Although the controversy surrounding the misleading open letter by 47 Republican U.S. senators to Iran – an attempt to sabotage the Obama administration’s possible agreement with that nation limiting its nuclear program – has broken down along party lines, the...
Bombs Shake Baghdad; 189 Killed in Iraq
Can You Say ‘Blowback’ in Spanish?
Originally posted at TomDispatch. One of the mysteries of our era is why there seems to be no learning curve in Washington. Over the last 13 years, American wars and conflicts have repeatedly helped create disaster zones, encouraging the fragmentation of whole...
After a Twelve-Year Mistake in Iraq, We Must Just March Home
Twelve years ago last week, the US launched its invasion of Iraq, an act the late General William Odom predicted would turn out to be “the greatest strategic disaster in US history.” Before the attack I was accused of exaggerating the potential costs of the war when I...
Obama Stands Up for America
From the perspective of a noninterventionist, President Obama's foreign policy has been a disaster. Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, and now the stalled withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan – all this and more is evidence that the candidate who campaigned...
Fighting Still Stalled in Tikrit, but 114 Killed across Iraq
93 Killed across Iraq Amid More Reports of Shi’ite Retribution
America Fans the Flames While Europe Puts Out the Fire
A pattern is emerging across current events from Syria to Iran to Ukraine. The pattern has two parts. In the first, America is increasingly in conflict with her natural allies. America, contrary to its mythical image as the cops of the world, fans the flames of...
‘Islamic State’ as a Western Phenomenon? Reimagining the IS Debate
No matter how one attempts to wrangle with the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) rise in Iraq and Syria, desperately seeking any political or other context that would validate the movement as an explainable historical circumstance, things refuse to add up. Not...
Why Do American Weapons End Up in Our Enemies’ Hands?
It happens so often you wonder whether it is due to total ineptness or a deliberate policy to undermine our efforts overseas. It’s most likely a result of corruption and unintended consequences, combined with a foreign policy that makes it impossible to determine who...