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Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. Asked about the state of the war in Ukraine during a press gaggle last night on Air Force One, President Trump responded that the war is “a horrible thing that never should have started.” That war is horrible is an idea that seems lost on the Democratic foreign … Continue reading “The Unnecessary War”

The phrase “civil war” is one of the most dominant terms used by Israeli politicians today. What began as a mere warning from Israeli President Isaac Herzog is now an accepted possibility for much of Israel’s mainstream political society. “(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is ready to sacrifice everything for his survival, and we are … Continue reading “Civil War on the Horizon? The Ashkenazi-Sephardic Conflict and Israel’s Future”

The eyes of a new generation were opened in an episode that seemed like dark science fiction for those of a certain age, and an unyielding nightmare regardless: a genocide streaming into smartphones around the world in real time. Many American eyes were opened for the first time to the reality not only in Palestine, … Continue reading “The All-Devouring Machine: Pentagon Malfeasance and Insatiable Empire”

Originally appeared at TomDispatch. In September 2007, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and historian William Astore emailed me out of the blue. He’d been reading articles at TomDispatch, the website I set up soon after the 9/11 attacks to deal with this country’s Global War on Terror, especially the invasions of, and then never-ending conflicts in … Continue reading “Ending Militarism in America”

There is still reason for optimism that the Trump administration can bring the war in Ukraine to a diplomatic end. But insubstantial promises of a fast, smooth sailing solution have splintered against the solidity of reality. Campaign promises of a day became goals of a hundred. As the hundredth day appears on the horizon, Secretary … Continue reading “No Quick End to the War in Ukraine”

President Trump was elected in part because he promised to reduce prices and not drag the country into foreign wars. Sadly, President Trump has adopted a tariff policy that will raise prices and abandoned his “America First” foreign policy in favor of a return to Bush-era neoconservatism. Despite criticizing President Biden for bombing Yemen, President … Continue reading “Liberation or Obliteration?”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. They say that “History is written by the victors.” Fortunately, we know that that is not always true. History is written by those who can assert the most appealing narrative. Those who offer the most charismatic and beguiling story – even those defeated in battle – can emerge, … Continue reading “America’s New Lost Cause”

The BBC’s news verification service, Verify, digitally reconstructed a residential tower block in Mandalay earlier this week to show how it had collapsed in a huge earthquake on March 28 in Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia largely cut off from the outside world. The broadcaster painstakingly pieced together damage to other parts of the … Continue reading “The Graver Israel’s Atrocities in Gaza, the Quieter the BBC Grows”

OK, the title is a bit crude and is deliberately mocking in tone. But it has to be because there is a deeply-entrenched, almost sacred presumption embedded in the nation’s foreign policy catechism that “allies”, “alliances” and “coalitions of the willing” are the be-all-and-end-all of enlightened, necessary and effective foreign policy. American policy-makers and diplomats … Continue reading “Why America Don’t Need No Stinkin’ ‘Allies’”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. At last week’s Paris meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’, Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron congratulated themselves on reinserting Europe into the peace process opened up by President Trump. In practice, they have done their best to derail it. Nothing is more foolish than their idea of … Continue reading “Europe’s Misguided Interventions”