Tom Engelhardt

An editor in publishing for the last 25 years, Tom Engelhardt is the author of The End of Victory Culture, a history of American triumphalism in the Cold War era, now out in a revised edition with a new preface and afterword, and Mission Unaccomplished, TomDispatch Interviews With American Iconoclasts and Dissenters. He is at present consulting editor for Metropolitan Books, a fellow of the Nation Institute, and a teaching fellow at the journalism school of the University of California, Berkeley. Visit his Web site. This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com.

Having a Carnage Party

Counting to Three At least Caesar was just commenting on reality when he wrote that “all Gaul is divided into three parts.” Last week, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joe Biden attempted to create reality when an overwhelming majority of the U.S. Senate voted for his non-binding resolution to divide Iraq into three parts – Shi’ite, … Continue reading “Having a Carnage Party”

The Mean Streets of the Homeland Security Statelet

Sometime during the demonstrations against the Republican National Convention, which renominated George W. Bush in August 2004, I went on a media protest march down the Valley of the Imperial Media, Sixth Avenue, in the Big Apple. I had certainly been on enough marches in my life, but I was amazed. Back in the Vietnam … Continue reading “The Mean Streets of the Homeland Security Statelet”

Relax, Mitt: Guantánamo’s Not Closing

As the presidential election season heats up, Republican candidates have opted for “Guantánamo-forever” policy positions. Retiring Republican Senator Chuck Hagel recently complained that the notorious detention facility – once the proud public face of the President’s attempt to move incarceration and mistreatment offshore and beyond the reach of American courts – has bizarrely enough become … Continue reading “Relax, Mitt: Guantánamo’s Not Closing”

Greenspan’s Oil Claim in Context

Before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, discussion of Iraqi oil was largely taboo in the American mainstream, while the “No Blood for Oil” signs that dotted antiwar demonstrations were generally derisively dismissed as too simpleminded for serious debate. American officials rarely even mentioned the word “oil” in the same sentence with “Iraq.” When … Continue reading “Greenspan’s Oil Claim in Context”

Freedom as Theft

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is America’s highest civilian award, ranking second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor. According to its official Web site, the medal “is reserved for individuals the president deems to have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the … Continue reading “Freedom as Theft”

Glued to Our Seats in the Theater of War

Has anyone noticed that our commander-in-chief no longer plays dress up? He hasn’t done so for a while and that’s no small thing. It’s a phenomenon that came and went almost without comment in the media. I don’t remember the first time I noticed that George W. Bush liked to dress up. It could have … Continue reading “Glued to Our Seats in the Theater of War”

American Exceptionalism Meets Team Jesus

[Note to TomDispatch readers: After a long break, this is the 13th in a series of interviews at the site. The previous 12 were collected in the book Mission Unaccomplished: TomDispatch Interviews with American Iconoclasts and Dissenters.] He’s a man who knows something about the dangers of mixing religious fervor, war, and the crusading spirit, … Continue reading “American Exceptionalism Meets Team Jesus”

Despite Backlash, Many Jews Are Questioning Israel

I often think of the letters that come into the Tomdispatch email box as the university of my later life – messages from around the world, offering commentary, criticism, encouragement, but mainly teaching me about lives (and versions of life) I would otherwise know little or nothing about. Then again, the Internet has a way … Continue reading “Despite Backlash, Many Jews Are Questioning Israel”

Imperial Autism

The former Cockney flower-girl-turned-elegant- English-speaker Eliza Doolittle caught something of our moment in these lyrics from My Fair Lady: “Oh, words, words, words, I’m so sick of words…. Is that all you blighters can do?” Of course, all she had to do was be Pygmalion to a self-involved language teacher. We’ve had to bear with … Continue reading “Imperial Autism”