Militarization

VOA | — “America’s top military leader says he is considering deploying a limited number of U.S soldiers to fight with Iraqi troops against Islamic State militants. General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the remarks Thursday during testimony before the U.S. Congress. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details from […]

Militarization

Rehab for Empire Addiction: Uncle Sam on the Couch

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt (Tomdispatch.com) [What follows is a transcript of a therapy session between the American Empire and a psychiatrist whose name we at TomDispatch have agreed not to disclose. Normally, even in an age in which privacy means ever less to anyone, we wouldn’t consider publishing such a private encounter, but the probative news value of the exchange is so […]

Barack Obama

When will US admit Boots on Ground in Iraq (3000 Troops)?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole President Obama’s announcement that he will send 1500 more troops to Iraq was made on a Friday, a day usually reserved in Washington for the release of bad or embarrassing news that officials hope won’t still be fresh enough for Monday’s newspapers and so will quietly sink. That these troops will be […]

Militarization

Will GOP Senate Hawks Deep-Six CIA Torture Report, push Ukraine Intervention?

contributors

By Luke Johnson (RFE/RL) WASHINGTON — Republicans have captured control of the U.S. Senate for the first time in eight years, picking up at least seven seats in the November 4 Congressional elections. The shift means that Republicans will control the three top Senate committees dealing with U.S. foreign policy and national security: foreign relations, armed […]

Barack Obama

Top 5 Reasons Obama is Seeking Congressional Approval for War on ISIL

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole President Obama said Wednesday that he would seek Congressional authorization for his war on ISIL or the “Islamic State” Group in Iraq and Syria. This statement comes after months of his administration maintaining that the AUMF of 2001 was still sufficient to underpin this effort. (In fact, it referred to war on […]

Militarization

The Pressure to Escalate: How Washington governs by Whipping up Paranoia

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt via Tomdispatch.com Sometimes it seemed that only two issues mattered in the midterm election campaigns just ended. No, I’m not talking about Obamacare, or the inequality gap, or the country’s sagging infrastructure, or education, or energy policy. I mean two issues that truly threaten the wellbeing of citizens from Kansas, Colorado, and […]

Barack Obama

How a Republican Congress could Entangle the US further in the Middle East

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole The midterm elections in a president’s second term have historically been a time when the president’s party lost seats in both houses of Congress. Only a little over a third of the electorate typically votes in these elections, and they are disproportionately white, wealthy and elderly. In short, a different country voted […]

Barack Obama

Nobel Peace Laureates to Obama: Bring use of torture into the light of day, Never to return

contributors

By Jon Queally via Commondreams.org Twelve Nobel Peace Prize laureates have written to President Barack Obama asking the US to close the dark chapter on torture once and for all. Twelve fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates have written an open letter to President Barack Obama, urging the 2009 recipient of the award to finally close […]

Militarization

‘Thanks for your Service’ = Silencing the Vets

contributors

By Rory Fanning via Tomdispatch.com Last week, in a quiet indie bookstore on the north side of Chicago, I saw the latest issue of Rolling Stone resting on a chrome-colored plastic table a few feet from a barista brewing a vanilla latte. A cold October rain fell outside. A friend of mine grabbed the issue […]