McChrystal’s Ultimatum
Gen. Stanley McChrystal's latest insubordination was an act of sheer petulance. We already know via unnamed reliable sources that McChrystal has threatened to resign if he doesn't get the next wave of escalation in Afghanistan he wants. The sanctioned leak of his...
Killing America’s Kids
The Web is covered in stink today because of a reporter for the Associated Press, Julie Jacobson, who photographed the death of a Marine whose legs had just been blown off. The kid was Joshua Bernard, a lance corporal of 21 years. When the photo appeared, Robert...
Mission Creepy: The Rise of the ‘Daddy State’
Will recession-induced budget cuts result in the National Guard being deputized as lawmen in Jefferson County, Ala.? While he may be bluffing for effect, Jefferson County Sheriff Randy Christian didn't seem to be altogether unserious when he suggested that soldiers...
Mullen’s Mulligans
In golf and other sports, a "mulligan" is a second chance to get something right, sometimes referred to as a "do-over." In most sports, one do-over is all you get, and sports are just games. In war, humanity's deadliest undertaking, the folks in...
Politics Between the 45-Yard Lines
Soldiers Who Just Say No
Six months into Barack Obama's presidency, the U.S. public's display of antiwar sentiment has faded to barely a whisper. Despite Obama's vow to withdraw all combat forces from Iraq before September 2011, he plans to leave up to 50,000 troops in "training and...
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...
The Man With the Plan for Bananastan
The Bananastans, the banana republic-style tar pits in Central Asia that we've stumbled into, have rapidly become a bigger cluster bomb than Iraq ever was. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Gen. Stanley McChrystal said the "measure of effectiveness" in...
Lost in Military Limbo
[Note for TomDispatch readers: In Chalmers Johnson's recent piece, "Three Good Reasons to Liquidate Our Empire," the mission of the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) was mischaracterized. It has now been corrected at the piece.] It's not exactly a secret that the...
