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The conceit that America is "the indispensable nation" has been a core assumption of US policymakers for at least the last thirty years. The idea of American indispensability has served as an excuse for the US to interfere in many other countries' internal affairs and to wage illegal wars in the name of "maintaining" international order. As then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright infamously put it, "But if we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future, and we see the danger here to all of us." This sums up so many of the pathologies of US foreign policy all at once: arrogant presumption that our government knows best and sees "further" into the future, belief that the US use of force is necessary and something that is forced upon it, and the myth that US interventionism protects the world from danger. Indispensability has served as a ready-made justification for militarism and an impediment to reducing US commitments abroad. If we would have a more peaceful and less ambitious foreign policy, we will have to dispense with this belief in America's indispensable role. |
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Israeli military officials continued their threats against Iran Tuesday, warning that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are "accelerating" plans to attack the Islamic Republic since the new budget was passed. Last month, the Israeli government reportedly approved a $1.5 billion boost to the military budget that will go towards preparing to attack Iran. Last week, Israel's parliament approved a national budget, the first one passed in over three years, securing the election victory of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi said Tuesday that the IDF is "accelerating operational planning and preparedness to deal with Iran" and its nuclear program. "Thankfully, the budget that was approved makes it possible to contend with a variety of threats," he said. |
The risk of an accident between the militaries of the US and China is growing as Washington is increasing its presence in the South China Sea and other waters in the region, The South China Morning Post reported Friday. The Post quoted Wu Shicun, who heads the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, and is concerned that the current mechanism between the US and China for crisis management "might not be effective in critical moments." Wu pointed to a near-miss in 2018 between a US destroyer and a Chinese destroyer. The vessels passed within 41 meters (134 feet) of each other in the South China Sea. "Sailing within 41 meters is very dangerous. It is not that we do not have rules, but that the rules are not followed through in [a] critical moment. This is where the risk lies," he said. |
| In 2006, Newsweek dubbed him "a rising star" and one of the Jedi knights who are fighting in what [Vice President] Cheney calls 'the shadows.'" The particular Jedi knight being touted to the skies was Army General Stanley McChrystal, then running the Pentagon's super-secret Joint Special Operations Command. And such language only multiplied, when, in 2009, he was put in charge of the Obama administration's "surge" in Afghanistan, which would reach 100,000 U.S. troops. How could you blame the reporters, since they were, after all, in love. No wonder they wrote about McChrystal and other leading U.S. military commanders in what I described at the time as a "mix of sports lingo, Hollywood-ese, and plain hyperbole." (Admittedly, McChrystal would soon have to resign his Afghan command after he and his fellow officers were quoted in Rolling Stone saying none-too-kind things about then-Vice President Joe Biden and other Obama administration officials.) |
During the past three weeks, some unexpected government events occurred, exposing more government crimes and lies. In the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice claimed that while the government knows about torture during the presidency of George W. Bush, nevertheless, because the U.S. is still at war, it can refuse to provide documentation of the torture to Polish prosecutors who are trying Polish intelligence agents for torture committed in Poland at the direction of the CIA. The DOJ told the court the US is still fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The government not only tortures and kills, but it also lies laughably to federal judges. |
Antiwar activists on Thursday accused the Biden administration of throwing fuel on the flames of the Saudi-led war in Yemen after the US State Department notified Congress it approved a new $650 million missile sale to the repressive Middle Eastern monarchy. Defense News reports the Pentagon said the Saudi government requested to purchase 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and 596 LAU-128 missile rail launchers in a deal that would also include spare parts, support, and logistical services. The missiles would be fitted to Saudi warplanes including Eurofighter Typhoons and McDonnell-Douglas F-15s. |
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