How in heck did Armistice Day become Veterans Day? Established by Congress in 1926 to "perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations, (and later) a day dedicated to the cause of world peace," Armistice Day was widely recognized...
The Trump Effect
This is what I love about the presidency of Donald J. Trump – this news story: “CIA director met with DNC Hack Conspiracy Theorist at Trump’s Urging.” Isn’t it magical how a 40-year veteran of the National Security Agency, formerly head of its World Geopolitical and...
The Madness of Deterrence
At some point in the near or semi-distant future, one way or another, Mr. Trump will have departed public office. For many reasons, perhaps most of all because we managed (if we do manage) to avoid nuclear war during his tenure, we will feel relief. But we may also...
Mosul Family Perishes in Booby-Trapped Home; 11 Killed in Iraq
Sadism in Afghanistan
For the past 16 years, the American war machine has been acting like a two-tiered sadist in Afghanistan. While facilitating the Kabul government’s destruction of the communities it oversees there, our military apparatus has also harmed the U.S. itself by spilling...
‘Creeping Annexation’: Why Israel Shelved the ‘Greater Jerusalem Law’
The postponing of an Israeli Knesset bill that would have annexed major illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank to the Jerusalem municipality is the result of behind-the-scenes US and, possibly, European pressure. But the story of the so-called “Greater Jerusalem...
VP Nujaifi Calls Shi’ite Militias Looming Threat; Five Killed in Iraq
Business as Usual at the Pentagon
The revolving door between major defense contractors and the Pentagon is spinning ever more rapidly, notes FP: Foreign Policy. Here’s a telling report from last week: McCain says enough, but does he mean it? During a hearing Thursday to vet several Trump...
Military Releases Qaim Casualty Figures; 502 Killed in Iraq
Will the Saudi People Remain Bystanders?
Most top-down anti-corruption campaigns are fig leaves for power struggles. In societies like China and Saudi Arabia, where corruption is endemic, the losers are accused of corruption with the silly implication that the accusers (winners) are clean and genuinely...


