Why the US is no longer the Land of the Free

Even as we pass judgment on countries we consider unfree, Americans remain confident that any definition of a free nation must include their own — the land of free. Yet, in the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. The list of […]

US Canada border deal fuels concerns in Canada

Armed U.S. police officers will for the first time be allowed to operate in Canada along with the RCMP as part of far-reaching changes in Canadian-American border operations to be unveiled next week by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama. The joint action plan will also break new ground by introducing exit-entry records […]

Israel an ungrateful US ally

Robert M. Gates, the now-retired secretary of defense, got upset with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a meeting of the National Security Council Principals Committee held not long before his retirement this summer, Gates coldly laid out the many steps the administration has taken to guarantee Israel’s security — access to top- quality weapons, […]

CIA asset bodyguard killed Karzai’s brother

The bodyguard who assassinated President Hamid Karzai’s brother had been working closely with US Special Forces and the CIA before he was recruited by the Taliban, raising fears over the Islamist movement’s increasingly sophisticated intelligence apparatus which has managed to threaten the inner circles of power in Afghanistan. Sardar Mohammad, who shot Ahmed Wali Karzai […]

What TSA full body scanners, searches and patdowns are really all about

The TSA and all relevant officials tell us that they’re really for our own protection. But are they? In truth, the searches have virtually nothing to do with increased airport security. Several years ago, my four year-old daughter was pulled aside in one such screening because she happened to be the Nth person in the […]

The Very Dark Side of U.S. Military History, Part 2

Under the pioneering strategies of the CIA‘s Maj. Gen. Edward G. Lansdale, psy-war was a new spin to the old game of breaking the will of a target population. The idea was to analyze the psychological weaknesses of a people and develop “themes” that could induce actions favorable to those carrying out the operation. Following […]

So what happened to winning Afghan hearts and minds?

The U.S. has made little effort to win the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan. Why? Compare the expenditures  for military and security in Afghanistan with civilian aid expenditures such as reconstruction: Money spent on Military/Security: $365.0 billion Money spent on Afghan civilians:       8.5 billion Much of this $8.5 billion has, relative […]

Al-Qaeda Taliban threat exaggerated by the western powers

The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is the world’s leading think tank for military affairs. It represents the top echelon of defense experts, retired officers and senior military men, spanning the globe from the United States and Britain to China, Russia and India. The IISS issued an explosive report on Afghanistan that says […]

Economic insecurity at 25 year high

Insecure about your finances? You’re not alone. Economic insecurity in the U.S. is at its highest point in 25 years, according to a new report. Almost one in five Americans are estimated to be insecure in 2010, compared with less than one in eight in 1985, according to the report from the New York-based philanthropy […]

A hidden world of secrecy growing beyond control

The top-secret world created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work. These are some […]