Pentagon

by Peter Van Buren | ( Tomdispatch.com) The nuances of foreign policy do not feature heavily in the ongoing presidential campaign. Every candidate intends to “destroy” the Islamic State; each has concerns about Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korea, and China; every one of them will defend Israel; and no one wants to talk much […]

Militarization

Has the Pentagon become Lawless, Corrupt & only overseen by Civilian Hawks?

contributors

Gregory D. Foster | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Item: Two U.S. Navy patrol boats, with 10 sailors aboard, “stray” into Iranian territorial waters, and are apprehended and held by Iranian revolutionary guards, precipitating a 24-hour international incident involving negotiations at the highest levels of government to secure their release. The Pentagon offers conflicting […]

journalism

America’s Groundhog Day in Afghanistan and Iraq: The Headlines just Recycle

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – With General John Campbell’s tour of duty in Afghanistan finished, a new commander has taken over. Admittedly, things did not go well during Campbell’s year and a half heading up the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) there, but that’s par for the course. In late 2015, while […]

National Security Agency

US Airstrikes have made Hundreds of Thousands of Widows, Orphans in past 15 Yrs; GOP Pledges New level of War Crimes

contributors

By Mattea Kramer | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – The crowd that gathered in an airplane hangar in the desert roared with excitement when the man on stage vowed to murder women and children. It was just another Donald Trump campaign event, and the candidate had affirmed his previously made pledge not only to kill […]

Drone Warfare

Money Pit: America’s Forever War in Mideast has Gained us What, Exactly?

contributors

Tom Engelhardt | (Tomdispatch.com) | It may be hard to believe now, but in 1970 the protest song “War,” sung by Edwin Starr, hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That was at the height of the Vietnam antiwar movement and the song, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, became something of a […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Washington’s Twenty-First-Century Opium Wars

contributors

By Alfred McCoy | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – In October 2001, the U.S. launched its invasion of Afghanistan largely through proxy Afghan fighters with the help of Special Operations forces, American air power, and CIA dollars. The results were swift and stunning. The Taliban was whipped, a new government headed by Hamid Karzai […]

Militarization

Is our Military-Industrial Complex a Fat Spoiled Brat?

contributors

By William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – The word “affluenza” is much in vogue. Lately, it’s been linked to a Texas teenager, Ethan Couch, who in 2013 killed four people in a car accident while driving drunk. During the trial, a defense witness argued that Couch should not be held responsible for […]

Militarization

After 14 Years it sinks in: Maybe US is just not Good at Asian Counter-Insurgency

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – Here’s my twenty-first-century rule of thumb about this country: if you have to say it over and over, it probably ain’t so. Which is why I’d think twice every time we’re told how “exceptional” or “indispensable” the United States is. For someone like me who can still […]

Foreign Policy

Pentagon, running out of Smart Bombs, will Double anti-ISIL Budget

contributors

TeleSur | – – Despite the deep social and economic issues President Barack Obama is confronted with, military expenditure was conceived as a priority. The Pentagon plans to spend four more times in [Europe] defense in 2017 than in 2016 in order to have sufficient military capability to support to its European NATO allies, the […]