World Movement for Democracy: Made in the USA

The "world's democratic movement" is not another one of the transnational citizens' movements, like the anti-globalization or antiwar movements, that prides itself on having no central structure, no dogma, or even an office. This movement is highly organized, better...

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Labor Takes Its Stand Against Empire

It is just about the oldest plot cliché there is. As you eagerly anticipate the climax, the villain appears to have subdued everyone who ever thought of standing in his way and is on the precipice of triumph, when suddenly, from out of nowhere, his first victim who...

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After 10-Year Hiatus, Pentagon Eyes New Landmine

The George W. Bush administration may soon resume production of antipersonnel land mines in a move that is at odds with both the international community and previous U.S. policy on the weapons, says a leading human rights organization. In December of this year, the...

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Media Flagstones Along a Path to War on Iran

On Tuesday, big alarm bells went off in the national media echo chamber, and major U.S. news outlets showed that they knew the drill. Iran's nuclear activities were pernicious, most of all, because people in high places in Washington said so. It didn't seem to matter...

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A Young Man’s Death in Iraq

I'm too old for the typical Web site with lots of posted back-and-forth commentary. So the TomDispatch e-mail box is – and often I regret this – normally my own private adventure. I'm regularly amazed by the letters that come in, many encouraging, some...

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Free the Diplomats

In Monday's meeting between top U.S. and Chinese officials – touted as an unprecedented inaugural – the U.S., as usual when facing China across the negotiating table, is at a distinct disadvantage. At this very moment, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chris...

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National Defense for a Republic

I spent last week in Pittsfield, Maine, at a symposium on modern war called by Colonel Mike Wyly, USMC retired. Col. Wyly was one of the heroes of the maneuver warfare movement in the Marine Corps in the 1970s and '80s, and when he suggests it's time for a new effort,...

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With Friends Like This…

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was due for a visit to Washington last week, but failed to show: the excuse given was another uptick in violence on the West Bank, but Israeli sources indicated the real reason: Mofaz is miffed that the U.S. is now demanding a...

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The Selling of Brand Kurdistan

As chaos continues across much of Iraq, the governing authority is coming to yet another crossroads. Inside the Green Zone – the location of the U.S. Embassy and major Iraqi government offices – officials are struggling to forge an acceptable constitution by...

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