Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.)

The Trump administration has quietly ramped up a vicious bombing – and covert raiding – campaign in Somalia amid a global coronavirus pandemic. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon has provided any explanation for the deadly escalation of a war that Congress hasn’t declared and the media rarely reports. At stake are many thousands … Continue reading “What on Earth Is the US Doing by Bombing Somalia?”

Recently, there’s been rather heated debate – a sort of progressive civil war – over what’s being called "lesser evil” voting. To Biden, or not to Biden; that seems the existential question. However, most discussion centers on whether Joe Biden would be a meaningfully better than Donald Trump on domestic policy: healthcare, taxes, immigration, and … Continue reading “High Stakes: Gambling on Biden’s Foreign Policy”

The bullet holes were what stuck with me. I visited the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina during the summer of 2016, at the head of the West Point civil rights history staff ride – a two week trip across the American South for select cadets in my classes. It had only … Continue reading “The White Lobby: When the US Was Sanctions-Buster Extraordinaire”

Dark times breed – maybe demand – dark humor. Iraq and Afghanistan taught me as much. The coronavirus makes it plain as day; so does Donald Trump. Look, the guy is a buffoon and – if you happen to be the wrong color or live in the wrong country – kind of a monster. But … Continue reading “Americas Libyan Detritus: The One Time Trump Was Right – It Was All Obama’s Fault”

Manicheanism means murder. Amidst the present pandemic, America’s irrationally dyadic global typecasting, and consequent capacity for cruelty, are on unusually flagrant display. Consider this the macabre gift of COVID-catalyzed reality exposure. From Uncle Sam’s escalation of proxy war with – and threats to bomb – Iran, to the maintenance and tightening of an epidemic exacerbating … Continue reading “American Exceptionalism Scars Both Victim and Victimizer”

The last time a West Point class graduated early – or having completed less than eight semesters – was in 1945, at the end of the Second World War. Until now. Though the circumstances are somewhat dissimilar – cadets have been taking online classes since their virtual return from Spring Break – the current class … Continue reading “Heaven Protect Us From Another President’s West Point Graduation Speech”

Everyone has heard, ad nauseam, about the "Special Relationship” between the United States and Britain. Accordingly, the few Americans who dare identify their country as an empire – past or present – tend to analogize with the British model. While the similarities between Washington and London-style imperialism are manifold – along with the distinct differences … Continue reading “The Still Exceptional Empires: Neo-Imperialism, Franco-American Style”

Empire exposure is the ghastly gift of coronavirus. Not that everyone can see it: consider that the "Drop Dead Fred” effect of corporate media duopoly. Imperialism has, after all, long been America’s imaginary friend: unspoken, publicly invisible – those who dare discern it branded as juvenile cranks. Only sift through the disease morass and mass … Continue reading “The Last Empire?: Portugal’s Cautionary Tale and the Costs of Forever War”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. I’m sure you still remember them. The president regularly called them “my generals.” They were, he claimed, from “central casting” and there were three of them: retired Marine Corps General John Kelly, who was first appointed secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and then White House chief of staff; Army … Continue reading “Trump’s Own Military Mafia”

"To everything (turn, turn, turn) There is a season (turn, turn, turn) And a time to every purpose, under heaven… A time to kill, a time to heal… A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late" ~ "Turn, Turn, Turn," as performed by the Byrds (1965) – adapted from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 It shouldn’t … Continue reading “A Time To Choose: ‘Company Men’ or Common Decency?”