The multipolar world that has emerged from the brief moment of American unilateralism following the end of the Cold War has pitted the United States against strategic competitors in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Taking advantage of American military and economic weakness, but more importantly acting on a very real perception that American policymakers are no longer capable of providing the leadership required to knit together a global order, Chinese, Russian, and Iranian leaders are busy carving out pieces of neighboring regions.

The bicentenary of the battle of Waterloo—perhaps the most significant battle in European history—is already being celebrated, despite the crescendo not coming until the anniversary itself, Thursday, June 18^th. The sheer number of events taking place connected to the commemorations is astonishing, and not just in the victorious countries.

There can hardly be a more direct connection between military history and current affairs than over the celebration of the 70^th anniversary of V-E Day in Russia on May 9. Vladimir Putin attempted to use the huge commemorations to promote the Russian armed forces, criticize the United States, sabre-rattle against Ukraine, cement alliances with rivals and opponents of the West, and generally to stoke up Russian hyper-nationalism.

At a recent meeting of the senior officers of one of the services, an academic expert on terrorism—one of the fashionable topics in Washington these days—announced that in the modern world Clausewitz was irrelevant because he had nothing to say about ISIS or the various other nasty malignancies bothering the international landscape.