Bush Checkmated in Georgia

It's now hard to remember that, when the Bush administration arrived in office in 2000, its hardcore members were all old Cold Warriors who hadn't given up the ghost. If the Soviet Union no longer existed, they were still quite intent on rolling back what was left of...

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Surging in Afghanistan: Too Much, Too Late?

Despite George W. Bush's claim that he's "truly not that concerned" about Osama bin Laden, the administration is erecting 10 "Wanted" billboards in Afghanistan, offering rewards of $25 million for bin Laden, $10 million for Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and $1 million...

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The Future of Death
at the Pentagon

[Note for TomDispatch Readers: This is the second post in a pre-Labor Day "best of TomDispatch" series. The first was Chalmers Johnson's 2005 "Smash of Civilizations." Now, we backpedal another year to 2004 and reconsider the Pentagon's ceaseless efforts to dream up...

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Outlaw Administration

[Note for TomDispatch readers: This is the first of a "best of TomDispatch" series I'll be posting in the week leading up to Labor Day, each with a new introduction by the author. Few in the United States give much thought any longer to the looting of Iraq's cultural...

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The Lessons of Endless War

[Note for TomDispatch Readers: Andrew Bacevich will discuss his new book – and the limits of American power in the Bush era – for a full hour on Bill Moyers Journal, Friday, Aug. 15. Don't miss it. If you're watching the Olympics, TiVo it or look for a...

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The American Military Crisis

All you really need to know is that, at Robert Gates' Pentagon, they're still high on the term "the Long War." It's a phrase that first crept into our official vocabulary back in 2002 but was popularized by CENTCOM commander John Abizaid in 2004 – already a...

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Living Through the Age of Denial in America

Send me a postcard, drop me a line, Stating point of view. Indicate precisely what you mean to say Yours sincerely, Wasting Away. – the Beatles, "When I'm 64" I set foot, so to speak, on this planet on July 20, 1944, not perhaps the best day of the century. It...

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The Military-Industrial Complex

To offer a bit of context for Chalmers Johnson's latest post on the privatization of U.S. intelligence, it's important to know just how lucrative that intelligence "business" has become. According to the latest estimate, the cumulative 2009 intelligence budget for the...

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The Pentagon and the Hunt for Black Gold

It's summer and gassing up your car is like emptying your wallet directly into that fuel pump. So you think you have it bad? You think you're feeling the pain? Well, stop your whining! Other oil "addicts" have it so much worse! Have you no pity? Take an obvious...

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