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.

American Exceptionalism and Its Discontents

Originally posted at TomDispatch. We’re now passing through a no-name election season of a particularly lusterless sort, but don’t count on that for 2016. Here, in fact, is a surefire prediction for that moment, which (given the nature of modern presidential campaigns) will kick off with the usual round of media speculation and odds-making on … Continue reading “American Exceptionalism and Its Discontents”

Will the US Go to ‘War’ Against Ebola?

Originally posted at TomDispatch. These days, two “wars” are in the headlines: one against the marauding Islamic State and its new caliphate of terror carved out of parts of Iraq and Syria, the other against a marauding disease and potential pandemic, Ebola, spreading across West Africa, with the first cases already reaching the United States … Continue reading “Will the US Go to ‘War’ Against Ebola?”

Edward Snowden and the Golden Age of Spying

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Here’s a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! stat from our new age of national security. How many Americans have security clearances? The answer: 5.1 million, a figure that reflects the explosive growth of the national security state in the post-9/11 era. Imagine the kind of system needed just to vet that … Continue reading “Edward Snowden and the Golden Age of Spying”

Seven Bad Endings to the New War in the Middle East

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It was May 23, 2012, and President Obama was giving a graduation speech at the Air Force Academy when he told the assembled cadets that they should “never bet against the United States of America… [because] the United States has been, and will always be, the one indispensable nation in world … Continue reading “Seven Bad Endings to the New War in the Middle East”

America’s Hollow Foreign Legions

Originally posted at TomDispatch. You may not believe in the supernatural, but it’s still a certifiable fact. Your tax dollars are paying for ghosts. Just ask John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, who recently wrote to three U.S. commanders in that country suggesting that the Pentagon might be “unwittingly helping to pay … Continue reading “America’s Hollow Foreign Legions”

Washington Wields the Oil Weapon

Originally posted at TomDispatch. You remember. It was the oiliest of administrations. The president was a (failed) West Texas oilman. The vice-president had been the CEO of the giant oil field services company, Halliburton, and before taking office, when speaking at the Petroleum Institute and elsewhere, was known to say things like, “The Middle East, … Continue reading “Washington Wields the Oil Weapon”

Entering the Intelligence Labyrinth

Originally posted at TomDispatch. What are the odds? You put about $68 billion annually into a maze of 17 major intelligence outfits. You build them glorious headquarters. You create a global surveillance state for the ages. You listen in on your citizenry and gather their communications in staggering quantities. Your employees even morph into avatars … Continue reading “Entering the Intelligence Labyrinth”

American ‘Success’ and the Rise of West African Piracy

As American hysteria over events in the Middle East rises, news about whatever grim video the Islamic State (IS) has just released jostles for attention with U.S. bombing runs in Iraq, prospective ones in Syria, and endless confusing statements out of Washington about what the next seat-of-the-pants version of its strategy might be. These days, … Continue reading “American ‘Success’ and the Rise of West African Piracy”

Fighting in Iraq Until Hell Freezes Over

Originally posted at TomDispatch. On April 4, 1967, Martin Luther King delivered a speech at Riverside Church in New York City titled “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.” In it, he went after the war of that moment and the money that the U.S. was pouring into it as symptoms of a societal disaster. … Continue reading “Fighting in Iraq Until Hell Freezes Over”