Tom Engelhardt

An editor in publishing for the last 25 years, Tom Engelhardt is the author of The End of Victory Culture, a history of American triumphalism in the Cold War era, now out in a revised edition with a new preface and afterword, and Mission Unaccomplished, TomDispatch Interviews With American Iconoclasts and Dissenters. He is at present consulting editor for Metropolitan Books, a fellow of the Nation Institute, and a teaching fellow at the journalism school of the University of California, Berkeley. Visit his Web site. This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com.

The Movie-Made War World of George W. Bush

Here’s a memory for you. I was probably five or six and sitting with my father in a movie house off New York’s Times Square – one of the slightly seedy theaters of that dawn of the 1950s moment that tended to show double or triple feature B Westerns or war movies. We were catching … Continue reading “The Movie-Made War World of George W. Bush”

McCain (Mis)Speaks

Last fall was a great time for official optimism when it came to Iraq. The military “metrics” looked ever better and, as had happened at crucial moments in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, Bush administration and military statements turned practically peachy with the blush of “success.” Progress was announced (repeatedly). Corners were once again … Continue reading “McCain (Mis)Speaks”

The Pentagon Takes Charge

Here are words to pin to the Bush years like a wilting corsage: “We don’t know what we paid for.” That’s a quote from Mary Ugone, the Defense Department’s deputy inspector general for auditing, concerning massive Pentagon payments made during the occupation and war in Iraq for which there is no existing (or grossly inadequate) … Continue reading “The Pentagon Takes Charge”

River of Resistance

The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, with its 225,000 or more deaths in 11 countries, shocked the world; so, in recent weeks, has the devastation wrought by a powerful cyclone (and tidal surge) that hit the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar. It resulted in at least 78,000 deaths (with another 56,000 reported missing) and a display … Continue reading “River of Resistance”

Coming Down to Earth

Note for TomDispatch Readers: Think of this dispatch, in TV terms, as counterprogramming. While much of America sits, couch- and Earth-bound, checking out the latest 24/7 bout of Democratic primary coverage, TomDispatch soars into the heavens on the wings of historian and retired Air Force Lt. Col. William J. Astore. No couch-potatoes we. And while … Continue reading “Coming Down to Earth”

The Last War and the Next One

The last war won’t end, but in the Pentagon they’re already arguing about the next one. Let’s start with that “last war” and see if we can get things straight. Just over five years ago, American troops entered Baghdad in battle mode, felling the Sunni-dominated government of dictator Saddam Hussein and declaring Iraq “liberated.” In … Continue reading “The Last War and the Next One”

The Iranian Chessboard

It’s like old times in the Persian Gulf. As of this week, a second aircraft carrier battle task force is being sent in – not long after Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Michael Mullen highlighted planning for “potential military courses of action” against Iran; just as the Bush administration’s catechism of charges against the … Continue reading “The Iranian Chessboard”

Teaching Imperialism 101

The RAND Corporation was the ur-think tank, the Cold War granddaddy of them all, and it’s still with us. In the 1950s, nuclear war-gaming a conflagration for which the usual war games would have been ludicrous, it took the U.S. military into virtuality and science fiction long before there was an Internet to play with. … Continue reading “Teaching Imperialism 101”

Selling the President’s General

You simply can’t pile up enough adjectives when it comes to the general, who, at a relatively young age, was already a runner-up for Time Magazine‘s Person of the Year in 2007. His record is stellar. His tactical sense extraordinary. His strategic ability, when it comes to mounting a campaign, beyond compare. I’m speaking, of … Continue reading “Selling the President’s General”