Think of us as just having passed through the failed era of "must" in Washington. For almost eight years, George W. Bush made speeches and appearances in which he hectored this or that country, or enemy, or people about what they "must" do. Never, I suspect,...
Epitaph on Empire
I have opposed the Iraq war since before it began, but it only became personal for me about a year and a half ago, on April 29, 2008. I remember the moment well. I had flipped open the Washington Post and there, on the front page, was a color photo of a 2-year-old...
Politics Between the 45-Yard Lines
Where to Begin Rebutting the Afghan Blather?
Everything that appears in our mainstream media about foreign policy is blather. Everything we read about Afghanistan and Iraq and Iran floats upon a sea of false premises and lies of omission and commission. Right now the American mainstream media is printing...
Intervention Begets Insecurity
For years the United States has used military force as a Band-Aid for a wide-range of global problems ranging from the removal of dictators to ensuring access to global trade partners. Yet it's clear that this has not been successful. For all of the money, time, and...
Bearing the Burdens of the Imperial City
Political Solution in Afghanistan Possible,
but Not by Going Down Current Path
It would be a great service to the American nation if Barack Obama would tell us what he himself thinks the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan are about. To capture Osama bin Laden? There have been eight years in which to capture bin Laden and it's not been done yet,...
The Lessons of August
World Wars and Lessons for Empire The Great War began 95 years ago this month, with the guns of August ending what has been described as Europe's last summer. And 64 years ago this week, two nuclear weapons used against Japanese cities signaled the end of the Second...


