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William J. Astore

Russia
The New Cold War and the “Arsenal of Democracy”

The New Cold War and the “Arsenal of Democracy”

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In certain quarters in this country, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has generated enthusiasm for a new cold war. At the New York Times, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have been described as “children of the [old] Cold War” now involved in a “face off,” an “eyeball to eyeball” confrontation harkening […]

Cold War
America’s Disastrous 60-Year War: Three Generations of Conspicuous Destruction by the Military-Industrial Complex

America’s Disastrous 60-Year War: Three Generations of Conspicuous Destruction by the Military-Industrial Complex

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In my lifetime of nearly 60 years, America has waged five major wars, winning one decisively, then throwing that victory away, while losing the other four disastrously. Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as well as the Global War on Terror, were the losses, of course; the Cold War being the solitary win […]

nuclear weapons
Only Fools Replay Doomsday: The Cold War, Reborn and Resurgent

Only Fools Replay Doomsday: The Cold War, Reborn and Resurgent

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In the early 1960s, at the height of America’s original Cold War with the Soviet Union, my old service branch, the Air Force, sought to build 10,000 land-based nuclear missiles. These were intended to augment the hundreds of nuclear bombers it already had, like the B-52s featured so memorably in the […]

Afghanistan
The Pentagon lost the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, so why are we upping its Funding to $778 billion?

The Pentagon lost the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, so why are we upping its Funding to $778 billion?

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Where are you going to get the money? That question haunts congressional proposals to help the poor, the unhoused, and those struggling to pay the mortgage or rent or medical bills, among so many other critical domestic matters. And yet — big surprise! — there’s always plenty of money for the […]

Militarization
The Pentagon as Penta-god: America’s Abyss of Weapons and Warmaking

The Pentagon as Penta-god: America’s Abyss of Weapons and Warmaking

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com) – Who is America’s god? The Christian god of the beatitudes, the one who healed the sick, helped the poor, and preached love of neighbor? Not in these (dis)United States. In the Pledge of Allegiance, we speak proudly of One Nation under God, but in the aggregate, this country doesn’t serve or worship […]

Afghanistan
Can We Finally Give Peace A Chance?  The U.S. Military, Post-Afghanistan

Can We Finally Give Peace A Chance? The U.S. Military, Post-Afghanistan

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com) – Yoda, the Jedi Master in the Star Wars films, once pointed out that the future is all too difficult to see and it’s hard to deny his insight. Yet I’d argue that, when it comes to the U.S. military and its wars, Yoda was just plain wrong. That part of the future […]

Militarization
From Arsenal of Democracy to Arsenal of Empire: Let’s Abandon Ruinous Foreign Wars for Actual Self-Defense

From Arsenal of Democracy to Arsenal of Empire: Let’s Abandon Ruinous Foreign Wars for Actual Self-Defense

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com) – As a ROTC cadet and an Air Force officer, I was a tiny part of America’s vast Department of Defense (DoD) for 24 years until I retired and returned to civilian life as a history professor. My time in the military ran from the election of Ronald Reagan to the reign of […]

Militarization
The other Big Lie undermining Democracy: Why our Recent Wars Began, and how Badly they were Bungled

The other Big Lie undermining Democracy: Why our Recent Wars Began, and how Badly they were Bungled

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com) – Americans may already be lying themselves out of what little remains of their democracy. The big lie uniting and motivating today’s Republicans is, of course, that Donald Trump, not Joe Biden, won the 2020 presidential election. Other big lies in our recent past include the notion that climate change is nothing but […]

Militarization
Endless War Is A Feature of Our National Programming: On Pulling the Plug on the War Machine

Endless War Is A Feature of Our National Programming: On Pulling the Plug on the War Machine

William J. Astore

By William Astore | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – I know, I know: President Joe Biden has announced that our combat troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by 9/11 of this year, marking the 20th anniversary of the colossal failure of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to defend America. Of course, that other 9/11 […]

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