William J. Astore

More than two millennia ago, in the History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides recounted a disastrous conflict Athens waged against Sparta. A masterwork on strategy and war, the book is still taught at the US Army War College and many other military institutions across the world. A passage from it describing an ultimatum Athens gave … Continue reading “Imperial Dominance Disguised as Democratic Deterrence”

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. As a teenager in the 1970s, I recall talking to my dad about fears of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. My dad took a broad view, suggesting that if U.S. and Soviet leaders were stupid enough to blow each other to smithereens, … Continue reading “The Madness of US Militarism”

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. In my eclectic reading, I came across a couple of references to ChatGPT, an experiment in artificial intelligence (AI). You ask the AI bot a question, or give it a task, and it spits out an answer, and I must say a pretty good one judging from … Continue reading “Even AI Is Suspicious of the Military-Industrial Complex”

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. Terminology is so important. There was a time when America spoke honestly of a Department of War. But not everyone is keen on war, even Americans, so in 1947 the national (in)security state slyly changed its name to the Department of Defense (DoD). And who can be … Continue reading “Dominating Everyone Everywhere All At Once”

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. (I prepared these notes for a talk I gave on “Truth-killers: The Corporate Media and the Military-Industrial Complex,” sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action. David Swanson also spoke.) I served in the U.S. military for 20 years, and for the last 15 years I’ve been writing articles that … Continue reading “The Mainstream Media and the US Military”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It was a backlit wonder of a plane on what looked like a Hollywood set – though the location was actually a Northrop Grumman plant in California. The workers from that giant weapons maker were there, too, chanting “USA! USA!” And so was Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who “unveiled” it. … Continue reading “Going Nuclear (Again)”

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. Reports that Ukraine is launching modified drones to strike airbases deep in Russia highlight the unpredictability and escalatory nature of wars. Ukraine is no longer content at defending itself against Russian aggression; Russia itself must be made a target, which will likely provoke harsher Russian counterattacks. Meanwhile, … Continue reading “Beware of Long Wars”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Here’s the curious thing: since at least the Vietnam War era of the 1960s and early 1970s, the United States has been almost continuously at war. Certain of those conflicts like the Vietnam War itself and those in Iraq and Afghanistan in this century are still remembered by many of us. … Continue reading “Something Is Rotten in the US Military”

Back on June 1st, I noted that Ukraine couldn’t possibly absorb more than $54 billion in U.S. aid, most of it related to weaponry and munitions, given the country’s lack of infrastructure as well as the chaos inherent to a shooting war. As I wrote back then: The entire defense budget of Ukraine before the … Continue reading “The Ukrainian Boondoggle as a Black Hole”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It’s that moment again. Graduation time in high schools and colleges across the country. Because I’ve always thought that graduation speeches had a certain je ne sais quoi, I’ve given a number of them at TomDispatch to… well, I must admit, never anyone actually graduating from anyplace anywhere, but only, as … Continue reading “A Graduation Speech to Air Force Cadets”