Sheldon Richman

By now Randolph Bourne’s observation that “war is the health of the state” ought to be such a cliché that it would hardly need to be said. And yet, it must be said – often – because many still haven’t gotten the word. If the state is the adversary of liberty, as it nearly always … Continue reading “The Scourge of Conscription”

Collective security, the official goal of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, seems plausible on its face. A group of nations ostensibly concerned about a common threat agree to defend one another in the event of an attack. “All for one and one for all,” as the Three Musketeers said. But like many things, the … Continue reading “NATO and Collective Insecurity”

If you’re looking for morality tales – clashes between the clearly good and the clearly bad – I suggest you look elsewhere than the geopolitical theater. There we find only conflicts between shades of darker gray. This seems to have been the case throughout history. Empires and would-be empires vied with rival empires and would-be … Continue reading “Shades of Gray in the Russia-Ukraine War”

What’s going on with Joe Biden? Is he oblivious to the fact that Russia has about as many strategic nuclear weapons as the United States has? Is he taking advice from the neocons, who apparently believe that we should not fear a nuclear holocaust because that’s exactly what Vladimir Putin wants us to do? (I … Continue reading “Joe Biden, What the Hell?”

To judge by what Congress is up to these days, one would think that it wants to reward Israel for its relentless confiscation of Palestinian land and continued ethnic cleansing. Congress – which is not only interested in “the Benjamins,” that is, Israel Lobby contributions – is surely operating in what Yakov Hirsch calls “hasbara culture,” according to … Continue reading “Congress Again Rewards Israel’s Misdeeds”

I don’t know if the U.S. foreign-policy elite wanted Russia to invade Ukraine – an argument could be made for the affirmative – but I’d hate to think it did. Yet given its long record of global mischief (a polite word for its machinations), we certainly cannot rule out the point a priori. Perhaps the … Continue reading “Russia in Ukraine: Cui Bono?”

Contrary to what hypocritical U.S. rulers and their loyal mass media suggest, two propositions can both be – and indeed are – true: that Russia has grossly, brutally, and criminally mishandled the situation it has faced with respect to Ukraine, and that the US government since the late 1990s has been entirely responsible for imposing … Continue reading “When History Begins – Russia, Ukraine, and the US”

Here’s a good idea: let’s not go to war against Russia. Let’s not even rattle a saber at Russia (or China, for that matter) because even wars that no one really wants can be blundered into. Many losers would be left in the aftermath, even if nuclear weapons were kept out of sight, but no … Continue reading “Joe Biden, Let’s Not Go to War”

Joe Biden, who says the buck regarding Afghanistan stops with him in the White House, claims that the Taliban’s final takeover of the capital, Kabul, provoking mass panic reminiscent of Saigon, 1975, happened more quickly “than anticipated.” If that’s true – spoiler alert: it ain’t – then we taxpayers should demand the mass firings and … Continue reading “Afghanistan Aftermath: No Firings? No Resignations?”

It’s always important not to miss the forest for the trees. U.S. government announcements, such as its report of the turnover to the Afghan government of the seventh and last military base in Afghanistan, Bagram, should lead no one to think that US foreign policy has changed worldwide or even in that particular region. Far … Continue reading “In Afghanistan, Watch the Forest as Well as the Trees”