Pentagon

In this mystifying moment, the post-electoral sentiments of most Americans can be summed up either as “Ding dong! The witch is dead!” or “We got robbed!” Both are problematic, not because the two candidates were intellectually indistinguishable or ethically equivalent, but because each jingle is laden with a dubious assumption: that President Donald Trump’s demise […]

Donald Trump

Has Trump’s last-minute Purge of Defense Agencies Put America in Danger?

The Conversation

By Arie Perliger | – President Donald Trump’s recent firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper and subsequent resignations from the department of four more top civilian officials – either in protest or under pressure – are raising alarms in Washington. All were replaced by people with questionable qualifications. One defense official described the situation to […]

Donald Trump

A Trump strike on Iran will make the US an Outcast and won’t stop Tehran’s civilian Nuclear Program

The Conversation

By Christoph Bluth | – Donald Trump asked his senior advisers to examine options for air strikes against Iran’s main nuclear installation, the New York Times reported recently. According to the report, the meeting occurred the day after inspectors reported a significant increase in the country’s stockpile of nuclear material. Key advisers reportedly counselled against […]

Anti-War Movement

Ten Foreign Policy Fiascos Biden Can Fix on Day One (and Should)

Medea Benjamin and Nicholas J.S. Davies

( Code Pink ) – Donald Trump loves executive orders as a tool of dictatorial power, avoiding the need to work through Congress. But that works both ways, making it relatively easy for President Biden to reverse many of Trump’s most disastrous decisions. Here are ten things Biden can do as soon as he takes […]

Arms Sales

Merchants of Arms: Who wants a Conflict with China?

Tomdispatch

By Cassandra Stimpson and Holly Zhang | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – War: what is it good for? Apparently, in Washington’s world of think tanks, the answer is: the bottom line. In fact, as the Biden presidency approaches, an era of great-power competition between the United States and China is already taken for granted inside […]

Afghanistan

Is Trump leaving 2500 Troops in Iraq and in Afghanistan as a Poison Pill for Biden?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dustin Jones at NPR reports that Trump has instructed the Pentagon to bring most US troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan by January 15, 2021. Some 2,500 would remain in each country. The announcement was made, WaPo reports, by acting secretary of defense Christopher C. Miller. Miller was apparently brought […]

Afghanistan

Trump fires Mark “Yesper” Esper as SecDef; Was it over Afghanistan withdrawal?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Barbara Starr, Ryan Browne and Nicole Gaouette at CNN report on the firing of secretary of defense Mark Esper on Twitter by Trump. Esper appears to have adopted a relatively mild demeanor with Trump for the past 18 months, though he was known gingerly to disagree with the president on […]

Donald Trump

Talking Tough and Carrying a Radioactive Stick: The Nuclearization of American Diplomacy

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) – On August 21st, six nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress bombers, representing approximately one-seventh of the war-ready U.S. B-52H bomber fleet, flew from their home base in North Dakota to Fairford Air Base in England for several weeks of intensive operations over Europe. Although the actual weapons load of those giant bombers was kept […]

Donald Trump

How dangerous are the White Nationalists in the US Military?

The Conversation

By Jennifer Spindel, Matt Motta and Robert Ralston | – White nationalist groups, who make up some of the most serious terror threats in the country, find new members and support in the U.S. military. These groups believe that white people are under attack in America. In their effort to create an all-white country where […]