In early 2012 at a White House press briefing ABC’s Jake Tapper asked why the U.S. applauded courageous reporting overseas but did the reverse at home. “How does that square with the fact that this administration has been so aggressively trying to stop aggressive journalism in the U.S. by using the Espionage Act to take …
Continue reading “Thou Shalt Not Leak”
On May 15, a Washington, D.C., court awarded $332 million in damages to an American family whose 16-year-old son was killed in a 2006 suicide bombing in Israel. The court determined that Syria was guilty and would have to pay the judgment because it supported the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, which actually carried out the …
Continue reading “Terrorizing Through Lawfare”
What if Memorial Day reminds us of times when we had more freedom? What if freedom is dying right under our eyes? What if the memory of the past is more fulfilling than the reality of the present? What if the federal government could write any law, regulate any behavior, and tax any event, no …
Continue reading “What If We Have Only Memories of Freedom?”
On Friday, 93% of the U.S. House of Representatives affirmed a resolution escalating America’s already aggressive position on Iran from “crippling” sanctions to a zero-tolerance policy on nuclear weapons. The Congressional Research Service summarized the bill (emphasis mine): Affirms that it is a vital national interest of the United States to prevent Iran from acquiring …
Continue reading “War With Iran Has Already Begun”
Interviews with survivors, relatives of the civilians massacred in Panjwai on March 11, and other local residents add new evidence suggesting that the massacre was linked to the response by the U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit to a roadside bomb that had blown up a U.S. troop carrier three days earlier. Sgt. Robert Bales, …
Continue reading “Was Afghan Massacre Linked to IED Attack?”
As at least two days of talks on the future of Iran’s nuclear program got underway in Baghdad Wednesday, neoconservatives and other hawks escalated their campaign against any compromise agreement, particularly one that would permit Tehran to continue enriching uranium on its territory. Fearful that the U.S. and the other members of the so-called P5+1 …
Continue reading “Neocons Assail Possible Compromise on Iran Talks”
Violence left at least 12 dead and 45 more wounded across Iraq. In one incident, Lebanese and Iranian pilgrims were among the dead and injured. Still, most of the casualties in other attacks were Iraqis.
With the media focused at the NATO summit in Chicago on the organization’s future role in Afghanistan, President Obama’s plan to strengthen the alliance passed largely under the radar. Even as the United States supposedly “pivots” to Asia to contain a rising China by augmenting alliances with China’s neighbors, the United States is once again …
Continue reading “The US Should Leave NATO, Not Shore It Up”
A recent Rasmussen poll has 51 percent of Americans favoring the pullout of all US troops from Europe – and yet not a single major American politician would even consider endorsing such a move. Why is that? I thought politicians were supposed to be consummate opportunists, whose weather vane-like views shift with the winds of …
Continue reading “Interventionism and the Elites”
As the country’s big wars on the Eurasian continent wind down, American war-making and war preparations fly ever more regularly under the radar. There has, for instance, been much discussion about the Obama administration’s policy “pivot” to Asia — the only warlike act in the region so far has, however, been a little noted drone …
Continue reading “How Much Does Washington Spend on ‘Defense’?” 
