Armed Forces Archives

Armed Forces

A Monopoly of Violence

From “Contract Killers,” which appeared in the June 2004 issue of Harper’s Magazine. The complete article—along with the magazine’s entire 173-year archive—is available online at harpers.org/archive. A small group of…

Army of Shadows

by Seth Harp,

Searching for the Ukrainian foreign legion

Pump Action

From images released this summer by the Ukrainian military of female soldiers preparing for a parade celebrating thirty years of independence from the Soviet Union.

Destroyer of Worlds

by Elaine Scarry, Eric Schlosser, Lydia Millet, Mohammed Hanif, Rachel Bronson, Theodore Postol,

Taking stock of our nuclear present

We Don’t Have Rights, But We Are Alive

by James Harkin,

A gay soldier in Assad’s army

Game On

by Andrew Cockburn,

East vs. West, again

You Are Not Alone Across Time

by Wyatt Mason,

Using Sophocles to treat PTSD

Dodge the Draft!

by James Marcus,

Ever since the last draft was ended, in 1973, a small but devoted chorus of pundits, legislators, and retired military men have been stumping for its return. These are not…

Sirocco

by Michael Christopher Brown,

A Letter to Barack Obama

by George McGovern,

George McGovern in New Hampshire, 1972. © Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos When President Franklin Roosevelt came into office in the depth of the Great Depression, he sought to stabilize and…

A vengeful affair

Translated by Ryann Liebenthal,