Peace and Security
The CIA Is an Ethics-Free Zone
I joined the CIA in January 1990. The CIA was vastly different back then from the agency that emerged in the days after the 9/11 attacks. And it was a far cry from the flawed and confused organization it is today. One reason for those flaws — and for the convulsions...
Going to Syria in a Handbasket
How Rabid Extremists Exiled a 14-Year-Old
Our country's pack of foam-at-the-mouth, mad-dog, right-wing extremists just scored another win. For weeks, a crazed pack of these howlers had stalked, snarled, and snapped at a 14-year-old boy from Texas. Why was he under such a furious assault? Because his name is...
Hillary Clinton Hasn’t Learned a Thing from Iraq
As the first Democratic presidential debate drew to a close, moderator Anderson Cooper posed a question to Hillary Clinton: How might her presidency differ from Barack Obama's? Clinton smiled. “Well, I think it's pretty obvious,” she replied to rapturous applause....
Noexitistan
Another Day, Another Massacre
Yes, it’s happened again. A man with a legally acquired arsenal walked onto a college campus. Moments later, 10 people were dead, and nearly as many wounded. Sick to your stomach? Of course you are. Surprised? Didn’t think so. Like Aurora, Newtown, and a lengthy list...
Will the Carnage Ever Cease?
I’ve written at least 75 columns on gun control over the years. It might have been as many as 100. Every time some demented loser would haul a gun — usually some sort of automatic — into a public place and lay waste around him (it’s always a him), I would get on my...
Two Sides of the Gunslinging Crisis
Pope Francis and the Pain of Prisoners
During his historic U.S. visit, Pope Francis made headlines for speaking truth to power at the United Nations and the Capitol. But the “people’s pope” also addressed the powerless. Everywhere he went, he called on Americans to treat our undocumented immigrants better....
Mending Our Welcome Mat
My great grandmother Rose was just 10 when she traveled to the United States with her family. They fled from Poland to England, took a boat to Canada, and crossed the border. The trip was long, but not nearly as treacherous as the journey many refugees are taking...
