The idea Mattis was the “adult in the room,” the moral and intellectual restraint on Trump’s evil wishes, is tired. We’ve been recycling that one for two years and more now, as various “adults” were christened as such and rose and...
Progress or Failure in North Korea?
In this same week the New York Times asserted North Korea is engaged in a “great deception” over its nuclear forces, South Korean unification minister Cho Myoung Gyon is visiting the United States with plans to meet Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a Member of...
See Ya, John (McCain) by Peter Van Buren
It’ll always be too soon, won’t it? Glorifying McCain as a war hero allows us to imagine away the sins of Vietnam by making ourselves the victim. He encouraged unjust war in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria and more as a cornerstone of his career. When given the chance, he...
Peter Van Buren on Consortium News Radio Talks Whistleblowing and His Lifetime Twitter Ban
In a long-form interview here with veteran journalist Joe Lauria at Consortium News Radio, I try and lay out exactly what happened on Twitter that led to me being banned. Peter Van Buren blew the whistle on State Department waste and mismanagement during Iraqi...
What if a #MAGA Guy Ate Twitter’s Face?
More than a few people have cited the exchange below as justification for my forever trip down the Memory Hole, my ban from Twitter. I used to be there as @wemeantwell.My bad zombie joke about #MAGA, or anything else I wrote that was flippant, is not writing I’m proud...
Twitter Suspends Peter Van Buren Forever
Some readers are aware I have been permanently suspended from Twitter as @wemeantwell. This followed exchanges with several mainstream journalists over their support for America’s wars and unwillingness to challenge the lies of government. After two days of silence,...
Mike Pompeo and the Missiles of Spring
Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo will walk into his confirmation hearings, and soon after that his first day of work, confronting the missiles of spring. In one case President Donald Trump and Pompeo signal they want to back away from an Obama-era nuclear deal...
Peter Van Buren on a Handy Definition of the ‘Deep State’
I ran into this, from Caitlin Johnstone, and thought it worth sharing:The term “deep state” does not mean “Democrats and Never-Trumpers” as Republican pundits would have you believe, nor does the term refer to any kind of weird, unverifiable conspiracy theory. The...
Peter Van Buren on the State Department: Meet the New Boss, Same/Worse as the Old Boss?
The rumors of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s demise may finally not be greatly exaggerated.A marked man, it was only about a month ago the media speculated on how soon United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley would replace Tillerson. Two weeks ago a trial...
Peter Van Buren: Soldier Boy, for Veteran’s Day
Perhaps only ancient Sparta claimed to support its military more than the United States. From the “soldiers in uniform board first” rituals that happen only in American airports, to politics where a decision not to serve is forever held against a...
