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.

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”

The Forgotten War in Maysan Province

Since Guardian correspondent Rory Carroll was briefly kidnapped in Baghdad and the paper recalled its reporters while it reviewed the situation, there has a lively debate in the English press about the nature and limits of Western reporting in Iraq. Carroll himself, since being freed, has insisted that Iraq remains a story more capable of … Continue reading “The Forgotten War in Maysan Province”

So Much for Strict Construction

Here is the key passage in Senator John McCain’s anti-torture amendment to the 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill (which the Bush administration has threatened to veto if it arrives so amended): “No individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to … Continue reading “So Much for Strict Construction”

The Tip of the Criminal Conspiracy

I. Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby, immediately praised by the president (“Scooter has worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people and sacrificed much in the service to this country”), his resignation accepted with “deep regret” by the vice president (“He has given many years of his life to public service and has served our nation tirelessly … Continue reading “The Tip of the Criminal Conspiracy”

Smoking Guns and Red Herrings

Implosion update: And so they fall: Tom DeLay just weeks back. Harriet Miers yesterday. I. Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby today. Prepare yourself. It’s going to be a long, hard dive into deep waters that should, sooner or later, lead us back to the beginning. Think of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s indictment of the Vice President’s Chief … Continue reading “Smoking Guns and Red Herrings”