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.

Bush’s Deadly Dance with Islamic Theocrats

During his embattled summer vacation in Crawford, Texas, George Bush managed to launch a new promotional ditty for his war in Iraq: “As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.” Since then there has been much commentary from the administration, from military officials, and from the media on the question of how successfully the Iraqi … Continue reading “Bush’s Deadly Dance with Islamic Theocrats”

Bush’s Expanding ‘Fallen Legion’

Back in mid-October, I noted that informal “walls” and exhibits to honor those Americans (and sometimes Iraqis) who fell – and continue to fall – in the Bush administration’s war and occupation of choice in Iraq have been arising on- and off-line for some time. I suggested then that “the particular dishonor this administration has … Continue reading “Bush’s Expanding ‘Fallen Legion’”

Losing the Fear Factor

It’s finally Wizard of Oz time in America. You know – that moment when the curtains are pulled back, the fearsome-looking wizard wreathed in all that billowing smoke turns out to be some pitiful little guy, and everybody looks around sheepishly, wondering why they acted as they did for so long. Starting on Sept. 11, … Continue reading “Losing the Fear Factor”

Is Woodward’s Revelation a Bombshell or a Smokescreen?

Two presiding deities – and lively ghosts they are – continue to hover over the present administration: Vietnam and Watergate. Though the competition between them is fierce, this week Watergate suddenly surged to the fore as the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, famed investigative reporter turned imperial “stenographer” for the Bush administration, crashed and burst into … Continue reading “Is Woodward’s Revelation a Bombshell or a Smokescreen?”

What Are They Cooking Up in the White House?

We know one thing about the Bush administration: despite the president’s Veterans Day speech on the “irresponsibility” of “rewriting history,” he and his top officials – possibly the greatest gamblers in our history – had no hesitation about writing their own ticket to history and rejiggering the facts wherever necessary in the run-up to war. … Continue reading “What Are They Cooking Up in the White House?”

A Felon for Peace

She’s just off the plane from Tulsa, Oklahoma, the cheapest route back from a reunion in the little Arkansas town where she grew up in the 1950s. For thirty years, she and her childhood friends have climbed to the top of Penitentiary Mountain, where the local persimmon trees grow, for a persimmon-spitting contest. (“All in … Continue reading “A Felon for Peace”

Who Had the Real Intel on the War

This is the second of two pieces dedicated to shame and honor in the Bush era. The first was “The Wall of Shame.” On Nov. 2, 2005, I found myself in a familiar situation – at a protest. This time, it was the New York version of the World Can’t Wait nationwide protest on the … Continue reading “Who Had the Real Intel on the War”

The Wall of Shame

[Three weeks ago, Nick Turse wrote a dispatch, “Casualties of the Bush Administration," about government officials who resigned or retired in protest, or were forced over a cliff by this administration. It was, in essence, a proposal for a Wall of Honor. At the time, we realized that it should be accompanied by a Wall … Continue reading “The Wall of Shame”

Bush’s Bad Business Empire

The Bush administration, with its crony corporations in tow, essentially sallied forth into the world with the collective mentality of a plunderer, ready to strip mine the planet. While its plans for global – and energy – domination (as well as the military conquest of space) have been aimed at forever, its business plans seemed … Continue reading “Bush’s Bad Business Empire”