Imperial Hubris

O’Donnell: Napalm is America’s ‘cheapest weapon of mass destruction’

"He begins with its invention at Harvard in 1942 and documenting its usage in World War II and Vietnam, before moving on to the more significant issue: the 'inhumane' ways in which napalm can kill. 'Napalm attaches to human flesh in a way that’s impossible to remove,' he said. But 'it kills in other ways too. You can be untouched by [a 100 pound napalm bomb] and be killed by a heat stroke. You can be killed by suffocation. You can be killed by breathing in carbon monoxide poisoning. You can be killed by dehydration.' 'Napalm was an ‘instant hit’ in World War II,' he continued. 'It was our cheapest weapon of mass destruction. Each bomb was made of plastic, held 100 gallons of napalm and cost $40.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingO’Donnell: Napalm is America’s ‘cheapest weapon of mass destruction’

10 Chemical Weapons Attacks Washington Doesn’t Want You to Talk About

"Washington doesn't merely lack the legal authority for a military intervention in Syria. It lacks the moral authority. We're talking about a government with a history of using chemical weapons against innocent people far more prolific and deadly than the mere accusations Assad faces from a trigger-happy Western military-industrial complex, bent on stifling further investigation before striking. Here is a list of 10 chemical weapons attacks carried out by the U.S. government or its allies against civilians." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 Chemical Weapons Attacks Washington Doesn’t Want You to Talk About

Obama: Our ideals and principles, national security at stake in Syria

"Obama repeated his pledge that a prospective U.S. attack on his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad’s forces would not draw American troops into a ground-based conflict. 'The United States military doesn’t do pinpricks,' Obama said. 'Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver.' 'To my friends on the right, I ask you to reconcile your commitment to America’s military might with a failure to act when a cause is so plainly just,' Obama urged. 'To my friends on the left, I ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people with those images of children writhing in pain and going still on a cold hospital floor.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama: Our ideals and principles, national security at stake in Syria

What Do Americans Know That Their Government Doesn’t Know?

"Since morality and social order cannot be imposed by foreign attacks and aggressive wars to alter governments and entire societies, what these American intrusions have caused is death and destruction in one country after another, plus hatred and revenge visited upon the invaders. What Americans now recognize, if only by gut instinct, is that the war policy has backfired. The global war on terror has backfired. Interventionism has backfired. America has done wrong, morally and pragmatically. Americans are coming to recognize this while their leaders are still caught up in their false notions that power and their power in particular can remake the world for the better." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Do Americans Know That Their Government Doesn’t Know?

Patrick Buchanan: America Says ‘No!’ to a Beltway War

"How many Syrians should we kill to restore the credibility of Barack Obama? How many Syrians should we kill to impress upon Iran how resolute we are? How many Syrians should we kill to reassure nervous allies that Uncle Sam will forever come fight their wars for them? In America, before we put a man to death, we prove him guilty of murder 'beyond a reasonable doubt.' Should we not set as high a standard of proof before we kill a thousand Syrians and plunge the United States into another war?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPatrick Buchanan: America Says ‘No!’ to a Beltway War

Scheuer: Ten questions worth pondering on Obama, Syria, and Interventionism

"Question: Is it justifiable for America to go to war in Syria to get President Obama out of the box he created for himself by talking about a 'red line' in the Syrian civil war, a conflict in which no genuine U.S. national interests are at risk? Answer: No. Obama’s inexperience in foreign affairs and his seeming personal arrogance got him — and America — into this mess, and so little a man is he that he now refuses to accept responsibility for foolishly drawing the red line, instead blaming it on 'the world.' Let him swing. Question: Will America’s credibility as a great military power be denigrated if it does not attack Syria? Answer: No. We have already lost most of that credibility [..]" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScheuer: Ten questions worth pondering on Obama, Syria, and Interventionism

Is the U.S. Producing Democracies?

"There is a political science literature whose research indicates that economic development fosters democratic government, as opposed to dictatorships and autocracies. This is not to say that democracies are an end to be sought, because they in turn stifle economic development. But it is to say that the U.S. and NATO policy of tearing down dictatorships does not achieve the oft-advertised aim of producing democracies. This is especially true when the means is a devastating war that destroys physical, cultural, social and human capital. Recent evidence for this includes countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs the U.S. Producing Democracies?

Chinese versus US Arms Transfers to Autocrats and Violators of Human Rights

"An academic article by Paul Midford and Indra de Soysa examines which government supports more autocratic regimes and sends arms into civil wars, China or the U.S. They find that the U.S. does." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese versus US Arms Transfers to Autocrats and Violators of Human Rights

How To Lose a War Before Even Starting It

"Events in Syria are of marginal importance to us, and on the edge of our ability to influence. Since the civil war in Syria is a major focus of the world-wide, longstanding struggle between Islam’s Sunni and Shia factions, what will happen there will be determined by Syrians and their neighbors regardless of what the US government does or does not do. The Syrian civil war’s importance to us, however, may well be that it is reminding us of how we should deal with matters of war and peace, namely: concretely, logically, un-emotionally, jealously matching the ends we seek with the means we are willing to use. American statesmen have not done that consistently for a century." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow To Lose a War Before Even Starting It

Syrian President Bashar al Assad – Charlie Rose Interview 9/9/2013

"PBS' Charlie Rose interviews Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, September 9, at 9 p.m. in a special presentation of CHARLIE ROSE. In this global television exclusive, Assad gives his only television interview since President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve the use of force against the Syrian regime for alleged use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyrian President Bashar al Assad – Charlie Rose Interview 9/9/2013