Month: May 2013

The Deepening Shame of Guantanamo

There have been nine congressional hearings on the Benghazi controversy – with more to come – but almost no one in Congress dares put the spotlight on the unfolding scandal surrounding the Guantanamo Bay prison where most of the remaining 166 inmates have opted to “escape” from indefinite detention via the only way open to … Continue reading “The Deepening Shame of Guantanamo”

What No One Wants to Hear About Benghazi

Congressional hearings, White House damage control, endless op-eds, accusations, and defensive denials. Controversy over the events in Benghazi last September took center stage in Washington and elsewhere last week. However, the whole discussion is again more of a sideshow. Each side seeks to score political points instead of asking the real questions about the attack … Continue reading “What No One Wants to Hear About Benghazi”

Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Film

A funny thing happened after post-9/11 whistleblowers started being gagged, persecuted, prosecuted, raided, threatened and retaliated against. They began to organize. They gathered the wagons around and took to the press. It’s a phenomenon not uncommon in America, particularly when individuals believe they are being unfairly targeted by the government for doing the right thing. … Continue reading “Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Film”

Happy Mothers Day: From Guantanamo to Yemen

He disappeared more than a decade ago, just 18-years-old and teaching abroad, separated from his family for the first time in life. His mother and father, sick with worry, heard nothing. For all they knew he was dead. Then, one day they opened a newspaper and learned their son was being held in a military … Continue reading “Happy Mothers Day: From Guantanamo to Yemen”

Infantilizing North Korea

Political Cartoonists love to portray North Korea as an irrational and infantile force. It’s either a baby with a nuclear rattle or a little truant in need of a timeout. The relative youth of the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, encourages such representations, but the practice predates his ascension to power. According to the dictates … Continue reading “Infantilizing North Korea”

The Donkey of the Messiah

It reminds one of Mark Twain’s oft quoted words: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” By now this has become an intellectual fad. To advocate the two-state solution means that you are ancient, old-fashioned, stale, stodgy, a fossil from a bygone era. Hoisting the flag of the “one-state solution” means that you are … Continue reading “The Donkey of the Messiah”

The Price of Peace

The Heritage Foundation, which has been a bulwark of the War Party since its inception in 1973, has an annual budget of $82.4 million: much of this is spent lobbying on behalf of larger military appropriations and US military intervention worldwide. The American Enterprise Institute (otherwise known as Neocon Central) has an annual budget in … Continue reading “The Price of Peace”

Israel, Iran, and the Nuclear Freight Train

Has a weapon ever been invented, no matter how terrible, and not used?  The crossbow, the dreadnought, poison gas, the tank, the landmine, chemical weapons, napalm, the B-29, the drone: all had their day and for some that day remains now.  Even the most terrible weapon of all, the atomic bomb, that city-buster, that potential … Continue reading “Israel, Iran, and the Nuclear Freight Train”