Month: July 2016

The latest in shocking but not surprising news came yesterday as FBI Director Jim Comey formally recommended not indicting Hillary Clinton for her alleged mishandling of classified information. Given America’s less-than-stellar track record of prosecuting the powerful, this outcome has been a virtual certainty for some time. Even so, the event is still important. It … Continue reading “FBI: Hillary Clinton Broke the Law, But Don’t Prosecute Her”

Is it worth impairing the reputation of the FBI and the Department of Justice to save Hillary Clinton from a deserved criminal prosecution by playing word games? What has become of the rule of law – no one is beneath its protections or above its requirements – when the American public can witness a game … Continue reading “The Department of Political Justice”

NATO will be holding a landmark summit in Warsaw on 8-9 July 2016. It takes place at a time when the Atlantic alliance and Russia appear to be preparing for an extended period of confrontation, if not war. This is a period of unprecedented danger – unprecedented certainly in the post-Cold War years. The whole … Continue reading “Taking the War Out of Warsaw”

The Eid was fairly quiet except for a few strikes and other incidents.

The Roman republic began its descent into empire as victorious generals – starting with one Julius Caesar – returned to claim the fruits of their victories, their final conquest being the republic itself. “Crossing the Rubicon” has today become a phrase meaning an event that cannot be undone, usually of ominous portent, and surely this … Continue reading “General Breedlove and the Russophobes”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Here’s an oddity: Americans recognize corruption as an endemic problem in much of the world, just not in our own. And that’s strange. After all, to take but one example, America’s twenty-first-century war zones have been notorious quagmires of corruption on a scale that should boggle the imagination. In 2011, a … Continue reading “Revolving Doors, Robust Rolodexes, and Runaway Generals”

Mortar fire continued in Baghdad.

The nation’s observed birthday – July 4th – always brings forth what passes for modern day "patriotism": prominent displays of the flag everywhere, celebration of the military, picnics, backyard barbecues, and of course fireworks. There is even an occasional tribute to the nation’s "founders," those men who supposedly signed the Declaration of Independence on that … Continue reading “At Their Own Peril, Americans Are Fuzzy on History”

Heroism always occurs in the sunshine. Whenever we envision ourselves saving the day someone is universally there as witness. Whether it be the time we valiantly confronted and swiftly disarmed the guy robbing the convenience store…or the occasion we edged out on the ledge of a skyscraper to convince the suicidal girl she had plenty … Continue reading “Public Eclipse of a Shining Patriot”

Targeted killings or assassinations beyond the battlefield remain a highly charged subject. Most controversial of all is the number of civilians killed in US covert and clandestine drone strikes since 2002. The new White House data relates only to Obama’s first seven years in office – during which it says 473 covert and clandestine airstrikes … Continue reading “For Obama’s Secret Wars, the Record Suggests a Far Worse Reality”