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

‘The Square’: A great political film

Best Defense is in summer re-runs. This item originally ran on March 25, 2014. The other night I cooked green chili chicken and my wife said we should watch The Square, so of course we did. It is a documentary about the continuing Egyptian revolution, and no matter what your views, or even if you ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
Wikimedia
Wikimedia
Wikimedia

Best Defense is in summer re-runs. This item originally ran on March 25, 2014.

Best Defense is in summer re-runs. This item originally ran on March 25, 2014.

The other night I cooked green chili chicken and my wife said we should watch The Square, so of course we did.

It is a documentary about the continuing Egyptian revolution, and no matter what your views, or even if you care, it is worth watching. Not only does it tell you more about what is happening in Cairo, it is a great study of how revolutions unfold, and cannibalize themselves. One of my kids said it reminded her of Battle of Algiers — which of course is one of the Best Defense 10 top war films of all time.

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

Read More On Egypt | Populism

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.