Matthew Hoh

As U.S. and Western forces gear up to depart from Afghanistan, the country’s more than 40-year war enters its next phase. This is nothing new for the Afghan people. In the course of a century, they have seen British and Soviet conquerors exit, leaving various would-be kings, power brokers and warlords to fill the vacuum. … Continue reading “A Cruel and Unjust Peace for Afghanistan”

Thirty thousand dead from suicide in 20 years among American service-members and veterans. Brown University’s Costs of War Project, utilizing data from the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), calculates that four times as many men and women who have served in the US military since 9/11 have died by … Continue reading “Was It Just? America and Her Suicidal Combat Veterans”

“There’s only one thing worse than a soldier dying in vain; it’s more soldiers dying in vain.” ~ Senator Mike Gravel, 2008 Democratic presidential primary debate, July 23, 2007. Please watch this short video of Senator Mike Gravel speaking at the 2008 Democratic presidential primary debates. Watch him admonish his fellow candidates for their warmongering. Watch this video, not just to … Continue reading “Mike Gravel and An Ongoing Road to Courage”

Review of Bringing The Enemy’s War Home; The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai I was born near New York City in 1973, the year the United States officially ended its war in Vietnam and brought home the last of its combat troops. The Vietnam War, known to the Vietnamese as The American War, … Continue reading “The Mountains Sing”

Matthew Hoh is a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy. He resigned in protest from his post in Afghanistan over US strategic policy and goals in Afghanistan in September 2009. Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, Matthew served in Iraq; first in 2004-5 in Salah ad Din Province with a State Department reconstruction … Continue reading “Washington Plans To Start Violence in Iraq Before Leaving”

When I was in Afghanistan, I often heard a Pashtun saying attributed to the Afghan Taliban strategy for war with the United States: “They have the watches, but we have the time”. I do not know the provenance of this saying and I do not know if the saying exists in other Muslim or Asian … Continue reading “They Have the Watches, We Have the Time; US and Iran Hardliners Still Want War”

“America deserves a Commander-in-Chief who knows what that sacrifice means and who will honor the sacred promise we make to our veterans.” ~ Pete Buttigieg January 6, 2020 #CIAPete has been trending on social media this past month as stories and commentaries have emerged telling and retelling Pete Buttigieg’s role as a naval intelligence officer in Afghanistan, his duties in … Continue reading “Men Who Live With the Illusion of Danger: Pete Buttigieg and the US Military”

If it is true the United States killed Iranian Quds Forces Commander General Qassam Soleimani in Iraq yesterday, unverified by the Iranians as I write this, then there is no hyperbole or exaggeration too great to encapsulate what may befall tens of millions of families. The equivalent of the killing of General Soleimani would be … Continue reading “The Killing of General Soleimani: Hail Mars! Hail Pluto!”

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can…Its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. ~ Dwight Eisenhower. For the first time in decades, passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has been delayed due to disagreements between Democrats and Republicans. The disagreements at the center of the delay in Congress are, as usual, … Continue reading “The Effects and Consequences of Congress’ Endless Permissions for War”

In 2001 and in 2002 Congress passed authorizations for war. While not declarations of war, these mandates, each titled an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) provided the legal framework for attacks against al-Qaeda in 2001 and in 2002 for the Iraq War. Both AUMFs are still in effect today. As Congress considers its … Continue reading “Repeal the Nearly Two-Decade-Old War Authorizations”