Month: February 2012

Army Officer’s Leaked Report Rips Afghan War Success Story

An analysis by Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, which the U.S. Army has not approved for public release but has leaked to Rolling Stone magazine, provides the most authoritative refutation thus far of the official military narrative of success in the Afghanistan War since the troop surge began in early 2010. In the 84-page unclassified report … Continue reading “Army Officer’s Leaked Report Rips Afghan War Success Story”

A House of Sand and Fog

Last summer, as the Sandstorm mistakenly dubbed the “Arab Spring” swept across North Africa, a cadre of professional revolutionaries the Empire created in Serbia bragged about their role in the revolts to some European videographers. Sure, the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt may have begun spontaneously, but Empire-trained activists soon took control and channeled the rage into “regime change.” … Continue reading “A House of Sand and Fog”

If You Have to Ask Why, the Answer is Usually ‘Money’

One major problem with writing political commentary is that it’s often difficult look at something that seems … well, crazy … and find a rational explanation for it. It’s easier to just write off what looks like craziness as craziness and move on. But in the real world, there is in fact method to most … Continue reading “If You Have to Ask Why, the Answer is Usually ‘Money’”

Silent State: The Campaign Against Whistleblowers in Washington

One thing is obvious.  No one ever joins the government in order to be a whistleblower or leaker.  Whistleblowers are created, not born.  To offer an example, as Peter Van Buren is happy to admit, before he spent a year on two forward operating bases in Iraq running a State Department provincial reconstruction team, he … Continue reading “Silent State: The Campaign Against Whistleblowers in Washington”

The Sky Is Falling

Gordon England, deputy secretary of defense under Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, has opined in The Washington Post that the sky is once again falling as a result of proposed Pentagon budget cuts. According to England, “Further budget cuts will erode our security and put the country back on a path leading to another ill-equipped … Continue reading “The Sky Is Falling”

The World Turned Upside Down

When the British Army of Lord Cornwallis boarded its ships to depart from Yorktown after being defeated by the Continental Army and the French under the command of General George Washington, a regimental band supposedly played an old ballad called “The World Turned Upside Down.” The music was intended to convey that the established order … Continue reading “The World Turned Upside Down”