'Reflecting Pool' in D.C. Evokes the Ghosts of 1914 as Top Officials Sidestep War Maneuvers.
As tourists snap selfies by the National Mall's reflecting pool, history buffs are drawing eerie parallels to July 1914—when Europe's great powers stumbled into World War I while publicly insisting peace was inevitable. Today, leaked diplomatic cables show officials on both sides of a simmering border conflict rehearsing the same "unavoidable obligations" language used a century ago. The real story? The pool's still water isn't moving, but the ground beneath is shaking.