Pentagon

By William J. Astore | (Via Tomdispatch.com ) | – – In the era of the long war on terror, Thursday, June 2nd, 2016, was a tough day for the U.S. military. Two modern jet fighters, a Navy F-18 Hornet and an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon, flown by two of America’s most capable pilots, […]

Militarization

The over-teched over-priced Weapons that Ate the Pentagon

contributors

By Andrew Cockburn | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – These days, lamenting the apparently aimless character of Washington’s military operations in the Greater Middle East has become conventional wisdom among administration critics of every sort. Senator John McCain thunders that “this president has no strategy to successfully reverse the tide of slaughter and mayhem” in […]

Militarization

The Iraq War isn’t Over; it is waged here, in our Hospitals every Day

contributors

By Mark Wilkerson | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Memorial Day is over. You had your barbeque. Now, you can stop thinking about America’s wars and the casualties from them for another year. As for me, I only wish it were so. It’s been Memorial Day for me ever since I first met Tomas […]

Foreign Policy

Multi-Trillion Dollar Bridge to Nowhere in the Greater Middle East

contributors

By Andrew J. Bacevich | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – We have it on highest authority: the recent killing of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan marks “an important milestone.” So the president of the United States has declared, with that claim duly echoed and implicitly endorsed […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

In Fight against ISIL, does US have to Choose between Turkey & YPG Kurds?

contributors

By James Miller | ( RFE/ RL ) The fight against extremists from the Islamic State (IS) militant group is heating up on two fronts. Since May 23, a coalition consisting of the Iraqi army and primarily Shi'ite militias, backed by U.S. air strikes, has advanced towards Fallujah, 40 kilometers west of Baghdad. There are […]

National Security State

The Pentagon’s War on Accountability: At $600 Bn a Year, Why aren’t any Wars being Won?

contributors

By William D. Hartung | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – Now you see it, now you don’t. Think of it as the Department of Defense’s version of the street con game, three-card monte, or maybe simply as the Pentagon shuffle. In any case, the Pentagon’s budget is as close to a work of art as you’re […]

Militarization

No US Troops on the Ground in Iraq & Syria . . . until there Were

contributors

By Peter Van Buren | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – One of the most popular apps these days is Snapchat. It allows the sender to set a timer for any photo dispatched via the app, so that a few seconds after the recipient opens the message, the photo is automatically deleted. The evidence of […]

Drone Warfare

Surges, Mission Creeps & Drones in the Mideast: America’s Forever War

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – There are the news stories that genuinely surprise you, and then there are the ones that you could write in your sleep before they happen. Let me concoct an example for you: “Top American and European military leaders are weighing options to step up the […]

National Security State

US spends as much as next 11 countries on War Industries; why do Cruz/Trump want to Spend More?

contributors

Bear F. Braumoeller | (The Conversation) | – – One of the prominent themes in this year’s presidential primaries is the state of the American military. In his April 27 foreign policy speech, Republican front-runner Donald Trump summed up the majority view of the GOP: [W]e have to rebuild our military and our economy. The […]