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.

Growing Up in the Shadow of the American War State

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It’s a structure we’ve seldom taken the true measure of, since ground was first broken for its construction in September 1941. With its 6.6 million square feet of floor space, it ranked as the largest building in the country until the World Trade Center came along in 1973 – a position … Continue reading “Growing Up in the Shadow of the American War State”

How To Create a National Insecurity State

Originally posted at TomDispatch. In our era in Washington, whole careers have been built on grotesque mistakes. In fact, when it comes to our various conflicts, God save you if you’re right; no one will ever want to hear from you again. If you’re wrong, however… well, take the invasion of Iraq. Given the Islamic … Continue reading “How To Create a National Insecurity State”

Is Drone Warfare Fraying at the Edges?

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It was a typical little news story on Washington’s drone wars – six paragraphs from Yemen, the sort of minimalist report that, in these years, has also regularly come out of Pakistan or even, from time to time, Somalia. “A U.S. drone attack in Yemen killed four suspected al-Qaeda militants on … Continue reading “Is Drone Warfare Fraying at the Edges?”

The Real American Exceptionalism

Originally posted at TomDispatch. My drone is yours, compadre! Or so Washington has now decided. The latest promise of good times in the arms trade comes from an administration that has pioneered a robotic assassination regime organized out of the White House (though credit for groundbreaking drone assassination work should go to Israel as well). … Continue reading “The Real American Exceptionalism”

Watching the Same Movie About American War for 75 Years

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Yes, they’ve become “the greatest generation” (a phrase that’s always reminded me of an ad line for a soft drink), but they didn’t feel that way at the time. As Susan Faludi pointed out in her classic book Stiffed and as I experienced as a boy, the men who came home … Continue reading “Watching the Same Movie About American War for 75 Years”

Walking Back the American Twenty-First Century?

Originally posted at TomDispatch. I never fail to be amazed – and that’s undoubtedly my failing. I mean, if you retain a capacity for wonder you can still be awed by a sunset, but should you really be shocked that the sun is once again sinking in the West? Maybe not. The occasion for such … Continue reading “Walking Back the American Twenty-First Century?”

Bush and Cheney Didn’t Have to Do It

Originally posted at TomDispatch. The post-9/11 moment offered them their main chance to transform their dreams into reality and they seized it by the throat. They wanted to “take the gloves off.” They were convinced that the presidency had been shackled by Congress in the Watergate era and that it was their destiny to remove … Continue reading “Bush and Cheney Didn’t Have to Do It”

‘Honor’ the Vietnam Veteran, Forget the War

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Suddenly he appeared, riding in the back of a truck, his arms thrust to the heavens, his fists clenched tight. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Ho Chi Minh, modern Vietnam’s founding father… and he was holding dumbbells. It was 2010, the eve of the 35th anniversary of the fall … Continue reading “‘Honor’ the Vietnam Veteran, Forget the War”

The Fear of Lone-Wolf Terrorism Rises

Originally posted at TomDispatch. He was undoubtedly one of the worst “lone-wolf” terrorists in modern history. On July 22, 2011, after trying to take out Norway’s political leadership in Oslo with a car bomb and killing eight people, Anders Breivik boarded a ferry wearing a homemade police uniform and took it to a nearby island … Continue reading “The Fear of Lone-Wolf Terrorism Rises”

Groundhog Day in the War on Terror

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It was August 2, 1990, and Saddam Hussein, formerly Washington’s man in Baghdad and its ally against fundamentalist Iran, had just sent his troops across the border into oil-rich Kuwait. It would prove a turning point in American Middle East policy. Six days later, a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division … Continue reading “Groundhog Day in the War on Terror”