Blog Archive for April, 2007

Beginning in February, we embarked on a series of Iraq-themed programs and events hoping to encourage discussion on the war and the current state of affairs in Iraq. We examined it from many different angles - from Patrick O’Donnell’s tales of house-to-house combat in Fallujah to Barry Machado’s comparison between the Marshall Plan and post-WWII Europe and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and their handling of the reconstruction of Iraq following the initial stages of combat. We hope that our visitors gained a better understanding of the conflict and have continued to think critically about our role overseas. Our final two programs - “Iraq: A Constitutional Perspective” by Madison attorney Brady Williamson and “Mistaking Vengeance for Justice” by Beloit College Professor Beth Dougherty - were both outstanding. Both speakers presented a balanced and thorough interpretation of recent events in Iraq. Many thanks to the above speakers, as well as Dr. Mark Stoler from the University of Vermont and Dr. Michael Barnett from the University of Minnesota for lecturing here the past season.

 I will be the first to admit the following: standard historical lectures on the Civil War and World War II have been much easier to put together than our Iraq series. There is a clear beginning and end to these conflicts, and certain victory by the good guys. Since interest remains high among our visitors, we will continue to interpret the Civil War and World War II through our lecture series. Yet, despite the inherent biases a hot-button issue like Iraq brings out, covering the Iraq War is an important part of our duties here at the museum. We feel that it is imperative that we discuss ALL aspects of this conflict - the military, the historical, the geopolitical, and the constitutional. I hope that many of you attended our programs and found them enjoyable and challenging. The post-lecture discussions were outstanding, further reinforcing our belief that we have the smartest and best-informed audience in Madison!

As many of you know, the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, John Scocos, departs for Iraq within the next few days. Secretary Scocos, a Colonel in the  Army reserves, will be serving in an adminstrative capacity in Iraq. We wish him well during his tour and that he returns home soon. About a week ago, National Public Radio interviewed Secretary Scocos at his home in Madison. To listen to the interview, see:  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9469939

Links:

Daniel Benjamin - “Notes of the Future of Terrorism”

http://www.brookings.edu/views/articles/benjamin/2006dec.html  

A scholar at the Brookings Institute and one of the world’s foremost experts on Radical Islam and terrorism, Benjamin will be speaking here in Madison on October 17, 2007. This piece provides insight into the future of Radical Islamist violence and how in recent years, the international intelligence community has largely prevented another large scale attack like we saw on 9/11/01.

James Campbell - The Ghost Mountain Boys - http://outside.away.com/outside/video/index.html

This is a link to a six-minute trailer for a new documentary about Wisconsin author James Campbell’s trek across Papua New Guinea. Campbell, author of the forthcoming book, The Ghost Mountain Boys, followed the 130 mile path blazed by the 32nd Division across the mountains during World War II. For the book, Campbell relied extensively on letters and diaries held here at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Archives. He will be speaking here sometime in October 2007. For more information, see Doug Moe’s article on the book and movie here: http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/moe/index.php?ntid=128415&ntpid=2