John Bolton, the Washington Post and the Death of Arms Control

Arms control and disarmament are on life support, and John Bolton and the Washington Post have predictably come along to try to prevent any resuscitation.  The Post masthead daily proclaims that “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” but the paper fails to recognize that there are seminal issues that affect the interests of democratic regimes.  Arms control is one of these…

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Revisiting “Seven Days in May”

One of the occupational hazards of a 24-year career as an intelligence analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency is the tendency to anticipate the dark side. Whenever I see a floral arrangement, for example, I expect there to be a corpse nearby. Now if I were still an intelligence analyst at the CIA and watching events in a Third World democracy that resemble the goings on taking place in the United States of America, I would be deeply concerned.

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Biden’s Wretched Inheritance

The four-year circus will soon leave town, and the clean-up effort will take at least a decade. The three rings of Trump’s circus—his White House, his do-nothing Senate, and his politicized judiciary—have contaminated governance, and given the Biden administration the worst political inheritance in U.S. history both at home and abroad.

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Trump’s Weaponization of the National Security State

Trump has used most of the past four years to enforce Steve Bannon’s “deconstruction of the administrative state,” and most of the past several months to politicize and weaponize the key departments of the national security state. He has manipulated the Department of Justice; the Department of Defense; the Department of Homeland Security; the Department of State, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and the Central Intelligence Agency in unprecedented ways.

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Recent News and Latest Book

Iran and the US Say Enough, Will Israel Go Along?

The emphasis now should be on a cease fire in Gaza; release of the hostages; a surge of humanitarian assistance to Gaza; and talks with Iran that could lead to diplomatic recognition.  

Meet the Newest Apologist for Israel: Rear Admiral John Kirby

Tuesday’s press conference highlighted the worst of the administration’s predictable defenses and apologies for Israel’s illegal and immoral military campaign against Palestinian civilians.  Once again, the worst of Kirby’s remarks were not referenced in the Washington Post and received an anodyne one-sentence summary in the New York Times.  I believe it is important to understand the meaning and implications of Kirby’s callous and callow remarks. 

Containing the National Security State

Containing the National Security State