Tag: empire

Yes, We Could… Get Out!

Yes, we could. No kidding. We really could withdraw our massive armies, now close to 200,000 troops combined, from Afghanistan and Iraq (and that’s not even counting our similarly large stealth army of private contractors, which helps keep the true size of our double occupations in the shadows). We could undoubtedly withdraw them all reasonably … Continue reading “Yes, We Could… Get Out!”

Liquidating the Empire

A decade ago, Oldsmobile went. Last year, Pontiac. Saturn, Saab, and Hummer were discontinued. A thousand GM dealerships shut down. To those who grew up in a “GM family,” where buying a Chrysler was like converting to Islam, what happened to GM was deeply saddening. Yet the amputations had to be done – or GM … Continue reading “Liquidating the Empire”

America’s Shadowy Base World

Once is an anomaly; twice is the beginning of a pattern. Right now, we’re seeing the same sequence of events for the second time in less than a decade, and it looks like the signature American way of war in our time is coming into focus. In 2003, when the Bush administration invaded Iraq, the … Continue reading “America’s Shadowy Base World”

Need for Presidents to ‘Look Tough’ Isn’t Getting US Anywhere

President Barack Obama is said to feel he is in trouble politically because his enemies in Congress and among the Washington journalists who decide what the "mood" of Washington is on any given day say he is not tough enough. This is the kind of mind reading about what the public thinks that got him … Continue reading “Need for Presidents to ‘Look Tough’ Isn’t Getting US Anywhere”

2009 in Review

In America, 2009 was to be the year of Hope and Change. Barack Obama became the new emperor in January, drawing record-breaking crowds and promising a radical departure from the era of Bush II. He ended up maintaining continuity – not just with Bush-era wars and practices, but also with Clinton policies of the 1990s. … Continue reading “2009 in Review”

The Children’s Crusade

"It really boils down to one of two decisions, getting out or getting in." – President Lyndon Johnson, speaking about Vietnam "Soldiers came to school today," announced the kindergarten kid. “They only kill bad people. They don’t kill good people.” This story comes to us by way of Jon Letman of Truthout.org. The kindergarten kid … Continue reading “The Children’s Crusade”

Out of Iraq, Into the Gulf

So here’s the mystery. You have a country that only recently had upward of 300 military bases, monster to micro, in a single war-torn land, Iraq. It probably now has something like 300 bases combined in Iraq and Afghanistan (where base-building is on the rise). Outside of those war zones, it has perhaps 800 more … Continue reading “Out of Iraq, Into the Gulf”

Arrogant US Misses the Message From Pakistan’s People

There has always been in American foreign policy circles a virus called arrogance, caused by the hereditary assumption that Americans know better than others. Surprisingly, this does not always prove the case, but the condition seems highly resistant to treatment, even by experience. There seems a high probability that the disease has struck Obama administration … Continue reading “Arrogant US Misses the Message From Pakistan’s People”