Norman Solomon

Norman Solomon's Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State is out now.

Here’s the Smell of the Blood Still

The following essay is adapted from Norman Solomon’s new book Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America’s Warfare State. When Martin Luther King Jr. publicly referred to "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today – my own government," he had no way of knowing that his description would ring so true 40 … Continue reading “Here’s the Smell of the Blood Still”

Six Years of 9/11 as
a License to Kill

It evokes a tragedy that marks an epoch. From the outset, the warfare state has exploited “9/11,” a label at once too facile and too laden with historic weight – giving further power to the tacit political axiom that perception is reality. Often it seems that media coverage is all about perception, especially when the … Continue reading “Six Years of 9/11 as
a License to Kill”

Let’s Face It: The Warfare State Is Part of Us

The USA’s military spending is now close to $2 billion a day. This fall, the country will begin its seventh year of continuous war, with no end in sight. On the horizon is the very real threat of a massive air assault on Iran. And few in Congress seem willing or able to articulate a … Continue reading “Let’s Face It: The Warfare State Is Part of Us”

Backspin for War: The Convenience of Denial

The man who ran CNN’s news operation during the invasion of Iraq is now doing damage control in response to a new documentary’s evidence that he kowtowed to the Pentagon on behalf of the cable network. His current denial says a lot about how "liberal media" outlets remain deeply embedded in the mindsets of pro-military … Continue reading “Backspin for War: The Convenience of Denial”

Let Us Now Praise an Infamous Woman – and Our Own Possibilities

The problem with letting history judge is that so many officials get away with murder in the meantime – while precious few choose to face protracted vilification for pursuing truth and peace. A grand total of two people in the entire Congress were able to resist a blood-drenched blank check for the Vietnam War. Standing … Continue reading “Let Us Now Praise an Infamous Woman – and Our Own Possibilities”

Media Blitz for War: The Big Guns of August

This week the U.S. media establishment is mainlining another fix for the Iraq war: It isn’t so bad after all, American military power could turn wrong into right, chronic misleaders now serve as truth-tellers. The hit is that the war must go on. When the White House chief of staff Andrew Card said five years … Continue reading “Media Blitz for War: The Big Guns of August”

Media Spin on Iraq: We’re Leaving (Sort of)

Last week, a media advisory from "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" announced a new series of interviews on the PBS show that will address "what Iraq might look like when the U.S. military leaves." A few days later, Time magazine published a cover story titled "Iraq: What will happen when we leave." But it turns … Continue reading “Media Spin on Iraq: We’re Leaving (Sort of)”

From the Grave, a Senator Exposes Bloody Hands on Capitol Hill

It was a chilling moment on a split-screen of history. While the Senate debated the Iraq war on Tuesday night, a long-dead senator again renounced a chronic lie about congressional options and presidential power. The Senate was in the final hours of another failure to impede the momentum of war. As the New York Times … Continue reading “From the Grave, a Senator Exposes Bloody Hands on Capitol Hill”

A Bloody Media Mirror

Many of America’s most prominent journalists want us to forget what they were saying and writing more than four years ago to boost the invasion of Iraq. Now, they tiptoe around their own roles in hyping the war and banishing dissent to the media margins. The media watch group FAIR (where I’m an associate) has … Continue reading “A Bloody Media Mirror”