Doug Bandow

The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power Gene Healy Cato Institute, 2008 367 pp. By Doug Bandow American liberty is dying. For years the process has been slow strangulation, as successive Congresses and presidents, irrespective of party, expanded government power. True, Republicans usually tightened the garrote a bit less quickly. But … Continue reading “The Cult of the Presidency“

Washington is filled with politicians, policy analysts, journalists, pundits, and other know-it-alls. Why did it take seven and a half years after the Bush administration took office for one insider to make the simple observation: wars “should only be waged when necessary.” That’s true, of course. Indeed, it should be self-evidently true. Yet the president, … Continue reading “Waging War Only When Necessary”

There is a tragic consistency to Memorial Day year in and year out. Bereaved relatives visit gravesites of loved ones. Patriotic citizens wave flags and attend parades. Vote-seeking politicians wax eloquent about sacrifices made on behalf of freedom. This year was no different. President George W. Bush visited Arlington Cemetery and issued the usual platitudes … Continue reading “Heroic Sacrifices for Foolish Causes: Memorial Days Past and Present”

Ain’t My America: The Long, Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism Bill Kauffman Metropolitan Books, 2008 284 pp. By Doug Bandow American politicians routinely chatter about peace while inaugurating war. Indeed, despite the bitter partisan wrangling over Iraq, war has more often united than divided Washington’s establishment. Today, despite the ongoing debacle in … Continue reading “Ain’t My America“

Few countries are as tragic as Lebanon. Once viewed as the Switzerland of the Middle East, some three decades ago the country collapsed into a bitter civil war. The finely tuned sectarian political system fractured amidst numerous Christian and Muslim factions. Multiple Israeli invasions and incursions followed; the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Syria dominated at … Continue reading “This Time, Avoid the Lebanese Quagmire”

For decades most Americans weren’t aware that there was a Georgia other than the southern state. Today most Americans probably still aren’t aware that there is another Georgia. Yet U.S. officials are breathing fire at Russia for confronting the country of Georgia, a former Soviet Socialist Republic, which won its independence from the dissolving Soviet … Continue reading “Another Needless Confrontation”

Christianity and War and Other Essays Against the Warfare State Laurence M. Vance Vance Publications (Pensacola, Fl.), 2008 418 pp. By Doug Bandow One of the great ironies of modern Christianity is how warlike many Christians are. Not all Christians, certainly. And many believers at many times in history have put state and ruler before … Continue reading “Christianity and War“

Sen. John McCain is a man of physical courage and personal honor. He’s also a warmonger, with little concern for those who would die in his military adventures. The Democrats won’t say that. But it’s the truth. Earlier this year Sen. Barack Obama was appearing at a fund-raiser in Grand Forks, N.D. Talk show host … Continue reading “Inconvenient Truths About John McCain”

We are winning in Iraq, so the administration tells us. Gen. David Petraeus has appeared on Capitol Hill to explain the winning strategy. But his equivocal endorsement of current policy never answered the question he posed to a reporter at the war’s start: "Tell me how this ends." It’s time the American people demanded of … Continue reading “Iraq: Tell Us How This Ends”

The conservative movement is dead. At least, anything resembling the traditional conservative movement. As represented by the Bush administration, Republican congressional majority, and right-leaning punditocracy, conservatism means more federal spending, an expanded welfare state, federalization of local and state issues, warrantless surveillance, executive branch dominance, Wilsonian global intervention, and endless war. Indeed, it is hard … Continue reading “Reclaiming Conservatism“