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.

War Making in the Age of the Imperial Presidency

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Seventeen days after the Twin Towers fell in an apocalyptic mushroom cloud of smoke and ash, Congress passed with a single dissenting vote an "Authorization for Use of Military Force," or AUMF, stating: "That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons … Continue reading “War Making in the Age of the Imperial Presidency”

Doing Bin Laden’s Bidding

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Honestly, if there’s an afterlife, then the soul of Osama bin Laden, whose body was consigned to the waves by the U.S. Navy back in 2011, must be swimming happily with the dolphins and sharks. At the cost of the sort of spare change that Donald Trump recently offered aides and … Continue reading “Doing Bin Laden’s Bidding”

A Red Scare in the Gray Zone

Memo to Senator John McCain: Senator, the other day I noticed that, as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, you threatened to subpoena the Trump administration for information about the recent attack in Niger that killed four American soldiers. “There’s a mindset over there that they’re a unicameral government,” you said. “It was easier under … Continue reading “A Red Scare in the Gray Zone”

Take Your (Tiny) Fingers Off the Button

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Trump’s Nuclear Dreams – Nightmares Past and Present Preventing a nuclear war between the United States and North Korea may be the most pressing challenge facing the world right now. Our childish, ignorant, and incompetent president is shoving all of us – especially the people of Asia – ever nearer to … Continue reading “Take Your (Tiny) Fingers Off the Button”

Teaching Revisionist History 101 at West Point

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, a former businessman who had helped run companies into the ground, he was widely considered ill-prepared for the presidency, out of his depth, a lightweight in a heavyweight world. Still, having won the Republican nomination and then a uniquely contested election, once … Continue reading “Teaching Revisionist History 101 at West Point”

Nixon’s Children

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It took 14 years, but now we have an answer. It was March 2003, the invasion of Iraq was underway, and Major General David Petraeus was in command of the 101st Airborne Division heading for the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.  Rick Atkinson, Washington Post journalist and military historian, was accompanying him.  Six … Continue reading “Nixon’s Children”

Gitmo’s Living Legacy in the Trump Era

Originally posted at TomDispatch Karen Greenberg first arrived at TomDispatch in January 2005 in tandem with defense attorney Joshua Dratel. Their book The Torture Papers was just being published and they were asking questions. Thirty-seven of them, to be exact, all pointed, all uncomfortable, all directed at then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, all focused on … Continue reading “Gitmo’s Living Legacy in the Trump Era”

Embracing Our Inner Empire

Originally posted at TomDispatch. “Bring the war home”: once, a long, lost time ago – in October 1969, to be exact – that slogan represented a promise made by the most radical wing of the vast movement against the war in Vietnam. Wearing football helmets and wielding lead pipes, that tiny crew of extreme leftists … Continue reading “Embracing Our Inner Empire”

How the Military-Industrial Complex Preys on the Troops

Originally posted at TomDispatch. I’m sure you’ve heard about the $65 million. Or was it $86 million? Or was it even more? You know, the funds the Pentagon sunk into that hotshot plane it was preparing for its Afghan drug interdiction program. You haven’t? Well, as Megan Rose reported at ProPublica, with its “electro-optical infra-red … Continue reading “How the Military-Industrial Complex Preys on the Troops”

Autopilot Wars: Sixteen Years, But Who’s Counting?

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Even though the article was buried at the bottom of page eight of the September 28th New York Times, it caught my attention. Its headline: "Russia Destroys Chemical Weapons and Faults U.S. for Not Doing So." In a televised ceremony, wrote reporter Andrew Higgins, Russian President Vladimir Putin "presided over the … Continue reading “Autopilot Wars: Sixteen Years, But Who’s Counting?”