Pentagon

By Andrew Bell | – As a veteran, I was astonished by the recent news that President Trump may be considering pardons for U.S. military members accused or convicted of war crimes. But as a scholar who studies the U.S. military and combat ethics, I understand even more clearly the harmful long-term impact such pardons […]

Pentagon

Our ~8,000 Military Dead in US Mideast Wars: ‘Words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain’

Andrew J. Bacevich

(Tomdispatch.com) – Earlier this month, I spent a day visiting Marseilles to videotape a documentary about recent American military history, specifically the ongoing wars that most of us prefer not to think about. Lest there be any confusion, let me be more specific. I am not referring to Marseilles (mar-SAY), France, that nation’s largest port […]

Pentagon

Boondoggle, Inc.: Making Sense of the $1.25 Trillion National Security State Budget

William D. Hartung

By William D. Hartung and Mandy Smithberger | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – In its latest budget request, the Trump administration is asking for a near-record $750 billion for the Pentagon and related defense activities, an astonishing figure by any measure. If passed by Congress, it will, in fact, be one of the largest military […]

Pentagon

Top 6 Ways to Curb America’s Skyrocketing Military Tab

William J. Astore

(Tomdispatch.com) – Donald Trump is a con man. Think of Trump University or a juicy Trump steak or can’t-lose casinos (that never won). But as president, one crew he hasn’t conned is the Pentagon. Quite the opposite, they’ve conned him because they’ve been at the game a lot longer and lie (in Trump-speak) in far […]

Pentagon

Will Technology Make America’s Forever Wars Permanent?

Tomdispatch

By Allegra Harpootlian and Emily Manna | – (Tomdispatch.com) – Here’s a question worth asking about America’s seemingly endless global conflicts: if you kill somebody and there’s no one there (on our side anyway), is the United States still at war? That may prove to be the truly salient question when it comes to the […]

Pentagon

One Hell of a Hangover: All the American Wars We haven’t remembered Fighting that are Still going On

Tom Engelhardt

(Tomdispatch.com ) – Here’s a statement it might be hard to disagree with: American war is off the charts. Still, I’d like to explain — but I’m nervous about doing so. I know perfectly well that the next word I plan to write will send most of you tumbling elsewhere in a universe in which […]

Pentagon

Goodbye to All That: The Forever Wars Go on Without Me

Danny Sjursen

By Danny Sjursen | – “Patriotism, in the trenches, was too remote a sentiment, and at once rejected as fit only for civilians, or prisoners.” — Robert Graves, Goodbye To All That (1929). (Tomdispatch.com) – I’m one of the lucky ones. Leaving the madness of Army life with a modest pension and all of my […]

Pentagon

No Exit: America’s Senior Generals and the Trap of Infinity Wars

William J. Astore

(Tomdispatch.com) – “Veni, Vidi, Vici,” boasted Julius Caesar, one of history’s great military captains. “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed that famed saying when summing up the Obama administration’s military intervention in Libya in 2011 — with a small alteration. “We came, we saw, he died,” she said with […]

Donald Trump

A Well-Regulated Militia in the Hands of an Out-of-Control President: Is Nat’l Guard his Toy?

Rebecca Gordon

(Tomdispatch.com) – A young friend is seriously considering joining her state’s National Guard. She’s a world-class athlete, but also a working-class woman from a rural background competing in a rich person’s sport. Between seasons, she works for a local farm and auctioneer to put together the money for equipment and travel. Each season, raising the […]