Nearly a century ago, after four bloody years of World War I, British colonialists created the state of Iraq, complete with their hand-picked monarch. Britain and France were authorized — or, more precisely, authorized themselves — to create states in the Arab world, despite the prior British promise of independence in return for the Arabs’…

On August 7th, President Obama announced his authorization of targeted strikes over Iraq in order to quell the ongoing Islamic State offensive. Just as important are the statements his administration has made through the actions that followed. The bombs actually started to fall on Friday, announcing without words that the US government’s policy of actively managing Iraqi affairs from afar…

U.S. bombs fall on Iraq yet again, in strikes authorized by Barack Obama against the militant Islamist group Islamic State, which has taken over a chunk of the country. Between this and the deployment of US military “advisers,” the memory of Obama’s campaign criticizing war in Iraq on his way to office has grown a…

In 1915, my country said, “Son- “It’s time to stop rambling, there’s work to be done.” So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun. And they sent me away to the war. Today is ANZAC Day, the 99th anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli campaign. ANZAC was originally the…

In Crimea, truppe prive di insegne hanno occupato l’aeroporto e preso il controllo della regione. A Mosca, il parlamento russo ha autorizzato senza obiezioni l’ex colonnello del Kgb Vladimir Putin all’impiego dei militari russi in Ucraina. A Kiev, capitale dell’Ucraina, un’insurrezione che forse è genuinamente spontanea e forse no, e che forse è composta da…

Sheldon Richman discusses how Americans can help Ukrainians. David Gordon discusses Gary Chartier’s new book on John Rawls. Norman Solomon discusses the hypocrisy of senator Feinstein. Christopher Brauchl discusses the hypocrisy of senator Feinstein. Patrick Cockburn discusses the conflict between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Cesar Chelala discusses the Syrian civil war’s impact on children. Jacob…

I promised myself that I would no longer comment on what Barack Obama has to say, because it’s just not worth the time and effort. Obama’s public remarks are comprehensible only if you keep one thing in mind: he, like other politicians, thinks most people are morons. I am so appalled by what Obama said in…

The conflict in Ukraine has prompted several level-headed commentators to point out that, of all governments, the U.S. government is in no position to lecture Russia about respecting other nations’ borders. When Secretary of State John Kerry said on Meet the Press, “This is an act of aggression that is completely trumped up in terms of…

Na Crimeia, tropas uniformizadas sem identificação ocuparam aeroportos e tomaram controle da região. Em Moscou, o parlamento chapa branca russo autorizou que o ex-oficial da KGB Vladimir Putin empregasse forças militares na Ucrânia. Em Kiev, capital da Ucrânia, uma insurreição – que não se sabe ainda se é espontânea ou se é composta principalmente de nacionalistas…

In the Crimea, troops in insignia-free uniforms have seized airports and taken control of the region. In Moscow, Russia’s rubber-stamp parliament has officially authorized former KGB colonel Vladimir Putin to employ the Russian military in Ukraine. In Kiev, capital of Ukraine, an insurrection that may or may not be genuinely spontaneous and may or may…

The United States and Russia appear to have reached an agreement over the conflict in Syria. The powers have adopted a diplomatic resolution to bring Syrian chemical weapons under international control. For now, this development has calmed the rhetorical march to war as it is now unlikely to see a U.S. military strike on Syria in the…

Obama y Kerry no proponen una guerra. Usarán misiles crucero para masacrar sirios y, si no les gusta la reacción siria, podrían enviar tropas terrestres. Especuladores de la guerra como Raytheon se beneficiarán. Pero el Secretario de Estado insistirá en que no es una guerra. ¿Cuándo una guerra no es una guerra? Según John Kerry,…

En todo el mundo, la gente protesta contra la intervención de EE.UU. en Siria. Los sondeos muestran un escepticismo generalizado ante la amenazante guerra. En lugar de aumentar la seguridad de los estadounidenses, es probable que la intervención apoye a fuerzas vinculadas a al Qaida. No obstante parece inevitable que el Gobierno de EE.UU. lance…

A few days ago, US Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) recycled his familiar contention that “[w]hat enables [the United States’] war-friendly philosophy is the fact that there is no military draft to dodge.” Yoking ordinary people to the decisions of the political class, he argues, would somehow disincentivize U.S. bellicosity abroad. In tandem with Rangel’s proposal…

In the debate on Syria, progressive pundits are letting us know that do-gooders can’t be peaceniks. Recently, pro-war commentators on liberal media outlets have greatly outnumbered the doves, with MSNBC leading the way. These humanitarian interventionists understand what the most famous progressives of all time made clear, that the obligation to rescue the unfortunate comes with an obligation to…

The civil war in Syria and the implications for the United States government’s involvement is hot on the lips of most political analysts these days. The recent chemical attacks on civilians in Syria have ignited military interventionist rhetoric on the part of the Obama administration, but with an overwhelming number of people polled opposing such…

When is a war not a war? According to John Kerry, launching cruise missiles at Syria is not a war. Testifying before the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry said, “President Obama is not asking America to go to war.” Kerry’s argument seems to hinge on the idea that no American ground troops will likely…