EconAir

  Erich Ludendorff This is a summary of the reasons Germany lost World War I. The Allies, sometimes called the  Entente,  was the alliance of France, Russia, and England, later including the United States. INTRODUCTION   Before the war began, Germany could be optimistic about its prospects. The German economy, based on new technology and manufacturing (steel and chemicals), was the largest and most modern in Europe. The two largest manufacturers of heavy artillery were in Germany (Krupp) and Austria-Hungary (Skoda). Germany had the best army in Europe and a detailed strategic plan to quickly win the war.   What Germany lacked was the national resources to win a long war of attrition. The new weapons produce by industrialized countries tended to give defensive  positions with machine guns and barbed wire an advantage over massed infantry attacks. Kaiser Wilhelm’s bombasts and threats had alienated Europe and created enemies. Germany’s only major ally, Austri...

When al Qaeda struck the World Trade towers and the Pentagon in 2001, the United States had been the world’s only superpower for ten years. But what does it mean to be a superpower in the modern world? A world of over 200 countries, multinational corporations, global financial markets, global mobility of people and information, and a myriad of competing groups like non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Human Rights Watch, global religious groups, drug cartels and terrorist groups. How much power does the United States have to control, or at least influence, events outside the United States? What does it depend on? As throughout history, it partly depends on the strategic choices made by the political leadership of the superpower and how skillfully that leadership reacts to opportunities. Al Qaeda overplayed its hand with the attack on the World Trade center. As the only superpower, there was a lot of resentment aimed against the United States. Countries and NGOs tha...