Putin’s attempt at “shock and awe” in Syria has all the hallmarks of failed U.S. interventions of the past
Is Putin Really as Foolish as We Are?
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Vietnam War
The Star Trek Fallacy
The impulse to “boldly go” has gotten humanity into a mess of trouble.
Will the Real ‘Low-Life Scum’ Please Stand Up?
I called Henry Kissinger a war criminal to his face. Here’s why.
The Real Reason for the VA Scandal
Delay and denial are standard operating procedures when it comes to how the government cares for vets. Here’s why.
The U.S. Is Deporting Cambodian Refugees and Orphaning Their Children
In the United States, whose bombing of Cambodia paved the way for the Khmer Rouge, many refugees now face the prospect of deportation under a draconian U.S. immigration regime.
Indonesian Mass Killings Should Have Shortened Vietnam War
In a lengthy piece for Slate, Errol Morris, the author and filmmaker, writes about a controversial new movie for which he served as an executive producer. Directed by Josh Oppenheimer, The Act of Killing is an examination of an atrocity, in this case, the 500,000 to a...
Nixon’s “Madman Theory” Was Not the Vietnam War’s Only Nuclear Weapons Test Case
Nuclear weapons vastly complicate foreign policy.
“So Many People Died”: The American System of Suffering, 1965-2014
For all the dissimilarities, botched analogies, and tortured comparisons, there has been one connecting thread between the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan that, in recent years at least, Americans have seldom found of the slightest interest: misery for local nationals. Civilian suffering is, in fact, the defining characteristic of modern war in general, even if only rarely discussed in the halls of power or the mainstream media.
Agent Orange on Okinawa: The Smoking Gun
Since 1945, the small Japanese island of Okinawa has been unwilling host to a massive U.S. military presence and a storehouse for a witches’ brew of dangerous munitions and chemicals, including nerve gas, mustard gas, and nuclear missiles. However, there is one weapon the Pentagon has always denied that it kept on Okinawa: Agent Orange. But a recently discovered U.S. army report puts lie to those denials once and for all.
A Bomb-Free Future for Laos
Almost 40 years have passed since the end of the secret U.S. bombing campaign over Laos, and U.S.-Lao relations have made impressive strides. On her trip to Laos, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should reaffirm America’s commitment to cleaning up the deadly mess it left behind.