Reap the Whirlwind

"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." ~ Hosea 8:7 Executive Summary: When our Washington elites funded and trained Afghanistan’s Mujahadeen "freedom fighters" to harass the Soviet Union, America sowed the wind. On September 11, 2001, if our talking heads are to be believed, Osama bin Laden, one of numerous … Continue reading “Reap the Whirlwind”

Big Government, Having Never Gone Away, Is Now Said To Be ‘Back’

A POSSIBLE USE FOR HISTORY This column is called The Old Cause because I think of it as a place to sketch out certain continuities between past and present. William Appleman Williams once wrote that history is "a way of learning." From our excursions into the past, "we return with a broader awareness of the … Continue reading “Big Government, Having Never Gone Away, Is Now Said To Be ‘Back’”

KILL ‘EM – AND GET OUT

Although it is far too early to tell, it looks like the grand-scale invasion of Afghanistan – and virtually the entire Middle East – envisioned by our more aggressive warhawks is not about to happen. While the President’s speech to Congress clearly identified the Taliban as a threat right up there with "fascism, Nazism, and … Continue reading “KILL ‘EM – AND GET OUT”

The First Casualty

This first week of the war has produced a rare unity between the Republicans and the Democrats on Capitol Hill. Every war in U.S. history began with something very close to political unity, and each war progressed at different rates toward different degrees of Congressional dissent. Only time will tell how long it will take … Continue reading “The First Casualty”

Flying the Guarded Skies

I think I’ll leave the big-picture opining for another time. I don’t know how many Americans will be interested in one person’s experience flying domestic airlines this past weekend. But that’s what’s on my mind as I sit in an airport waiting for a connecting flight, with time on my hands and a yellow legal … Continue reading “Flying the Guarded Skies”

OPERATION INFINITE ARROGANCE

We are, by now, quite used to the practice of pinning our various overseas interventions with some tag line, some felicitous phrase that seems to sum up the official rationale for war. The "new war" – as the networks have unimaginatively dubbed it – is no exception, but I’m afraid the process seems to have … Continue reading “OPERATION INFINITE ARROGANCE”

A Chance for a New Friendship?

For traditional rivals of the US, the tragedy in New York and the ensuing “War on Terrorism” have provided a chance to wipe the slate clean and establish a New World Order. Russia and the various -stans, especially Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have offered up their land to the Western coalition, in return for – … Continue reading “A Chance for a New Friendship?”

THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX

Amazingly, there was one columnist who predicted the World Trade Center attack, a prescient bit of punditry that, if I were the FBI, would immediately cause me to call him in for at least a few questions. It was in the weeks leading up to New Year’s Day, 2000 – remember the terrorist-mania that gripped … Continue reading “THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX”