Michael Gallagher If we can believe the N.Y. Times—and if we can’t believe the N.Y. Times, whom can we believe?—the American Catholic bishops meeting in Baltimore last month led to professions of confusion about what course to follow in the wake of the recent synod in Rome devoted to the family. Most of the bishops…
b. traven and W.J. Astore It’s time to eliminate U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies. It is they who are most responsible for setting up the extremist and jihadist organizations that are creating havoc throughout the world community. Amazingly, the CIA and the Mossad have started and funded entities like the Shah of Iran, the Mujahedeen…
Henry Pelifian Today, war in the U.S. is like no-fault car insurance. Nobody is responsible, but everybody pays. Even a declaration of war as stated in the U.S. Constitution is not needed. This no-fault war policy is bipartisan and includes the endless Global War on Terror at enormous cost. The policy includes a codicil extending to national security…
Mikey Weinstein. Courtesy of Alternet. I’ve never thought of myself as much of a performer, but this week I responded to an invitation to take part in a circus. While the clowns did their routine in formal business attire and the “big top” was an imposing construction of marble, granite, concrete, and steel, I can…
Richard Sahn I was appalled by Jeffrey Toobin’s analysis of the decision of the grand jury in the Darren Wilson indictment hearings. Toobin, a legal analyst for CNN is a former prosecutor as well as defense attorney. The reason the DA, Robert McCulloch, did not prosecute Darren Wilson during the hearings was because, Toobin says,…
W.J. Astore The Vietnam Syndrome refers to an alleged reluctance on the part of the United States to use military force after the disaster of the Vietnam War. In a recent article, Tom Engelhardt reminds us that President George H.W. Bush referred to the success of Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-91 (which evicted Iraq from Kuwait)…
W.J. Astore In 2006, I presented the following talk on Jewish resistance to the Holocaust. It’s a dangerous myth, and sadly a common one, that Jewish people did not resist the Nazis in meaningful or effective ways. From this myth stems a far more insidious one: that Jewish people were somehow complicit in the murderous…
W.J. Astore. Also at Huff Post. America’s thinking about military action is impoverished. The U.S. military speaks of precision munitions and surgical strikes, suggesting a process that is controllable and predictable. Experts cite Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz for his axiom that war is a continuation of political discourse with the admixture of violent…
b. traven and W.J. Astore Thank you, thank you, thank you. In only eighteen months since starting this blog, we’ve reached the 100,000 “hits” milestone and are approaching 300 followers. We also have nearly 200 “likes” on our Facebook page without the benefit of paid advertising. To readers of and contributors to The Contrary Perspective blog:…
Matthew Jacobson We just don’t know. On what date did a meeting occur at which the decision was made to wage war against Iraq? Who organized the meeting? Who attended the meeting? Where was it held? Read every book that you can find about the presidency of George W. Bush. You will not find the…
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