‘Peace Through Strength,’ and Other Lies

This column was inspired by one of Rupert Murdoch’s tweets on September 6: “Big military brings peace through strength.” A clichéd tweet by Murdoch isn’t what most people would consider a news hook. But it’s just the latest expression – caveman syntax perhaps...

read more

The Lesson of Blowback and 9/11

While the death count still seemed like it might number in the tens of thousands, a few people remembered to warn against a disproportionate reaction to the 9/11 attacks. Perhaps the oddest thing about these events which provoked two wars and a constant drone presence...

read more

On Consciencious Objection and Moral Injury

We have this tragic misperception that humanity is predisposed to violence. The truth is that humanity is predisposed to peace. The default position for humanity is that of conscientious objector to war and violence. In our work at the Center on Conscience & War,...

read more

The Long Road From 9/11

I heard it before I saw it: the horror in the voice of a TV anchor on the morning of September 11, 2001. As my father shook me awake – “Wake up, look at this!” – I shot straight up in my bed and beheld the scene unfolding on the television screen: a plane plowing...

read more

Nothing Succeeds Like Failure

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Let’s take a moment to consider failure and its options in Washington. The U.S. has been warring with the Islamic State (IS) for more than a year now. The centerpiece of that war has been an ongoing campaign of bombings and air...

read more

The Knot At the Heart of the Ukraine Crisis

The origin of the Ukraine crisis is consistently reported in the West as an unfortunate and unpopular choice by President Viktor Yanukovych to go with an economic alliance with Russia over the economic alliance offered by the European Union. The package offered by the...

read more