Tag: War on Terror

Waiting to Launch Armageddon

The post-Cold War boredom among Air Force personnel assigned the task of endlessly waiting for the order to launch nuclear weapons has become a new destabilizing element in the risk of an accidental Armageddon, one that can only be addressed…

Geopolitics of the Drone

The U.S. drone program has decimated the leadership of al-Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups, but it also has alienated people and governments in countries on the front lines by killing civilians and disrupting political alliances, a complexity often missed…

Which Side of the ‘War on Terror’?

Many Americans scratched their heads at the prospect of going to war in Syria when U.S. intervention might tip the balance in favor of jihadists with links to al-Qaeda. But it would not be the first time that U.S. military…

America’s Real Sources of Insecurity

The Boston Marathon bombings have dominated U.S. news for the past week, prompting fresh calls for ignoring constitutional protections in the face of “Islamic terrorism.” But the reality is that politically motivated violence has declined in America over recent years,…

The Consensus Behind Militarism

While the U.S. media has some spirited debate over politics and social issues i.e. Fox News vs. MSNBC there remains a broad consensus about foreign adversaries whose behavior is almost always cast in the harshest light, a reality that colors how…

Breeding Anti-US Suspicions

When U.S. policymakers throw their weight around internationally, they may think their actions are justified and perhaps in a narrow sense some are but the U.S. also building up a reservoir of resentment and suspicion that hurts American interests in the long…

What Has US Militarism Wrought?

Exclusive: A half century ago, President Eisenhower warned the American people about the “unwarranted influence” of a Military-Industrial Complex, but that influence still managed to pervade U.S. politics and policies. In a new book, ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman takes…