President Trump’s Iran Policy Is It ‘Normal’?
It’s not often that US Government officials are honest when they talk about our foreign policy. The unprovoked 2003 attack on Iraq was called a “liberation.” The 2011 US-led destruction of Libya was a “humanitarian intervention.” And so...
Air Strikes Continue in North; 29 Killed in Iraq
A Celebration of Killing and Dying
November 10th is the 242nd birthday of the United State Marine Corps. It is a time of celebration during which current and former Marines acknowledge the storied history and glorious traditions of the branch of the military in which they so proudly served. I, however,...
The Blue Wave of Repression
“Patriotism is the opposite of nationalism” bleated the poodle Macron at the Armistice celebration as he yipped and yapped and wagged his tail before the German conqueror of Europe. Meanwhile the Front Nationale outpolled the “mainstream” “centrist” parties in...
For Veteran’s Day: Understanding Moral Injury in Hooper’s War
Here’s an excerpt from my new book, Hooper’s War: A Novel of WWII Japan, on sale now at Amazon. This excerpt is told from the perspective of the main character, Lieutenant Nate Hooper. I’m lucky enough to have a friend with a boat. Sitting at the stern, I watch the...
Armistice Day First
It gets harder to commemorate World War I, because of time and the public’s embrace of, or indifference to, a permanent war economy. About the Great War British novelist H.G. Wells wrote on August 14, 1914, "This is already the vastest war in history. … For this...
Airstrikes in Kurdish Region; 33 Killed in Iraq
Misremembering Vietnam
Originally posted at TomDispatch. “I'm going to Saigon,” said Secretary of Defense James Mattis last month before correcting himself. “Ho Chi Minh City – former Saigon.” It was the fifth time that Mattis would meet with his Vietnamese...
Latest US-Led Air Strikes Kill At Least 80 Syrian Civilians
The US-led coalition against Islamic State has carried out more than 100 new air strikes targeting the militant group’s remaining strongholds in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, killing at least 80 civilians – including dozens of women and children – in recent weeks....


