This Aircraft Carrier Did Not Exist

One of the strange little stories of World War II involves the aircraft carrier USS Robin, which didn’t really exist.

There was a carrier that sailors called the Robin. She and her sailors were underneath U.S. Navy command, took part in…

U.S. Air Force Requires Airmen to Praise Troubled Stealth Fighter

In an eight-page document marked “not for public release,” the U.S. Air Force commands its airmen to say positive things about Lockheed Martin’s problem-prone F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Burkina Faso’s Coup Leader Likes to Party Like It’s 1987

Twenty-eight years ago, Gen. Gilbert Diendéré was involved in a coup d’etat that overthrew Burkina Faso’s revolutionary president Thomas Sankara, also known as “Africa’s Ché Guevara.” Diendéré’s soldiers stormed a cabinet meeting on…

Iran and Russia Are Becoming Even Better Friends in Syria

Iran and Russia — an Islamic dictatorship and a nationalist one, respectively — are strengthening their mutual relationship in Syria. They’re awkward allies in a country that has often copied and hybridized Iranian and Russian…