The much admired American Western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) contains an insightful scene. The main characters are trying to escape and are considering a very dangerous jump from the cliff: Butch Cassidy: They'll never follow us. Sundance Kid: How do...

At least 52 people were killed and 52 more were wounded. Also two men were executed on terrorism charges, bringing this year’s total to 46 put to death.

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Here’s what the president said back in June 2013, while reassuring the American people about the National Security Agency’s collection of their phone metadata: “When it comes to telephone calls, nobody is listening...

The 150th Anniversary of Lieber's Code was celebrated by the International Humanitarian Law (Law of War) community in 2013 for the embryonic role the Code played in the development of the law of war. But while issuing Lieber’s Code is often credited as the founding of...

It’s in somewhat dubious taste to start off a column by saying "I told you so," but in this case that’s the shortest and indeed only way to convey my reaction to Seymour Hersh’s piece in the London Review of Books revealing that the chemical attack which...

At least 42 people were killed and 74 more were wounded. An unidentified police colonel warned that the tense situation in Anbar could soon be on Baghdad’s doorstep.

At least 72 people were killed and 82 more were wounded. The violence was heavy across Anbar today

The definition of torture has been in some dispute since ancient times. Julius Caesar had the Illyrian pirates who kidnapped him executed before they were crucified. "Caesar is merciful," he supposedly said, "you did not torture me and I will not...

About 71 people were killed and 48 more were wounded today.

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Isn’t there something strangely reassuring when your eyeballs are gripped by a “mystery” on the news that has no greater meaning and yet sweeps all else away? This, of course, is the essence of the ongoing tale of...