Militarization

By William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Has there ever been a nation as dedicated to preparing for doomsday as the United States? If that’s a thought that hasn’t crossed your mind, maybe it’s because you didn’t spend part of your life inside Cheyenne Mountain. That’s a tale I’ll get to soon, […]

Donald Trump

Congress must take back the car keys of Perpetual War from Trump

contributors

By Peter Certo. | (Otherwords.org) | – – By putting such a sinister face on it, Trump might have finally inspired lawmakers to rein in America’s post-9/11 war machine. A Bipartisan Vote to Put the Brakes on War By putting such a sinister face on it, Trump might have finally inspired lawmakers to rein in […]

Militarization

The Violent “American Century”

contributors

By John Feffer | (FPIF) | Originally published in Korea Quarterly | – – The last near-century of American dominance was extraordinarily violent. Is it coming to an end? John Dower is one the most preeminent historians of World War II’s Pacific theater and the aftermath of the conflict in Asia. His book War Without […]

Donald Trump

America’s Special Ops Perpetual World War

contributors

Nick Turse | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – The tabs on their shoulders read “Special Forces,” “Ranger,” “Airborne.” And soon their guidon — the “colors” of Company B, 3rd Battalion of the U.S. Army’s 7th Special Forces Group — would be adorned with the “Bandera de Guerra,” a Colombian combat decoration. “Today we commemorate […]

Arms Sales

First, the Soviets Collapsed: Is it America’s Turn Now?

contributors

By William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Jump into your time machine and let me transport you back to another age. It’s May 2001 and the Atlantic Monthly has just arrived in the mail. I’m tantalized by the cover article. “Russia is finished,” the magazine announces. The subtitle minces no words: “The […]

Iran

The Mystery of Washington’s Iran Derangement Syndrome

contributors

By Danny Sjursen | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – “Everywhere you look, if there is trouble in the region,” Secretary of Defense James Mattis told reporters on a mid-April visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, “you find Iran.” I must admit that when I stumbled across that quote it brought up uncomfortable personal memories. East Baghdad, […]

Espionage

Was Chelsea Manning trying to stop the Endless War? Whistleblowing and Morality

Juan Cole

By Peter Van Buren | (Tomdispatch.com) | <p>“My guilt will never go away,” former Marine Matthew Hoh explained to me. “There is a significant portion of me that doesn’t believe it should be allowed to go away, that this pain is fair.”</p> <p>If America accepts the idea of fighting endless wars, it will have to […]

Afghanistan

How America’s Myth of the Infallible Generals gets us in Trouble

contributors

By Danny Sjursen | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – More, more, more. I was guilty of it myself. Commanding a small cavalry troop of about 85 soldiers in southwest Kandahar Province back in 2011, I certainly wanted and requested more: more troopers, more Special Forces advisers, more Afghan police, more air support, more supplies, more […]

Militarization

How Many Defeats have Americans bought with $5 Trillion in War Costs?

contributors

By William D. Hartung | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – When Donald Trump wanted to “do something” about the use of chemical weapons on civilians in Syria, he had the U.S. Navy lob 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield (cost: $89 million). The strike was symbolic at best, as the Assad regime ran bombing […]