Category: Uncategorized

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It’s the military from hell – and, no, I don’t mean the Russian army, though, it certainly qualifies. Few now doubt that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal (and not just because of those Ukrainian children his forces exported to Russia for adoption). Launching a war of aggression is crime enough … Continue reading “Former Soldiers Without a Future”

Do we have a shortage of female heroes in this country? Are virtuous women that scarce? Or is it simply that Women’s History Month, by eliminating women from the conversation who don’t fit the narrative of the State Department and the Pentagon, failed to achieve its goal? Why would Secretary of State Antony Blinken post … Continue reading “This Women’s History Month, Celebrate the Resolve of Jeannette Rankin”

Four more were wounded.

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Somehow, when it comes to Congress and the mainstream media, the true strangeness of the Pentagon budget always is missing in action. Despite arguments about the small things, just about everyone accepts that the United States must have a monstrous, all-powerful military and a military budget beyond compare (beyond, in fact, … Continue reading “The Pentagon’s Budget from Hell”

It’s been 20 years since the lies and obfuscation that led to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. I’m about to turn 37 and it hit me: those events 20 years ago were how I began my political journey, though I didn’t know it at the time. As a progressive activist, one doesn’t easily … Continue reading “20 Years Later: Confessions of a Conscientious Quitter”

On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal for allegedly deporting and transferring children from Ukraine to Russia. The Nuremburg Tribunal declared that "To initiate a war of aggression is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime, differing … Continue reading “Vladimir Putin vs. the International Criminal Court”

The recent 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has caused me to reflect on the two years (2007-08) that I worked as a field-level civilian advisor in Iraq followed by six years in Afghanistan (2009-14) and to correlate this experience to the current proxy war the US is funding and shadow … Continue reading “Iraq, Afghanistan, and Now Ukraine: Reductio ab Absurdum“

The announcement by Vladimir Putin over the weekend that Russia will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus marked a further escalation of potentially cataclysmic tensions over the war in neighboring Ukraine. As the Associated Press reported, "Putin said the move was triggered by Britain’s decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing … Continue reading “We Don’t Have To Choose Between Nuclear Madmen”

Last week saw a sharp increase in attacks on US troops occupying northeastern Syria, with a drone strike against a US base blamed on “pro-Iran” forces and a US counter-strike said to have killed at least 19 people. After the US retaliation, another strike by “pro-Iran” forces hit a number of US sites in Syria. … Continue reading “The Best Way To Protect US Troops in Syria”

Opposition to Joe Biden’s proxy war to destroy Russia has entered the 2024 US Presidential election – from stage Right. And the growing anti-interventionist sentiment among grass roots conservatives and libertarians is alarming Establishment warhawks on both "left" and "right." They are furious. Their anger boiled over when Tucker Carlson asked likely GOP presidential candidates … Continue reading “The Ukraine War Enters the 2024 US Presidential Election – Stage Right”