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A POSSIBLE USE FOR HISTORY This column is called The Old Cause because I think of it as a place to sketch out certain continuities between past and present. William Appleman Williams once wrote that history is "a way of learning." From our excursions into the past, "we return with a broader awareness of the … Continue reading “Big Government, Having Never Gone Away, Is Now Said To Be ‘Back’”

Although it is far too early to tell, it looks like the grand-scale invasion of Afghanistan – and virtually the entire Middle East – envisioned by our more aggressive warhawks is not about to happen. While the President’s speech to Congress clearly identified the Taliban as a threat right up there with "fascism, Nazism, and … Continue reading “KILL ‘EM – AND GET OUT”

I think I’ll leave the big-picture opining for another time. I don’t know how many Americans will be interested in one person’s experience flying domestic airlines this past weekend. But that’s what’s on my mind as I sit in an airport waiting for a connecting flight, with time on my hands and a yellow legal … Continue reading “Flying the Guarded Skies”

This first week of the war has produced a rare unity between the Republicans and the Democrats on Capitol Hill. Every war in U.S. history began with something very close to political unity, and each war progressed at different rates toward different degrees of Congressional dissent. Only time will tell how long it will take … Continue reading “The First Casualty”

We are, by now, quite used to the practice of pinning our various overseas interventions with some tag line, some felicitous phrase that seems to sum up the official rationale for war. The "new war" – as the networks have unimaginatively dubbed it – is no exception, but I’m afraid the process seems to have … Continue reading “OPERATION INFINITE ARROGANCE”

For traditional rivals of the US, the tragedy in New York and the ensuing “War on Terrorism” have provided a chance to wipe the slate clean and establish a New World Order. Russia and the various -stans, especially Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have offered up their land to the Western coalition, in return for – … Continue reading “A Chance for a New Friendship?”

Author’s note: I am in transit, and so this column – written before the horrific events of September 11 – will have to do. To all of my readers who wrote in, expressing support – and criticism: thanks. I will address the latter in the next installment of "Behind the Headlines," scheduled for this coming … Continue reading “AMERICAN IMPERIUM”

One moment before the Sons of Light wage war on the Sons of Darkness, when the former are purported to be “the Judeo-Christian Culture,” whereas the latter, “the Arab-Moslem Culture,” is identified with suicide bombers as its inherent, constitutive trait, let us commemorate the first suicide bomber, who prayed to God to die killing thousands. … Continue reading “Dancing in the Streets”

Amazingly, there was one columnist who predicted the World Trade Center attack, a prescient bit of punditry that, if I were the FBI, would immediately cause me to call him in for at least a few questions. It was in the weeks leading up to New Year’s Day, 2000 – remember the terrorist-mania that gripped … Continue reading “THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX”

Examine the following three quotes. It is as though they were written by the same pen; as though all three had received their marching orders from a higher authority. The first quote, attributed to Charles Krauthammer, appeared in The Washington Post on 21 September, titled "Voices of Moral Obtuseness": "Let us look at American policies. … Continue reading “‘Voices of Moral Obtuseness’ or ‘Voices of Immoral Bigotry’?”