Daniel McAdams

The history of post Cold War US involvement in Iraq is the story of the enduring power of myths to drive a false foreign policy narrative and achieve the goals of a singularly-focused pressure group (the interventionist neocons). From the 1990 myth that Saddam Hussein had on his own and in opposition to stated US … Continue reading “Deadly Myths: Iraq ‘Surge’ General Calls for ‘Surge 2.0’”

The big news out of Syria over the past couple of days has been that Syrian government forces with the help of the Russian military have taken back control of Palmyra from ISIS. The fall of Palmyra and subsequent destruction of the spectacular Roman ruins there by ISIS horrified the civilized world. The US government … Continue reading “In Syria, Assad Liberates Palmyra While CIA Battles the Pentagon”

As a committed and unapologetic neocon, Michael Rubin loves the idea of the old purges once common practice under his ideological forebears in the Soviet Union. The details of the infraction were unimportant – and to even consider the need for details once the Party has spoken was to court suspicion. So Comrade Rubin is … Continue reading “Comrade Michael Rubin Demands the Gulag for Col. Wilkerson”

On his own and through his proxies in what is called the US “Israel Lobby,” Benjamin Netanyahu expended enormous political and financial capital in attempt to sink President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. Though the deal is already done, the pro-Likud lobby in Washington with the backing of a significant number of elected Members of … Continue reading “Bibi Cancels Meeting With Obama, Demands More Money Instead”

The neocons are renowned for their courage on the battlefield. There is no keyboard they are afraid to finger. No pen they won’t commandeer. When the battle cry is sounded, they unhesitatingly push the “on” button at their computers and saddle up for battle. Off with the loafers and under the desk! “Caution to the … Continue reading “Neocon Armchair Warhawks Panic Over Trump Foreign Policy”

The Syria “cessation of hostilities” agreement seems all the stranger as huge unanswered questions regarding signatories, partners, monitoring, reporting, adjudication, and enforcement are raised. It seems more and more like something cobbled together without much thought as to how it might work in practice. Indeed, the people who are paid to explain to us how … Continue reading “The Incredible Shrinking Syrian ‘Ceasefire’”

Robert Ford was US Ambassador to Syria when the revolt against Syrian president Assad was launched. He not only was a chief architect of regime change in Syria, but actively worked with rebels to aid their overthrow of the Syrian government. Ford assured us that those taking up arms to overthrow the Syrian government were … Continue reading “You Won’t Believe What This US Ambassador Said About al-Qaeda’s Syrian Allies”

Just three days ago, emerging from Moscow meetings with Russian foreign minister Lavrov and president Putin, US Secretary of State John Kerry signaled a major shift in US foreign policy toward Syria. “The United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change,” he told the media. The media rightly reported the apparent US … Continue reading “White House Schizophrenia – Kerry: ‘Assad Can Stay’; Obama: ‘Assad Must Go’”

One of the most depressing things about watching – even from a distance – the quadrennial race for the White House is seeing what passes for debate on the one area where the president does have some Constitutional authority: foreign policy. Candidates who have spent little or no time studying or traveling to the rest … Continue reading “The Neocon Foreign Policy Walmart”

Images are a powerful tool in the hands of propagandists. A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. If a powerful image can be manipulated to tell a tale even if false, it can persuade more viscerally than can a thousand reasoned arguments. So it is with the tragic photograph making the … Continue reading “Abusing Dead Syrian Children”