The shooting in the first world war finally ended 100 years ago November 11. But did the war ever really end? Was anything resolved? So much of today’s world, from the mess of the Middle East to the power of

Bombing a school bus that killed 44 children in Yemen was almost two months ago! We Americans have had so many other distractions since then. But the marriage of commerce and war continues largely unnoticed. The military contractors learned that

With near consensus from both sides of the aisle, congress just rubber-stamped a nearly three quarters of a trillion dollar spending plan for defense contractors. There is no limit on what we will spend on weapons, according to today’s guest

If we’re spending billions on a defense system that actually makes us more vulnerable,maybe it’s time to reconsider. According to today’s guest Foreign Policy in Focus columnist Conn Hallinan, NATO has gone from serving as a bulwark against the Soviet

Donald Trump won a lot of support from conservative Americans who agreed our endless wars are nothing but a big waste. Of course he flipped positions since then but renowned professor Andrew Bacevich observes that there is still anger at

Is it treasonous to urge resistance to a war once America is in it? Most Americans opposed our entry into the First World War but once Wilson sent our men, some argued it was no longer OK to urge resistance.

We all hate it when other countries meddle with our elections. Yet we do it more than any other. And it never works. From Iran in 1953 to Iraq in 2003, the US has employed a policy of regime change.

The mainstream left of Europe has largely collapsed. Their national economies are trapped by the European Union. The eloquent English speaking Emmanuel Macron, president of France for just a year, on his April trip to Washington, displayed a public “bromance”

It’s the same only worse. Much worse. While the Trump/Ryan tax law won’t really hit until next April, there is no question the beneficiaries are those at the very top of the wealth pyramid. Regular income earners will be subsidizing

He’s brought back hostages from North Korea, Cuba,Iraq  and Sudan. He was governor of New Mexico, US ambassador the UN. He won my vote for president in 2008. Bill Richardson’s record is exceedingly impressive. On the first half, Governor Richardson

Americans are just beginning to learn about our deadly role for the Saudi war in Yemen. For many decades and many presidents, the Saudi royal family has held great sway in Washington. Today the famine and cholera outbreak in Yemen,

Because of factors beyond his control, Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong-Un may actually succeed. The new leadership of China, and especially of South Korea, have much to gain from fostering a real peace between North and South. And despite the

We don’t even know we’re being kept in the dark. America’s wars are everywhere. With the mainstream news focus on all Trump all the time, major stories affecting us all get virtually no attention. Did you know, for example, that

The military brass sees new wars as a way to finally do what we should have done in Vietnam, and that is: Win. Guest on this show is Major Danny Sjursen, a U.S. Army strategist and former history instructor at

Since September 11, American citizens have yearned for safety and security from further attacks. But instead of reducing violence and terrorism, there’s no question our policy has been very effective at sowing chaos everywhere. Our policies actually serve to recruit

What actually works to make us safer? Much of recent military policy has actually worked to strengthen our 21st century enemies. Why is it that the defense industry is so effective at convincing members of both parties that we really

What works to shore up America’s strength in the world: pure military domination or using a Roosevelt idea: The Four Freedoms, including freedom from want? In this 2012 discussion with Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow David Woolner, then-candidates Obama and Romney

A group of families of  Americans killed in Iraq have filed a lawsuit against many big pharmaceutical companies who allegedly paid bribes to Mahdi forces who killed family members. USA Today correspondent Aamer Madhani investigated and reports  that the Iraqi

It’s true. Former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson explains that our tax dollars are giving a big boost to our enemies Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula. While the news media focuses

The Madrid government is pulling out the stops to crush a referendum on independence for Catalonia, now a region of Spain. The national police have ripped down posters, detained over 700 mayors, shut down printing presses, attacked the website of

It’s what our guest, Vietnam historian Jerry Lembcke argues is a false balancing, leaving things where they were before we started watching it. America’s war in Vietnam was not as Ken Burns claims: begun in good faith by decent people.

Fire and fury. Crazy Kim Jong Un. Crazy Trump. Mutual threats of mass destruction. Is there a way out? Of course. Korea scholar Tim Shorrock writes in The Nation that not only did Obama make the situation worse, but that

Our most reliable allies in Western Europe are the ones most hurt by the new sanctions passed by congress and supported by the president. Europe depends on pipelines from Russia for their energy. Under the new law, any company doing

No side won, America lost. The so-called civil war (a civil war is a fight to take over the government; this was not) was America’s biggest failure, started by radical evangelicals on both sides. Lincoln was not the president of

In the 21st century, it seems every new war is a “humanitarian intervention.” Our guest on this show, Jim Kavanagh of Counterpunch defines that as just more “missionary imperialism.” As the US quickly ramps up its war against the government

He published The Realist from 1958-2001. A magazine of satire that afflicted the powers that were. Paul Krassner along with Abbie Hoffman launched the Yippies to inspire young people in the late 60s, mixing rock and roll with politics. And

Who better than a military person to talk about the dangers of what he sees as a worship of all things military? Major Danny Sjursen commanded troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and here talks about his deep concern about military,

What can winning look like if the nation is decimated in the process? Sara Tesorieri speaks to us from Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, where she is working with the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide desperately needed humanitarian aid. The

Tax breaks for capital gains are a form of class privilege. So says history of US capitalism professor Julia Ott. It’s better public relations for Southern senators than outright Jim Crow, but taxing capital gains less than ordinary income was

Behind the simple image of two madmen facing off with nuclear weapons, there’s a lot more to the North Korea story we don’t know. For example, who knew that more bombs were dropped there in the early 50s than in