Peace and Security
Some Good News from the Middle East
There's not much good news coming out of the Middle East these days. But one reason to take heart is the progress of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West. Even as new conflicts sprout up elsewhere, a three-decade standoff between Tehran and Washington could...
When Your Armed Neighbor Comes Knocking
A North Carolina grand jury has indicted an atheist with a history of virulently anti-religious statements in the murder of three Muslim American students in Chapel Hill — a young couple and the wife’s sister. The victims’ family and friends say the killings were the...
Caught in the Crosshairs
Who’s the Boss?
Here’s a quiz: Your boss gives you a budget. You ignore it and ask for more money than anyone in your position has ever spent. How long would you expect to keep your job? That’s basically the scenario that played out with the Obama administration’s recent budget...
Will the Real ‘Low-Life Scum’ Please Stand Up?
As you may have heard, security guards recently tossed me and my fellow activists out of a Senate hearing where former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was about to testify. It became a hot story when Senator John McCain denounced us as "low-life scum." Why was...
Torture Doesn’t Save Lives, It Costs Them
Thanks to the Senate’s report on CIA torture, Americans should now realize that there was nothing “enhanced” about the Bush administration's so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques." These tactics were more than just cruel and degrading — they were also harmful....
Doubling Down on Dictatorship in the Middle East
For a moment, four years ago, it seemed that dictators in the Middle East would soon be a thing of the past. Back then, it looked like the United States would have to make good on its declared support for democracy, as millions of Tunisians, Egyptians, Bahrainis,...
End the Cuban Embargo for Good
What did President Barack Obama mean when he declared that Washington will normalize relations with Cuba? Will they become the same as U.S. relations with any other country? Will all Americans be free to travel there? To do business with Cuba? Or will the strict...
The Torture Question
The Spooks Are Haunted
The spooks are spooked. Not by anything that foreign enemies might do to America — but by what our CIA and its political overseers did to America. By "America," I mean the essence of our country: our ideals and the moral values we hold up as a beacon to the world....
