Tag: David Swanson

The Day When War Was Outlawed

When George W. Bush launched an aggressive war on Iraq in 2003, he was violating a host of treaties and international laws, though he would face no accountability. One violated law was a U.S.-sponsored treaty, signed in 1928, that renounced war as…

Waking Up to Iran’s Real History

From the Archive: An Oscar frontrunner for best picture is “Argo,” depicting a little-known chapter of the U.S-Iran hostage standoff in 1979-81. Yet, while focusing on this story of six hostages escaping, “Argo” missed bigger dramas, before and after, as…

Debating Colin Powell’s Guilt

Updated: A decade ago, President George W. Bush launched an unprovoked invasion of Iraq and probably no one person could have stopped him. But one who might have given Bush pause was Colin Powell, who instead joined the war chorus,…

Waking Up to Iran’s Real History

Americans have a deeply distorted understanding of Iran and what has driven that country’s political change over the past six decades. This false history has become the backdrop for a possible new war, as David Swanson notes in reviewing a…

Swanson Critiques Parry’s New Book

Robert Parry’s new book, America’s Stolen Narrative, details how Republican treason became normalized through the actions of Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and others, but it lets the Democrats off too easily, writes David Swanson at warisacrime.org.

Telling an Untold US History

Over the decades, the U.S. has grown into a place of myth and outright lies rather than empiricism and reliable history. In a new book and TV series, director Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick challenge the faux reality, says…

Journey of an Israeli General’s Son

The Israeli-Palestinian crisis is one of the world’s most troublesome conflicts, especially since it has been exploited by extremists on both sides to justify a range of violent actions far and wide. A book by the son of an Israeli…

The ‘Drone War’ Expands

Military technology continues to spill over into domestic law enforcement as unmanned drones used to hunt down and kill suspected “militants” abroad are now touted as the latest tool for monitoring Americans, a development that has drawn scant attention, writes…

The Value of Bradley Manning

Pvt. Bradley Manning faces possible life imprisonment for opening up windows into the unsavory actions of the U.S. government and many allies around the world. A valuable new book examines what turned the 24-year-old into one of history’s great whistleblowers,…

Assessing Obama’s ‘Peace’ Moves

Exclusive: American neocons are accusing President Barack Obama of “losing” Iraq with his final troop withdrawal and some anti-war activists are encouraged by his possible strategy shift away from combat in Afghanistan. So, is there a sea change underway in…