How Zero Dark Thirty Brought Back the Bush Administration

We got Osama bin Laden — and now, for millions of Americans, we’ll get him again onscreen as Zero Dark Thirty hits your neighborhood multiplex.  Lauded and criticized, the film’s the talk of the town.  But it’s hardly the only real-life CIA film that needed to be made.  Here, for the record, are five prospective … Continue reading “How Zero Dark Thirty Brought Back the Bush Administration”

The Grilling that Brennan Deserves

As Washington’s pundit class sees it, Defense Secretary-designee Chuck Hagel deserves a tough grilling over his hesitancy to go to war with Iran and his controversial detection of a pro-Israel lobby operating in the U.S. capital, but prospective CIA Director John Brennan should get only a few polite queries about his role helping to create … Continue reading “The Grilling that Brennan Deserves”

Hagel Nomination:
The Revenge of the Realists

To say that the events of September 11, 2001, had a distorting effect on American foreign policy is to seriously understate the case. What happened in the wake of that catastrophe, in the highest councils of the US government, has been called a coup by none other than Washington insider Bob Woodward. Citing Colin Powell, … Continue reading “Hagel Nomination:
The Revenge of the Realists”

Is Hagel out of the Mainstream?

“Chuck Hagel is out of the mainstream of thinking … on most issues regarding foreign policy,” says GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. Neocon William Kristol concurs: Hagel is “out on the fringes.” But where, exactly, is the mainstream on foreign policy in 2013? Since the Bush II years, “the three amigos” — Sens. Graham, John McCain … Continue reading “Is Hagel out of the Mainstream?”

John Brennan vs. a Sixteen-Year-Old

In October 2011, 16-year-old Tariq Aziz attended a gathering in Islamabad where he was taught how to use a video camera so he could document the drones that were constantly circling over his Pakistani village, terrorizing and killing his family and neighbors. Two days later, when Aziz was driving with his 12-year-old cousin to a … Continue reading “John Brennan vs. a Sixteen-Year-Old”

Are Israel and the U.S. Becoming Fascist States?

Recently the words "fascism" and "fascist" have been used almost casually in political discourse, most notably in the form of the fusion word "Islamofascism" which seeks to conflate Islam with fascist ideology. The use of "fascism" to describe a political phenomenon is one of those convenient conversation stoppers, intended to evoke memories of the Second … Continue reading “Are Israel and the U.S. Becoming Fascist States?”

The Hagel Battle:
‘Why is Obama Doing This?’

You might think that China’s political system is in no way comparable to our own – and further, you might not be blamed for thinking that the 1973 Chinese Communist propaganda campaign, "Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius," has zero to do with the current campaign to impugn the views and character of Chuck Hagel – … Continue reading “The Hagel Battle:
‘Why is Obama Doing This?’”

Split Decision on Obama’s National Security Nominees

In the revamp of his national security team for a second term, President Obama gets a mixed review. Barring an unlikely presidential post-re-election epiphany leading to a radical scaling back of the American Empire, Obama probably got the best mainstream candidates for Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense that could be had. Both John … Continue reading “Split Decision on Obama’s National Security Nominees”

The American System of Suffering, 1965-2014

In late December 2001, not long after Washington’s second Afghan War began, there was that wedding celebration in eastern Afghanistan in which 110 of 112 villagers were reportedly killed by American B-52 and B-1B bombers using precision guided weapons.  Then there were the more than 40 Iraqi wedding celebrants (27 from one extended family, including 14 children) who died … Continue reading “The American System of Suffering, 1965-2014”