get so busy that we forget to...

Former President Harry Truman has received much opprobrium from left-wing circles in the U.S. and elsewhere for his decision to substitute two atomic bombs in place of a D-Day type invasion of Japan in 1945. It was interesting to me to observe during Ken Burn’s current documentary, “War”, that Burns reported that credible estimates of the human cost of such an invasion were in the neighborhood of 500,000 dead Americans and 6,000,000 dead Japanese.

I am just asking if anyone at this site has watched the Ken Burns/PBS program recently aired, "The War". I have been surprised that no one here has commented about the production.

Endorsements & Reviews "The War is a remarkable storytelling feat and a visceral television experience."San Francisco Chronicle "There are works of TV art so extraordinary all you can do is be grateful."USA Today "Elegiac and compelling"The New York Times

This is just a television heads-up for the last episode of the first airing of PBS/Ken Burns production "The War". (VOA's boilerplate from prior threads) All commentary regarding personal experience, family tales of WWII, and critique of how Burns (and PBS) handles topics are welcome. Hopefully the threads on the seven episodes will serve as guides when this large documentary becomes required viewing in high schools. Comments on how Burns handled the documenatry (positive, negative, or neutral) will come in handy when "the younger generation" sees the series. Especially if Burns takes a "Smithsonian" tact to some topics...leaving people to...

If high school juniors' answers to a World War II questionnaire were strung together, here's how history would look: World War II took place in 19-something, when Theodore Roosevelt was president and the Germans claimed to be the best race. Hoping to aid Third World countries, the United States joined the war to stop racism and end the dispute over Jews. The head of the Nazis was a killer named Hitler whose evil partner, Mussolini, was president of the USSR. Ultimately, the war ended with the bombing of Iwo Jima and Hitler's suicide. Then a treaty was signed. Not every...

Dear Mr Burns; I just turned off my TV. I have watched 5 of your episodes on WWII. I have defended your negativism by posting positive comments on several blogs. But tonight is the end. Your blatant anti-Americanism propaganda in repeating bullshit about a recent West Point graduate being a battalion commander and ordering American soldiers to execute German POWs is way over the line. Recent West Point graduates are 2nd Lieutenants (O1). Bn Commanders are normally LTC(O5) or Majors (O4). You sir, are a commie pinko. Maybe you should get a haircut and a real job. I will never...

Please see following posts for URL links to the discussion threads for Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the series. (VOA's boilerplate from prior threads) All commentary regarding personal experience, family tales of WWII, and critique of how Burns (and PBS) handles topics are welcome. Hopefully the threads on the seven episodes will serve as guides when this large documentary becomes required viewing in high schools. Comments on how Burns handled the documenatry (positive, negative, or neutral) will come in handy when "the younger generation" sees the series. Especially if Burns takes a "Smithsonian" tact to some topics...leaving...

Please see following posts for URL links to the discussion threads for Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the series. (VOA's boilerplate from prior threads) All commentary regarding personal experience, family tales of WWII, and critique of how Burns (and PBS) handles topics are welcome. Hopefully the threads on the seven episodes will serve as guides when this large documentary becomes required viewing in high schools. Comments on how Burns handled the documenatry (positive, negative, or neutral) will come in handy when "the younger generation" sees the series. Especially if Burns takes a "Smithsonian" tact to some topics...leaving...

Please see following posts for URL links to the discussion threads for Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the series. (VOA's boilerplate from prior threads) All commentary regarding personal experience, family tales of WWII, and critique of how Burns (and PBS) handles topics are welcome. Hopefully the threads on the seven episodes will serve as guides when this large documentary becomes required viewing in high schools. Comments on how Burns handled the documenatry (positive, negative, or neutral) will come in handy when "the younger generation" sees the series. Especially if Burns takes a "Smithsonian" tact to some topics...leaving people...

"Band of Brothers" is airing now (Saturday, 12:30PM Central) on The History Channel. Interesting that it should air on the weekend following the airing of the first four parts of Ken Burns'/PBS's "The War". Opinions about the relative merits of the two WWII-ear shows are welcome. ee following posts for URLs for the discussion threads for Parts 1-4 of "The War".

Defending Liberty: Ken Burns' PBS series is enthralling millions by illustrating America's sacrifices during World War II. Too few today realize that just as much is at stake as we fight terrorists in the Middle East and globally. Some 18.7 million people tuned in Sunday night to watch the first installment of "The War," a 15-hour documentary by the same filmmaker who rose to fame 17 years ago using vintage images to make the Civil War come to life. What Burns has done to capture viewers' imaginations is spotlight ordinary combatants who left home to fight, and their loved ones...

This is a "heads-up" for the airing of "The War", the Ken Burns (Florentine Films) production on PBS.

This is a "heads-up" for the airing of "The War", the Ken Burns (Florentine Films) production on PBS.

see link above... This is an announcement of the airing of part 2 (of 4?) of Ken Burns "documentary" on WWII.

THIS is the big one. I have spent the better part of my adult life watching TV for a living, and I have never experienced anything more powerful than this. "The War," the 14-hour documentary miniseries about World War II from epic-filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, is this fall's main event. < snip > I can assure you that you have never seen anything like this before, even though it might seem as if World War II has been covered from every possible angle in the hundreds of other documentaries seen on TV over the years. This one succeeds...

When Ken Burns releases a documentary, America watches. This is partly because of his uniquely compelling style, but also partly because his stories are those of America itself: the Civil War, jazz, baseball. But now some ethnic activists and politicians are decrying Burns's latest project on World War II, The War, as not reflective of America -- and are seeking to impose that judgment. If they get their way, there may be more such spats on the horizon. Why the ruckus? Burns's narrative technique relies heavily on individual accounts and The War is no exception. He aims to tell the...

All I can say is that it's a good thing it's Ken Burns. If the micromanagers and pseudo-censors representing the politically correct Congressional Hispanic Caucus were taking on a lesser filmmaker, who knows what would happen? At least it's relatively easy for PBS, the Public Broadcasting System, to stand behind the best documentary artist in America. In this climate, the second-best might not fare so well. The current controversy centers around Ken Burns' forthcoming film, "The War," which focuses on how the people of four American towns were affected by World War II. Famous historians everywhere have supported the project....