Peter Van Buren In this article, Peter uses his 24-year State Department experience to examine the “Deep State” meme based on his background and using his satirical literary style. Andrew Bacevich, with a military background, rounds out the same theme in this article. The “Deep State” meme has been kicking around for several decades as…
Nicolas J S Davies [Editor’s Note: In his send-out for his article, Nicolas Davies asks and answers vital questions on the U.S. air war that so many Americans know so little about. What follows is his “teaser” Q&A and his article, which appeared originally at ConsortiumNews.com.] Is the aerial bombardment of Iraq and Syria by…
Daniel N. White A strange turn of fate now makes Admiral (retired) William McRaven, formerly head of US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), a neighbor of mine. He’s the new Chancellor of the University of Texas (UT) system, and consequently he gives the occasional public speech. I went to his latest, one for the UT Liberal…
W.J. Astore Over at TomDispatch.com, retired Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich asks a telling question: Why does Washington continue to rely on policy “experts,” the “best and brightest” as they were called during the Vietnam War, even when events prove their advice to be consistently wrong? As Bacevich puts it (with considerable relish): “Policy intellectuals —…
W.J. Astore In America’s war on terror, the groundhog always sees its own shadow, meaning six (or more) years of additional war. War is indeed the new normal in America, as I argue in this article today for TomDispatch.com. War Is the New Normal Seven Deadly Reasons Why America’s Wars Persist By William J. Astore…
W.J. Astore Is the U.S. military doomed? I’d say yes. But it’s not because our troops are uncommitted, our weapons are bad, and our tactics are flawed. Rather it’s because of the conventional wisdom in Washington and the Pentagon that continues to commit our troops to unnecessary and unwinnable wars. This conventional wisdom is perhaps…
W.J. Astore The United States continues to insert the bodies of its troops into leaky Iraqi and Afghan dikes. That’s the image that came to mind with the recent news from Iraq and Afghanistan. More American “advisers” and weapons being sent to Iraq. The revival of night raids by U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan. No…
The so-called Senate CIA Torture Report is supposed to be released today. Five years ago, I wrote an article for Nieman Watchdog on the Bush Administration’s decision to resort to “enhanced interrogation techniques,” or torture in plain speak. Torture, I wrote back then, was the refuge of the impatient and incompetent, an approach that abrogated…
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…
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…
The Contrary Perspective 