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.

Iraq on My Mind

What if you spoke regularly of “haji food,” “haji music” and “haji homes”? What if your speeding convoys ran over civilians often enough that no one thought to report the incidents? What if your platoon was told pointblank: “The Geneva Conventions don’t exist at all in Iraq, and that’s in writing if you want to … Continue reading “Iraq on My Mind”

‘Accidents’ of War

The first news stories about the most notorious massacre of the Vietnam War were picked up the morning after from an Army publicity release. These proved fairly typical for the war. On its front page, the New York Times labeled the operation in and around a village called My Lai 4 (or “Pinkville,” as it … Continue reading “‘Accidents’ of War”

Surging Numbers in Iraq

Sometimes, numbers can strip human beings of just about everything that makes us what we are. Numbers can silence pain, erase love, obliterate emotion, and blur individuality. But sometimes numbers can also tell a necessary story in ways nothing else can. This January, President Bush announced his “surge” plan for Iraq, which he called his … Continue reading “Surging Numbers in Iraq”

Robert Gates, the Specialist

“I may be dangerous,” he said, “but I am not wicked. No, I am not wicked.” – Henry James, The American It was a failed administration’s ritual scapegoating, the ousting last winter of its ruinous secretary of defense. But in the sauve qui peut confirmation of his replacement – “The only thing that mattered,” said … Continue reading “Robert Gates, the Specialist”

US, Iranian Detainee Policies: How Different Are They?

Just when you think the roiling relations between the U.S. and Iran might be quieting down, they heat up again. In the last week, while two U.S. aircraft-carrier strike forces continued to patrol the Persian Gulf (after “exercises” that took the carriers directly through the Strait of Hormuz and off Iran’s coast), American accusations against … Continue reading “US, Iranian Detainee Policies: How Different Are They?”

Fighting Wars for Oil to Fight Wars

Today, Michael Klare, expert on war and energy, and author of the indispensable book, Blood and Oil, gives us an unprecedented sense of what it means when the Pentagon fills its own tank (as well as its tanks). It is, after all, the Hummer of Defense Departments, the planet’s gas-guzzler par excellence. On the other … Continue reading “Fighting Wars for Oil to Fight Wars”

Fighting Wars for Oil to Fight Wars

Today, Michael Klare, expert on war and energy, and author of the indispensable book, Blood and Oil, gives us an unprecedented sense of what it means when the Pentagon fills its own tank (as well as its tanks). It is, after all, the Hummer of Defense Departments, the planet’s gas-guzzler par excellence. On the other … Continue reading “Fighting Wars for Oil to Fight Wars”

Fighting Words

An 11-Quote Quiz on the Bush Administration’s War of Words From “mission accomplished” through those endless “turning points” and “tipping points” up to the “brink” of “the abyss” and “the precipice,” and back again, American officials, military and civilian, in Baghdad and Washington, have never spared the images or the analogies. (Do you remember when … Continue reading “Fighting Words”