It looks like the neocons and the Beltway military-industrial complex are going to get their way, as President Obama's plan to scale back a few weapons systems has hit a brick wall in Congress. Meanwhile, citing the "Russian threat," the Pentagon announced that it...
Iraq Goes Medieval: Will Build Wall Around Baghdad To Stop ISIS
In medieval times, cities were walled. At night the gates were locked, the towers guarded, and thieves and brigands were kept outside. At least in theory, because walls could be scaled, or blown up, or tunnels dug, or guards bribed.And so in what may turn out to be...
Drones and Death in the 8th Republican Presidential Debate
Lethal drones have come to symbolize “smart power” to Democrats. In the first Democratic presidential debate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went so far as to characterize the “no boots on the ground” 2011 intervention in Libya as...
New Terrorism Blacklist Wields Power Over Millions of Lives
Vice News revealed the details of a confidential database that banks, employers and others use to blacklist customers.The World-Check database also includes major charities, activists, and mainstream religious institutions under its category of...
The Evil Genie US Let Out of Bottle in Iraq Continues His Rampage
The word “genie” comes from the Arab jinni. As every child knows, it describes a creature that, when summoned, fulfills your wishes. Doesn’t it seem like the United States played a cruel trick when it further westernized the concept of jinni by uncorking a bottle in...
John Kiriakou: Let’s End Torture in US Prisons
Solitary confinement is exactly what it sounds like.A prisoner is kept in a small cell – usually 6 feet by 10 – alone, for 23 hours a day.For one hour a day, he or she may be taken into a small cage outside, with the opportunity to walk in circles before...
First Amendment Under Assault, Again
When we speak of the government’s ongoing assault against the First Amendment, it is typically in the context of Freedom of Speech. That is indeed primarily the focus, using the tools of The State to silence its critics. But not if you are a Muslim.For many...
Afghanistan Boondoggles Get Rep. Walter Jones’ Goat
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), speaking Tuesday at a hearing of the US House Armed Services Committee, returned to a subject he has addressed many times — the US government’s incredible waste of money and lives in Afghanistan. Providing one example to illustrate the...
‘CIA Eyewashing’ and the Lost Political Wisdom of Hunter S. Thompson
The Washington Post "revealed" today, as their headline read: 'Eyewash': How the CIA deceives its own workforce about operations. This would not come as news to anyone who pays attention to CIA pronouncements and reads Antiwar.com or Consortiumnews.com. But...
Breaking The Neocon Stranglehold On Washington
No matter who occupies the US presidency, it seems the neoconservatives always occupy positions of foreign policy power. A neocon like Robert Kagan, for example, is perfectly comfortable going from a senior position in the GW Bush administration to another senior post...


