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.

The Golden Age of Journalism?

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It was 1949. My mother – known in the gossip columns of that era as “New York’s girl caricaturist” – was freelancing theatrical sketches to a number of New York’s newspapers and magazines, including the Brooklyn Eagle. That paper, then more than a century old, had just a few years of … Continue reading “The Golden Age of Journalism?”

It’s About Blackmail, Not National Security

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Spying has a history almost as ancient as humanity itself, but every now and then the rules of the game change. This post-9/11 moment of surveillance is one of those game-changers and the National Security Agency (NSA) has been the deal-breaker and rule-maker. The new rules it brought into existence are … Continue reading “It’s About Blackmail, Not National Security”

Secret Wars and Black Ops Blowback

Originally posted at TomDispatch. These days, when I check out the latest news on Washington’s global war-making, I regularly find at least one story that fits a new category in my mind that I call: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Take last Saturday’s Washington Post report by Craig Whitlock on the stationing of less than … Continue reading “Secret Wars and Black Ops Blowback”

We Have to Destroy Our Constitution To Save It

Originally posted at TomDispatch. A new book, as well as the first account written by a participant, remind us that, in the world of the national security state, when it comes to pure and simple illegality in the monitoring of, spying on, and surveillance of American citizens, there really is nothing new under the sun.  … Continue reading “We Have to Destroy Our Constitution To Save It”

Special Ops Goes Global

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So consider the actions of the U.S. Special Operations Command flattering indeed to the larger U.S. military. After all, over recent decades the Pentagon has done something that once would have been inconceivable. It has divided the whole globe, just about … Continue reading “Special Ops Goes Global”

American Jihad 2014

Originally posted at TomDispatch. In a 1950s civics textbook of mine, I can remember a Martian landing on Main Street, U.S.A., to be instructed in the glories of our political system. You know, our tripartite government, checks and balances, miraculous set of rights, and vibrant democracy. There was, Americans then thought, much to be proud … Continue reading “American Jihad 2014”

Washington’s Wedding Album From Hell

Originally posted at TomDispatch. The headline – “Bride and Boom!” – was spectacular, if you think killing people in distant lands is a blast and a half. Of course, you have to imagine that smirk line in giant black letters with a monstrous exclamation point covering most of the bottom third of the front page … Continue reading “Washington’s Wedding Album From Hell”

America’s Child Soldiers

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Another week, another revelation about spying by the National Security Agency. This time, it was the NSA’s infiltration of online video games and virtual realms like World of Warcraft and Second Life. And it was hardly a shock. More than a decade ago, TomDispatch began reporting on the U.S. military’s collaborations … Continue reading “America’s Child Soldiers”

In the Shadow of War

Originally posted at TomDispatch. In the years when I was growing up more or less middle class, American war on the childhood front couldn’t have been sunnier. True, American soldiers were fighting a grim new stalemate of a conflict in Korea and we kids often enough found ourselves crouched under our school desks practicing for … Continue reading “In the Shadow of War”

How the CIA Bungled the War on Terror

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Call it the Jason Bourne strategy. Think of it as the CIA’s plunge into Hollywood – or into the absurd.  As recent revelations have made clear, that Agency’s moves couldn’t be have been more far-fetched or more real.  In its post-9/11 global shadow war, it has employed both private contractors and … Continue reading “How the CIA Bungled the War on Terror”