Phyllis Bennis

“There is no military solution” is an often-heard saying since the “global war on terror” began almost 18 years ago. We need political solutions to the military conflicts we’ve embroiled ourselves in over the last two decades, most policymakers agree. But in the meantime, the last three administrations have sent in the military to pave … Continue reading “The Alarming Rise of Civilian Deaths in the War On Terror”

For Israelis, the questions had been hovering for months. Would the right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claim victory and a fifth term, moving his far-right Likud government coalition even further right? Or would the supposedly “centrist” challenger, former army chief of staff General Benny Gantz, ride to victory among corruption allegations against Netanyahu? Netanyahu faces … Continue reading “Trump’s Embrace of Netanyahu Will Haunt the Middle East for Years”

It was a lot to take in, even in these whipsawed media moments. In one 24-hour news cycle, President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, appointed the war and torture-backing CIA chief Mike Pompeo to replace him, and then tapped Gina Haspel – who covered up CIA torture in Thailand – to replace … Continue reading “Trump’s Quiet Meeting With Saudi Arabia and Israel Portends a Dangerous Collision Course With Iran”

ISIS’ occupation of Mosul, once Iraq’s second largest city, has virtually come to an end. Though small-scale fighting continues, and U.S. military strikes continued through at least July 17, ISIS control over the city has largely collapsed. Many among the ISIS forces were killed, many fled and many have probably melted back into local communities. … Continue reading “Is This What ‘Liberation’ Looks Like? US Airstrikes Have Devastated Mosul”

At least 41 people were killed in the recent bombing of Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. The day before, suicide bombers killed five people in Qaa, a small village in Lebanon. And while the Saudi-led and U.S.-backed war in Yemen continues to rage, an ISIS affiliate claimed responsibility for attacks in the Yemeni port city of Mukalla … Continue reading “From Paris to Istanbul, More ‘War on Terror’ Means More Terrorist Attacks”

With all the discussion and debate these days about intersectionality and the need for progressives to link our movements against racism and against war, the name of Muhammad Ali belongs right up in our pantheon with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, Howard Zinn, and so many other women and men who … Continue reading “Muhammad Ali Understood the Racist Roots of War and Militarism”

The Pentagon just made it official: No war crime was committed when a US plane attacked the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan last year, killing 42 patients and health workers and injuring many more. At least, that’s the conclusion of its own investigation – nearly all of which remains classified. No war crime, … Continue reading “The Pentagon Shouldn’t Get To Absolve Itself for Bombing a Hospital”

In a surprise announcement on March 14, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that the Russians were withdrawing “most of our military” from Syria beginning immediately. According to the TASS news agency, Putin said he hoped the withdrawal “will become a good motivation for launching negotiations” and “instructed the foreign minister to intensify Russia’s participation in … Continue reading “Russia Is Withdrawing from Syria – and the U.S. Should Follow Suit”

The destruction of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, with 22 dead so far, including doctors, other staff and patients, capped a week that also saw the bombing of? another hospital in Afghanistan, plus the U.S.-backed Saudi Arabian bombing of a wedding party in Yemen set up in tents far out in the … Continue reading “Bombing Hospitals All in a Day’s Work”

Pope Francis’ address to Congress was almost certainly not what John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, and other congressional leaders had in mind when they invited the pope to speak. It probably wasn’t what they were all thinking about during the last standing ovations. But here was Pope Francis, revered as the People’s Pope, calling out war … Continue reading “Standing Before Congress, Pope Francis Calls Out the ‘Industry of Death’”