State of Denial: After the Big Leak, Spinning for War
Washington's spin machine is in overdrive to counter the massive leak of documents on Afghanistan. Much of the counterattack revolves around the theme that the documents aren't particularly relevant to this year's new-and-improved war effort. The White House seized on...
Unanimous Conformity in the Senate
From Great Man to Great Screwup: Behind the McChrystal Uproar
Israel and Harman in Tandem: From High Seas to Airwaves
When Israel attacked the Gaza aid flotilla, Congresswoman Jane Harman was engaged in a parallel assault. Israel's government relied on the efficacy of violence; Harman's campaign was counting on the power of paid media. In both cases, the targets were advocates of...
A Bomber Jacket Doesn’t Cover the Blood
President Obama has taken a further plunge into the kind of war abyss that consumed predecessors named Johnson, Nixon, and Bush. On Sunday, during his first presidential trip to Afghanistan, Obama stood before thousands of American troops to proclaim the sanctity of...
War in a Box
The event on the House floor Wednesday afternoon was monumental -- the first major congressional debate about U.S. military operations in Afghanistan since lawmakers authorized the invasion of that country in autumn 2001. But, as Rep. Patrick Kennedy noted with...
War Politics: Numb and Number
Dollars for Death, Pennies for Life
When the U.S. military began a major offensive in southern Afghanistan over the weekend, the killing of children and other civilians was predictable. Lofty rhetoric aside, such deaths come with the territory of war and occupation. A month ago, President Obama pledged...
Don’t Call It a ‘Defense’ Budget
This isn't "defense." The new budget from the White House will push U.S. military spending well above $2 billion a day. Foreclosing the future of our country should not be confused with defending it. "Unless miraculous growth, or miraculous political...
