On May 1, 2003, George W. Bush declared victory in Iraq while preening in a flight suit in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner. Three years later, the country he had invaded descended into a bloody civil war. Eight years after that, the northwest of Iraq was conquered by ISIS. As I write this, thirteen … Continue reading “Who is the Man Leading Iraq’s Green Zone Revolution?”
Dan Sanchez
The Hell on Earth Paved by Samantha Power’s Good Intentions
In Batman Vs. Superman, the intrepid reporter Lois Lane (played by Amy Adams), tries to expose a dastardly villain and gets herself into a deadly predicament from which Superman must save her. This has been the Lois Lane formula since 1938. But in this case, the rescue has blowback. The villain in question was an … Continue reading “The Hell on Earth Paved by Samantha Power’s Good Intentions”
The Pretense of Nation-Building
In 1974, when Friedrich Hayek won the Nobel Prize in Economics, he used his acceptance speech to deliver a warning to the world. Do not again fall for “the pretense of knowledge,” he counseled. Hayek was singling out economic policymakers who presume to possess the knowledge needed to confidently predict and design market outcomes, much as … Continue reading “The Pretense of Nation-Building”
What If the Empire Held an Election and Nobody Came?
What if a presidential candidate threw a political rally, and nobody came? What if a government held an election, and nobody voted? What if that same government started a war, and nobody participated, whether in body or in spirit? These questions are related. Election season is trudging on, as are the wars. Many fans of … Continue reading “What If the Empire Held an Election and Nobody Came?”
Imperial Human Sacrifice in Yemen
Stand-up comic Louis CK recently did this bit where he characterized America as “the world’s worst girlfriend”: “America is like a terrible girlfriend to the rest of the world. If someone hurts America, she remembers it forever. But if she does anything bad, she’s like: ‘Whaaatt? I didn’t do anything!’ America, why do you keep bombing those … Continue reading “Imperial Human Sacrifice in Yemen”
Muslims Are Standing Up To Extremism
Following every Islamist terror attack on a Western soft target, like the recent one in Brussels, we hear the same refrain from certain corners: “Why won’t Muslims stand up to Islamic extremism?” The rhetorical question is meant to imply its own answer: that Islam is unavoidably a religion of violence which impels its adherents to … Continue reading “Muslims Are Standing Up To Extremism”
A New Dawn for Cuba and Iran?
“Es un nuevo dia” and “Nowruz Mubarak.” The literal meaning of both phrases welcome the “new day” (nuevo dia, nowruz) in Spanish and Persian respectively (the latter is a holiday greeting for the Persian New Year). And President Barack Obama recently delivered these two messages to the people of Cuba and Iran. Remarkably, the message … Continue reading “A New Dawn for Cuba and Iran?”
Toward a Theory of Peace
Peace is the keystone of liberty and prosperity. To completely understand why, it will be important to develop a theory of peace. Most arguments against war at least partially rely on empirical evidence. Anti-war literature tends to draw from past calamitous consequences of foreign interventionism. Here I will endeavor to make the case for peace … Continue reading “Toward a Theory of Peace”
Trump Will Make His Peace with the War Party
Many promoters of peace, while not necessarily supporting him, do hope that a Donald Trump presidency would curb or maybe even end the hyper-active militancy of the American empire. They see glimmers of promise in Trump’s foreign policy statements. For example, while his Republican rivals vie with each other over who will most antagonize nuclear … Continue reading “Trump Will Make His Peace with the War Party”
The Dulles Brothers and Their Legacy of Perpetual War
I was intrigued by the 2015 release of David Talbot’s The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government. But it also reminded me of a 2014 book I had been wanting to read titled The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War by Stephen Kinzer. … Continue reading “The Dulles Brothers and Their Legacy of Perpetual War”