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.

A Failed Formula for Worldwide War

They looked like a gang of geriatric giants. Clad in smart casual attire — dress shirts, sweaters, and jeans — and incongruous blue hospital booties, they strode around “the world,” stopping to stroke their chins and ponder this or that potential crisis. Among them was General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of … Continue reading “A Failed Formula for Worldwide War”

Will the Apocalypse Arrive Online?

First the financial system collapses and it’s impossible to access one’s money. Then the power and water systems stop functioning. Within days, society has begun to break down. In the cities, mothers and fathers roam the streets, foraging for food. The country finds itself fractured and fragmented — hardly recognizable. It may sound like a … Continue reading “Will the Apocalypse Arrive Online?”

Washington’s Pakistan Meltdown

In 1948, George Orwell published his classic dystopian novel 1984, flipping the numbers in the publication year to speed us into a future that is now, of course, 28 years in our past.  In that book, he imagined a three-superpower world of regularly shifting alliances in which war was a constant but its specific nature … Continue reading “Washington’s Pakistan Meltdown”

‘The Most Dangerous Moment,’ 50 Years Later

Here was the oddest thing: within weeks of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on a second Japanese city on August 9, 1945, and so obliterating it, Americans were already immersed in new scenarios of nuclear destruction. As the late Paul Boyer so vividly described in his classic book By the Bomb’s Early Light, … Continue reading “‘The Most Dangerous Moment,’ 50 Years Later”

Don’t Ask and Don’t Tell

We had a debate club back in high school. Two teams would meet in the auditorium, and Mr. Garrity would tell us the topic, something 1970s-ish like “Resolved: Women Should Get Equal Pay for Equal Work” or “World Communism Will Be Defeated in Vietnam.” Each side would then try, through persuasion and the marshalling of … Continue reading “Don’t Ask and Don’t Tell”

Overwrought Empire

Americans lived in a “victory culture” for much of the twentieth century. You could say that we experienced an almost 75-year stretch of triumphalism — think of it as the real “American Century” — from World War I to the end of the Cold War, with time off for a destructive stalemate in Korea and … Continue reading “Overwrought Empire”

Even Dumb Ideas Have Consequences

It came and went in a flash and now it’s long forgotten, buried in the rubble heap of history. But maybe, given recent events, a little excavation is in order. After all, as the author of Constantine’s Sword, James Carroll, wrote in 2004, looking back on the 9/11 moment, “A few days after the assault… … Continue reading “Even Dumb Ideas Have Consequences”

Obama Against the World

Since this is my version of an election piece, I plan to get the usual stuff out of the way fast. So yes, the smartest political odds-givers around believe President Obama has a distinct edge over Mitt Romney coming out of the conventions, the Senate is trending Democratic, and who knows about the House. In … Continue reading “Obama Against the World”

The ‘Secret’ Revolution That Could Set the Middle East Aflame

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was unequivocal in her condemnation. “We have confronted the Russians about stopping their continued arms shipments to Syria,” she said in remarks earlier this year. “They have, from time to time, said that we shouldn’t worry; everything they’re shipping is unrelated to their actions internally. That’s patently untrue.” In the … Continue reading “The ‘Secret’ Revolution That Could Set the Middle East Aflame”

Monopolizing War?

It’s pop-quiz time when it comes to the American way of war: three questions, torn from the latest news, just for you. Here’s the first of them, and good luck! Two weeks ago, 200 U.S. Marines began armed operations in…?: a) Afghanistanb) Pakistanc) Irand) Somaliae) Yemenf) Central Africag) Northern Malih) The Philippinesi) Guatemala If you … Continue reading “Monopolizing War?”