Smash Hit

Barack Obama must face down the ghost of Vietnam

As the President ponders sending more troops to Afghanistan, he is haunted by the conflict that scarred the US psyche

CIA, or Completely Incompetent Americans

When it comes to anti-Castro plots, the only people more gullible than the Cubans are officers of the CIA

It’s a bonobo-help-bird world

We’re taught nature requires usto be selfish, but a new study argues empathy is natural for all animals

Barack Obama is out of step on gays in the military

It takes two kinds of bravery to come out in the Armed Forces. Those who show courage deserve more than political cowardice

Money for control in Afghanistan

Cash for peace may be a time-honoured way to tackle problems in the country, but only so long as the rent is paid on time

What's the truth about the battle of the V-sign?

Were the English heroes or war criminals at Agincourt? It depends on which side of the Channel you’re on

Sordid tale brings shame on Britain

Labour and the Tories are ignorantly exploiting a tragic and complex period of Latvian history

Regrettable rise of the political spouse

Come back Denis Thatcher and Norma Major. This conference performance was just too sickly

ANALYSIS: the invisible battle

Many returning troops feel an alienation from a society that seems not to understand or care about the challenges of war

Political scandal could become verse

In Britain, we hate being embarrassed. In France, disgrace is an excuse for a volume of doggerel

Secrets can be good for you. Ask Dan Brown

The move towards transparency in public life has been a huge advance. But individuals still need their privacy protected

Da Vinci author trades on conspiracy theories

Could Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code, be running out of secretive brotherhoods with arcane rituals to trade on?

War pictures can mean more than words

The US Defence Department may disagree, but the images speak for themselves

A brilliant artist self-destructing in the public eye

The day Michael Jackson’s music died seemed almost impossibly predictable, the chronicle of a death foretold, by him

A green cow: not emission impossible

They may be frightening on the charge, but it's their malodorous eructations that should scare us most

Garbo, the secret agent from Hendon

D-Day would not have been such a success without the work of an eccentric double agent

We've never needed history more than now

Its study may be declining in schools, but we are obsessed with the past and understanding it is crucial to the present