Covert Ops

US Troops Afghanistan

The Pentagon’s New Base Plan Will Achieve the Exact Opposite of Its Goal The Pentagon’s New Base Plan Will Achieve the Exact Opposite of Its Goal

We’re building bases to prevent terrorism, but local terror groups are recruiting in reaction to our bases.

Jan 14, 2016 / David Vine

December 13, 2003: Saddam Hussein Is Captured

December 13, 2003: Saddam Hussein Is Captured December 13, 2003: Saddam Hussein Is Captured

“Neither the overthrow of the Baathist regime nor Saddam’s capture can erase the fact that Washington helped prop up Saddam for years.”

Dec 13, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

Washington to Whomever: Please Fight the Islamic State for Us

Washington to Whomever: Please Fight the Islamic State for Us Washington to Whomever: Please Fight the Islamic State for Us

Why the Gulf states, the Kurds, the Turks, the Sunnis, and the Shia won’t fight America’s war.

Dec 10, 2015 / Peter Van Buren

Ben Carson Isn’t the Only US Politician With a Hand in Shady Latin American Dealings

Ben Carson Isn’t the Only US Politician With a Hand in Shady Latin American Dealings Ben Carson Isn’t the Only US Politician With a Hand in Shady Latin American Dealings

Duane Clarridge’s Iran/Contra history is horrifying—but it’s no worse than Hillary Clinton’s record in Colombia.

Nov 25, 2015 / Greg Grandin

US Special Forces in Africa

The US Military’s Best-Kept Secret The US Military’s Best-Kept Secret

For years, American military expansion in Africa has gone largely unnoticed, thanks to a deliberate effort to keep the public in the shadows.

Nov 17, 2015 / Nick Turse

Flowers after shooting in Paris

Is It Wrong to Mourn Paris More Deeply Than Beirut? Is It Wrong to Mourn Paris More Deeply Than Beirut?

Paris was a wake-up call for Westerners—a reminder that we usually have the luxury to ignore the costs of war, even as our governments inflict them on foreigners.

Nov 16, 2015 / Jeanne Kay

November 3, 1986: The Iran/Contra Weapons-for-Hostages Deal Is Exposed

November 3, 1986: The Iran/Contra Weapons-for-Hostages Deal Is Exposed November 3, 1986: The Iran/Contra Weapons-for-Hostages Deal Is Exposed

“The arms deal did not take place on the margins of policy but at its very heart.”

Nov 3, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

US Special Forces in Niger

American Special Operations Forces Have a Very Funny Definition of Success American Special Operations Forces Have a Very Funny Definition of Success

US Special Operations forces have deployed to 147 countries this year. To what end, exactly?

Oct 26, 2015 / Nick Turse

US Engagement in the Middle East Is Riskier Than Ever

US Engagement in the Middle East Is Riskier Than Ever US Engagement in the Middle East Is Riskier Than Ever

Twelve years after the invasion of Iraq, the US presses onward in a region where it has few clear goals. What could go wrong?

Oct 22, 2015 / Peter Van Buren

These Irish Antiwar Protesters Are Sick of Having the US Military in Their Country

These Irish Antiwar Protesters Are Sick of Having the US Military in Their Country These Irish Antiwar Protesters Are Sick of Having the US Military in Their Country

The influx of Syrian refugees into Europe has reinvigorated Ireland’s debate on its involvement with the war on terror.

Oct 20, 2015 / Danielle Ryan

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