b. traven, Greg Laxer, and Mike Murry Editor’s note: We wanted to share with our readers an off-line conversation some of our regulars had regarding protest songs and the Vietnam War. Back then, songs really meant something. We encourage you to write about your own favorite protest songs in the “comments” section below. Thanks. b.…
W.J. Astore I recently read Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier, by Günter Koschorrek, which focuses mainly on combat on the Eastern Front between the Germans and Soviets during World War II. As Dan White has noted, military history sometimes degenerates into war porn – exciting tales of derring-do that save the…
W.J. Astore Bad ideas never die at the Pentagon — nor do they fade away. No — like no-win wars (Vietnam followed by Afghanistan, and so on), they keep coming back to haunt us. According to today’s New York Times, the Pentagon is reviving the idea of special medals and awards for drone pilots and…
Daniel N. White Been buying lots of books recently from Half-Price Books’ dollar bin. A fair percentage of them are new books that were publisher’s returns at some time in their life, books that were marketed but never sold. Good percentage of these are books originally from the UK. Books judging from their blurbs that…
W.J. Astore A common belief shared by U.S. political pundits and a compliant and complicit U.S. media is that America never chooses its wars: it’s dragged into them. Last October, I read an article in the “liberal” New York Times that caught the mood perfectly. It worried the U.S. was being “sucked into” wars in…
U.S. troops in Mosul, Iraq in 2007. A foreign presence to Iraqis W.J. Astore I’m a retired U.S. military officer. When I think of U.S. troops, naturally I see them as my gals and guys. I identify with them. And I know enough of them to know that their intent is usually good — at…
Walter Stewart Ruck-up America and grab your carbines and kevlars, it’s war on. Of course, I wish it were not so, because I’ve been to war and have second place Vietnam War creds to prove it. But hey, stuff happens, any national cemetery knows that. I don’t think the current war – this one not…
Nick Turse. Courtesy of TomDispatch.com. [Editor’s Note: In his recent address to the nation, President Obama expressed his belief in the U.S. as an exceptional nation. Inherent to that belief is the idea the U.S. is a shining city on a hill, a moral exemplar to the world, a beacon of freedom, a nation whose…
W.J. Astore The world is still trying to digest the horrifying news from Paris of terrorist attacks by ISIS. We sympathize with all the victims of terrorism and other forms of violence, and we stand with France and its desire to bring the perpetrators and their accomplices to justice. Yet we also must be careful…
Katie Stuart My 23 year old son, Gillen, is in the Air National Guard. He is four years into a six year commitment. A few weekends ago, he came home from “drill” with the news that he may have to go to Afghanistan for six months in the spring of 2017. A few days later,…
The Contrary Perspective 