The Pentagon’s Phony Budget War

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Washington and Kabul have, for endless months, been performing a strange pas de deux over the issue of American withdrawal. Initially, the Obama administration insisted that if, by December 31, 2013, Afghan President Hamid Karzai...

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Hillary, Hitler, and Cold War II

In assessing the motives and actions of Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton compared them to Adolf Hitler's. Almost always a mistake. After 12 years in power, Hitler was dead, having slaughtered millions and conquered Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals. And Putin?...

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America’s Maginot Line

For months, Senate Bill 744 – which would reform immigration and make citizenship possible for some of the 11 million individuals living illegally in the U.S. – has been – has been stuck in the House. Generally, Republicans think it is too soft. Democrats have pushed...

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U.S. Defense Policy: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

President Obama’s defense plan has positive aspects but is not part of a coherent strategic vision for the nation. With this failing, Obama, as commander-in-chief, is not unique. Ever since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the United States has lacked a vision of what...

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US Hawks Take Flight Over Ukraine

A familiar clutch of hawks have taken wing over the rapidly developing crisis in Ukraine, as neo-conservatives and other interventionists claim that President Barack Obama’s preference for diplomacy over military action invited Russian aggression. At stake in the...

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The Next Battleground in the War on Whistleblowers

Who can keep up? The revelations – mainly thanks to the documents Edward Snowden took from the National Security Agency – are never-ending. Just this week, we learned that GCHQ, the British intelligence agency whose activities are interwoven with the NSA’s, used...

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