Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Ta-Nehisi Coates dings Shelby Foote

I didn’t realize old Foote was so goofy: “I would fight for the Confederacy today if the circumstances were similar.” This really disappoints me — and I speak as a descendant of someone who (according to a family history produced by them Latter-Day Saints) was pals with Nathan Bedford Forrest. Glad to see Coates pursuing ...

By
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

I didn't realize old Foote was so goofy: "I would fight for the Confederacy today if the circumstances were similar." This really disappoints me -- and I speak as a descendant of someone who (according to a family history produced by them Latter-Day Saints) was pals with Nathan Bedford Forrest.

I didn’t realize old Foote was so goofy: “I would fight for the Confederacy today if the circumstances were similar.” This really disappoints me — and I speak as a descendant of someone who (according to a family history produced by them Latter-Day Saints) was pals with Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Glad to see Coates pursuing this question. In a follow-up, he notes that Foote managed to get court-martialed out of the Army during World War II. I think you had to screw up pretty badly to actually released and sent home. Not even Jim Brown got that treatment. 

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tag: History

latest

‘We Don’t Want to Lose Our Second Motherland’

All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC

The End of Nagorno-Karabakh

What in the World?

What Does Nagorno-Karabakh’s Fall Mean for Great Power Influence?
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.

Trending

  1. Under Cover of Pandemic, China Steps Up Brinkmanship in South China Sea
    Elephants in the Room
    Robert A. Manning, Patrick M. Cronin

  2. The Alliances That Matter Now
    Analysis
    Stefan Theil

  3. The U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose a Soft-Power Race With China
    Analysis
    Raja Krishnamoorthi

  4. Poland Is Throwing All Its Neighbors Under the Bus
    Dispatch
    Paul Hockenos

  5. What Does Nagorno-Karabakh’s Fall Mean for Great Power Influence?
    It's Debatable
    Emma Ashford, Matthew Kroenig