Thomas Knapp

The US Department of Defense has ordered “a sweeping audit of how it conducts clandestine information warfare,” the Washington Post reports. The apparent reason for the review is an August disclosure, by Graphika and the Stanford Internet Observatory, that Twitter and Facebook, of social media accounts opened under fake identities and used to feed disinformation … Continue reading “Pentagon’s Information Warfare Review Should Cover the Domestic Side, Too”

“We’ve laid out for the leadership of Iran what we’re willing to accept in order to get back into the JCPOA” President Joe Biden said at a press conference in Jerusalem on July 14. “We’re waiting for their response. When that will come, I’m not certain, but we’re not going to wait forever.” That’s an … Continue reading “Nuclear Deal: It’s Iran Doing the ‘Waiting’”

“The decisions we have taken in Madrid,” North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said as a summit of the alliance’s members closed in Madrid on June 30, “will ensure that our Alliance continues to preserve peace, prevent conflict, and protect our people and our values.” Decisions taken at the summit include inviting Sweden … Continue reading “Don’t Expand NATO – Disband It”

On June 17, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face 18 criminal charges: One count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, and 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. If convicted on all charges, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison. His … Continue reading “Free Assange? Yes, But That’s Not Nearly Enough.”

“The trial of former Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussmann crossed a critical threshold Friday (May 20),” Jonathan Turley writes at The Hill, “when a key witness uttered the name ‘Hillary Clinton’ in conjunction with a plan to spread the false Alfa Bank Russian collusion claim before the 2016 presidential election.” The witness: Robby Mook, who … Continue reading “Sussmann Trial: Mook Outs Clinton as ‘Russiagate’ Shot-Caller”

As I write this, BBC reports that UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is “urgently” investigating reports of a chemical weapons attack in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The US Department of Defense finds the reports “deeply concerning.” Usually when the western governments start quacking about “chemical attacks,” it means they’re planning to take action of … Continue reading “Mariupol: Let’s Talk About ‘Chemical Weapons’ Propaganda”

“Genocide.” That’s the announced verdict of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as images of hundreds of civilian dead – some with their hands bound, apparently executed – emerged from the city of Bucha following a withdrawal of Russian troops. “You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal,” says US president Joe Biden. … Continue reading “War Is the Crime. Its Perpetrators Seldom Face Justice.”

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on March 4, 80% of Americans support a US government ban on the importation of Russian oil. Meanwhile, Americans are also complaining about high gas prices, which reached an average of more than $4 per gallon over the weekend following the poll’s release, in large part due to US … Continue reading “Sanctions on Russian Oil Will Drive Up American Gas Prices”

As part of the western response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, several regimes acted on February 26 to exclude certain Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network. As of March 1, Reuters reports, SWIFT says it’s awaiting a list of the sanctioned banks so that it can cut them … Continue reading “The West’s SWIFT Kick Is Aimed at Russia, But it Will Also Hit the US Dollar”

At this point in my life, I’ve been consistently opposed to war for about twice as long as I spent as a Marine infantryman (with precisely the attitude toward war you would expect). The change was incremental and took a few years, but I consider my decision to march in the streets against the 2003 … Continue reading “Ukraine: Don’t Look to Politicians for Peace”