National Security

An unarmed Trident II D5 missile is test-launched

Who Benefits Most From a Bloated Pentagon Budget? The Weapons Industry. Who Benefits Most From a Bloated Pentagon Budget? The Weapons Industry.

The Pentagon’s long-awaited National Defense Strategy, released late last year, is an object lesson in how not to make choices among competing priorities. 

Jan 20, 2023 / William D. Hartung

Hagel speaks with Afghanistan troops

When It Comes to the US Military, Nothing Succeeds Like Failure When It Comes to the US Military, Nothing Succeeds Like Failure

Constant warfare and preparations for more of it overseas have led only to costly defeats, and the budget just keeps getting bigger.

Jan 19, 2023 / William Astore

Merrick Garland at press conference

Why Biden and Trump Are Both Trapped in Secret-Document Scandals Why Biden and Trump Are Both Trapped in Secret-Document Scandals

The real problem is the national security state’s love of classification.

Jan 17, 2023 / Jeet Heer

The United States’ Global Power Is Fading Fast

The United States’ Global Power Is Fading Fast The United States’ Global Power Is Fading Fast

Becoming a primarily regional power is actually an opportunity to fundamentally reconsider relations with our home region, North America.

Jan 12, 2023 / Alfred McCoy

The United States Thinks It’s the Exception to the Rules of War

The United States Thinks It’s the Exception to the Rules of War The United States Thinks It’s the Exception to the Rules of War

Unlike the rest of the world, we have “Constitutional rights,” which apparently include the right to commit war crimes with impunity.

Jan 10, 2023 / Rebecca Gordon

Filipina senator and human rights campaigner Leila de Lima waves after her hearing in Manila.

The Continuing Imprisonment of Leila de Lima Is an International Scandal The Continuing Imprisonment of Leila de Lima Is an International Scandal

Her incarceration for having the temerity to investigate former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is a stain on the reputation of the new Marcos administration.

Jan 4, 2023 / Walden Bello

How the GOP Learned to Hate the FBI

How the GOP Learned to Hate the FBI How the GOP Learned to Hate the FBI

And why it matters that Democrats and Republicans have switched positions on the national security state.

Dec 30, 2022 / Jeet Heer

B-52 releases MOP

Defense Contractors Are Escorting Us Down the Path to Armageddon Defense Contractors Are Escorting Us Down the Path to Armageddon

It’s hard to think of a system more filthy or rotten than one that threatens to destroy most life on our planet, so that this country could in some fashion “win” World War III.

Dec 19, 2022 / William Astore

Salvadore Allende addressing UN

Salvador Allende Still Speaks to Us Today Salvador Allende Still Speaks to Us Today

Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Spanish Prime Minster Pedro Sanchez both find themselves besieged by a virulent resurgence of the same right-wing movements that demolished demo...

Dec 2, 2022 / Ariel Dorfman

Donald Trump and John Kelly

The Terrorism We Sought Abroad Has Come Home The Terrorism We Sought Abroad Has Come Home

Of the approximately 450 politically motivated violent attacks that took place on our soil in the past decade, the majority were perpetrated by homegrown far-right extremists.

Nov 28, 2022 / Andrea Mazzarino

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