Trump was elected president in 2016 partly because he railed against America’s wasteful wars. So, what did his advisers talk him into? A mini-surge of troops to Afghanistan. I still recall the odd news of Trump being shown photos of Afghan women in skirts...
William J. Astore on the Smearing of Tulsi Gabbard
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is a compelling choice for president in 2020. She’s principled, she’s against America’s disastrous regimen of regime-change wars, and she’s got the guts to criticize her own party for being too closely aligned with...
Thomas Paine on War and Empire
This past weekend, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the JCS, said U.S. troops would remain in Syria for another few years, ostensibly to prevent an ISIS resurgence, and that troops would also continue to fight the Afghan War for several years to come. This should have...
William J. Astore: My Dad’s Silver Dollars
My dad left me two silver dollars. They’re worth much in sentimental value (I’ll explain in a moment), but they also teach us something about how America has changed.Here’s a photo of them. Lady Liberty is on the front, an eagle is on the back.These...
William J. Astore on Edward Snowden and Turnkey Tyranny
Edward Snowden recently talked to Joe Rogan for nearly three hours. Snowden has a book out (“Permanent Record“) about his life and his decision to become a whistleblower who exposed lies and crimes by the U.S. national security state. As I watched...
Of Premature Withdrawals, Forever Wars, and the US Military
As the Trump administration prepares to deploy more U.S. troops to serve the needs of Saudi Arabia, I got to thinking about America’s forever wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. Back on August 17th, I clipped an article from the New York Times entitled...
William J. Astore on James Mattis, the General Who Couldn’t
James Mattis is making the talk show rounds, promoting his new book, “Call Sign Chaos.” Interestingly, while openly critical of President George W. Bush for being unprepared for the Iraq War, and President Barack Obama for lacking a strategy and being too...
William J. Astore on Still Not Getting the Vietnam War
I recently read an article on Rocky Bleier’s return to Vietnam, the subject of a documentary on ESPN.Rocky Bleier played on the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in the 1970s, when the Steelers were at their finest. Before that, he was drafted into the Army and...
William J. Astore on Torture USA
Five years ago, President Obama infamously said, "We tortured some folks." And no one was held accountable; indeed, as Tom Tomorrow put it in a cartoon from that time, "The only government official who went to jail for it [John Kiriakou] was the whistleblower who...
US Folly in Afghanistan and Media Complicity
On NBC News Saturday, I came across the following, revealing, headline:The U.S. is eager to end its longest war. In interview, Taliban gives little sign it’s ready to change.Aha! The US military is allegedly seeking an end to its Afghan war, but it’s being...


