Peace and Security
Closing the Door on Torture
After I blew the whistle on the CIA’s torture program in 2007, the fallout for me was brutal. To make a long story short, I served nearly two years in federal prison and then endured a few more months of house arrest. What happened to the torture program? Nothing....
Nonviolence for Whom?
Ferguson. New York. Baltimore. As cities erupt after decades of oppression and violence at the hands of police, calls for nonviolence can be deafening. "Violence isn’t the answer," the moralists chide when protesters throw rocks and clash with police. They're right....
Baltimore’s Tolerance Double Standard
Loaded Language
I couldn’t find a hotel room in Nashville when I visited for my brother’s wedding. Maybe that was for the best. I had a longer commute to the clearing in the woods where the wedding would happen the next day, but at least I kept a safe distance from the NRA’s...
Footing the Bill While Israel Thumbs Its Nose
It's tax season again. How about a little accounting? Every year, Washington sends $3.1 billion of taxpayers’ hard-earned money to Israel. It’s only fair to ask what Americans are getting in return. That seems especially appropriate now. Israeli Prime Minister...
Diplomacy Defeats War for a Change
With their groundbreaking agreement over Iran's nuclear enrichment program, negotiators in Lausanne, Switzerland scored a major victory for diplomacy over war. Both sides made major concessions. But Iran's concessions are far greater. Tehran agreed to severe cuts in...
Bumps in the Road
Risky War Business
From the Islamic State to the streets of Paris, Americans get bombarded daily with fresh reminders of conflicts around the world. What's harder to figure out is what to do about it. What would actually make us safer? Some politicians urge knee-jerk reactions. Spend...
Mortgaging the Pentagon
Say you really want a sports car, a vacation, a big new house, or some other fancy thing you can’t really afford. You know that if you buy it, you’ll bust your budget. It would mean a ramen noodle diet and a threadbare closet from now to eternity for you and your...
The Bibi-GOP Clown Show
That Bibi is such a piece of work. On March 3, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walked into our Capitol as though he owned the place, stuck a thumb in President Barack Obama’s eye, and walked out to multitudes of cheering Republicans. Is that a mensch or...
