There is nothing new under the sun, especially when it comes to our tendency toward war. Reckless and belligerent as our president is, it would be wrong to think our bellicose nature was invented in 2016. Operation Desert Storm, under Bush 41, was, to his credit, a model of broad coalition-building and narrowly defined … Continue reading We cannot bear the cost of our war culture
Iran
America needs to stop playing proxy-for-profit in Middle East
Mark Twain once quipped, “God created war so that Americans would learn geography.” I don’t believe God created war — it is an evil and entirely human enterprise — but it does seem America is bound for a costly, and utterly stupid, geography lesson in a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. For any … Continue reading America needs to stop playing proxy-for-profit in Middle East
History begs us to avoid another bloody war
We, in the United States, are not very good at learning from history. After our protracted, bloody and ultimately pointless war in Vietnam, the United States adopted the Weinberger Doctrine, designed to prevent wars not vital to our interests, and the kind of aimless blood-letting that carved more than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Memorial … Continue reading History begs us to avoid another bloody war
A gravely wrong decision
Thoughts on the travel ban and Trump v. Hawaii The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld in Trump v. Hawaii President Trump’s travel ban – many, drawing on the president’s own words, contend it is a Muslim ban. To the president’s supporters, this is an affirmation of sound national security and immigration policy. To his detractors, … Continue reading A gravely wrong decision
James R. Neal 