“. . . real security can only be shared . . .” I call it news in a cage: the fact that the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has been awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. In other words, how nice, but it has nothing to do with the real stuff going on...
A Wider World of War
Originally posted at TomDispatch. Ambassadors of the traditional kind? Who needs them? Diplomats? What a waste! The State Department? Why bother? Its budget is to be slashed and its senior officials are leaving in droves ever since Donald Trump entered the Oval...
ISIS Attacks Troops, Mass Grave Found; 68 Killed in Iraq
Yes, the Constitution Applies to the New York Bomber
For the second time in two months, someone who has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State has plotted to kill innocents in New York City and has executed his plot. According to police, at the height of the Monday morning rush hour this week, in an underground...
Trump’s Jerusalem Decision Rubber Stamps 70 Years of Israeli Violations
President Donald Trump’s decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was irresponsible and dangerous for more reasons than I can count. Let me outline just a few of the principle concerns. While we have all grown weary of hearing the overused mantra...
Here Comes the Next ‘Defense’ Shakedown
“Today with the signing of this defense bill,” US president Donald Trump said as he affixed his signature to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act on December 12, “we accelerate the process of fully restoring America’s military...
UN Probes Right Abuses in Restive Tuz Khormato; Seven Killed in Iraq
How the US Could Provoke a New Korean War
In April 2002, about a year before the invasion of Iraq, then-president George W. Bush told a group of assembled reporters that Saddam Hussein had to go. When asked how he would accomplish this, Bush replied cryptically, “Just wait and see.” I was reminded...
Why Are Democratic Senators Enabling One of Trump’s Worst Decisions?
President Trump’s announcement stating that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and directing the State Department to begin moving the embassy sparked anger and protests across the world. One would think that Democrats would be be jumping at the chance to hammer Trump...
The ‘Last Martyr’: Who Killed Kamal Al-Assar?
When I learned of the death of Kamal al-Assar, a few years ago, I was baffled. He was only in his 40s. I remember him in his prime, a young rebel, leading the neighborhood youth, armed with rocks and slingshots, in a hopeless battle against the Israeli army....


