Stories by Tom Engelhardt

 Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project and the author of The American Way of War: How Bush’s Wars Became Obama’s as well as The End of Victory Culture, runs the Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com. His latest book, The United States of Fear (Haymarket Books), has just been published in November.

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US Empire Is Changing its Stripes: Drones, Special Operations Forces and the US Navy Are Changing the Way We Do War

Posted on Feb 5, 2012, Source: TomDispatch.com

Make no mistake: we’re entering a new world of military planning. It won't make the Pentagon smaller, but it will change the nature of empire.

What if Iran Sent Commandoes to the US Border? How US Policies Look from the Other Side

Posted on Jan 29, 2012, Source: TomDispatch.com

Imagine that America's policy toward Iran were reversed; imagine Iranian commandoes on the U.S.-Mexico border. How would Americans react?

A Brief History of America's Dumb Policies Towards Iran

Posted on Jan 17, 2012, Source: TomDispatch.com

In more than 50 years, America’s leaders have never made a move in Iran (or near it) that didn’t lead to unexpected and unpleasant blowback.

Obama Shows His War-Mongering Side

Posted on Jan 12, 2012, Source: TomDispatch.com

Obama aims to create a neat, high-tech image of war, and act like everything is in control.

Thanks to Our Military Debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan, America's 'Superpower' Status Has Officially Ended

Posted on Jan 3, 2012, Source: TomDispatch.com

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not only drained American treasure, but exposed the relative helplessness of the "sole superpower."

The Drone That Fell From the Sky: What a Busted Robot Airplane Tells Us About the American Empire in 2012 and Beyond

Posted on Dec 20, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

The drone increasingly looks less like a winning weapon than a machine for generating opposition and enemies.

The Very Different "Occupations" That Led to 2011's Global Uprising

Posted on Dec 18, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

The protests around the world this year were preceded, in the last twenty years, by some very different kinds of occupations.

Perpetual National Elections Make the Top 1% Richer

Posted on Dec 11, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

The presidential campaign season keeps getting longer, and more expensive, allowing the uber-rich to effectively control our democracy.

If You Aren't in the 1%, Kiss Your Dreams Goodbye: An Occupy Wall Street Anatomy of America

Posted on Nov 29, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Why "What Is" Must Be Changed to "What If"

How Zuccotti Park Became Zuccotti Prison: Creeping American Police State

Posted on Nov 28, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

America may not be a traditional police state (yet), but it is an increasingly militarized policed state in which rights are regularly tossed out the window.

With America on the Eve of Destruction, OWS Rides to the Rescue

Posted on Nov 22, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

What would American politicians and pundits say if Chinese or Iranian police raided a peaceful opposition encampment and trashed their library?

The Other Occupation: How Subprime Crooks Occupied America And Prepared the Way for Occupy Wall Street

Posted on Nov 21, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Before anyone decided to Occupy Wall Street, another occupation was already underway.

Game Over for Planet Earth: The Month’s Biggest Story You Never Read

Posted on Nov 16, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

While you were paying attention to Herman Cain, the Kardashians and the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, the U.S. Department of Energy administered last rites to the planet.

My Kingdom for a Toilet: Summing Up the American Debacle in Iraq

Posted on Nov 13, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Don’t let anyone say that the United States got nothing out of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Americans take home a fitting prize: Saddam's toilet.

“I Wanted Something Productive to Do": Creating Space for Books and Learning at Occupy Wall Street

Posted on Oct 30, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Education is at the heart of the Occupy Wall Street movement, from the student loan bubble to the library and teach-ins at the center of the park.

Why Do You Pay $1.2 Trillion a Year to Prop Up a Vast, Secretive National Security State?

Posted on Oct 20, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

A blanket of secrecy over our military complex ensures that most Americans have no idea what’s being done with their money.

Wall Street’s Second Occupation: The Rise of the NYPD's Homeland Security State

Posted on Oct 17, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Are drones above New York City next as the police militarize Lower Manhattan?

Why the Boosters of US Empire Swoon Over Killer Drones

Posted on Sep 29, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

When we send our armadas of drones out to kill, don’t be surprised if the rest of the world doesn’t see us as the good guys or the heroes.

Let's Put 9/11 Behind Us and End the Blank Check it Has Become for America's Endless Wars

Posted on Sep 8, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

We could stop using it to make ourselves feel like a far better country than we are. We could leave the dead in peace and take a hard look at ourselves in the nearest mirror.

Details of Secret Pact Emerge: Troops Stuck in Afghanistan Until 2024

Posted on Aug 23, 2011, Source: AlterNet

If you thought President Obama was ending the war in Afghanistan, think again. Your children will be fighting it in 2024 if the Pentagon has its way.

Is The Pentagon Giving Orders To Terrorists That Could Get Americans Killed?

Posted on Aug 11, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

A little-noticed story contains the disturbing news that American computer specialists are forging orders to Al Qaeda sympathizers in an attempt to deter terror.

Imperial Psychosis: We Pour Trillions into Empire While Gutting Programs Americans Depend On

Posted on Aug 2, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

For months Americans have been focused on raising that debt ceiling, as onscreen countdown clocks ticked away to disaster. Isn’t it time to lower America’s war ceiling?

How Drone Strikes, Assassinations, and Eye Scans are Uniting the Middle East--Against the U.S.

Posted on Jul 21, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Obama's proved his ability to be a uniter--at least in the Middle East, where public opinion is nearly united in opposition to U.S. foreign policy.

Barbara Ehrenreich: 12,000 Drones, Lethal Cyborg Insects, See-Shoot Robots -- How Machines Are Taking Over War

Posted on Jul 10, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

How far will the automation of war and the substitution of autonomous robots for human fighters go?

Flailing Empire: Afghanistan and the Great American Unraveling

Posted on Jul 3, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

It's not really much of a mystery what happens to overextended imperial powers that find themselves fighting "little" wars they can’t win as their treasuries head south.

What's Victory? The Nine Orwellian Propaganda Terms That Define Our War State

Posted on Jun 24, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Here are nine common terms, including "victory" and "enemy" used by our government and military that probably don’t mean what you think they mean.

The Militarization of America: How the Military Mindset Is Permeating Our Political Culture and Society

Posted on Jun 14, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Our president and elected representatives must serve as a check on the military establishment, rather than issuing blank checks to them.

100% Scared: How the National Security Complex Grows on Terrorism Fears

Posted on Jun 10, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Americans don't expect 100% safety from illness, car crashes, or even shark attacks. But our obsession with 100% safety from terrorism is fueling the military-industrial complex.

Are We Living in Post-Legal America?

Posted on May 30, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

At least in terms of what used to be called "foreign policy," and more recently "national security," the United States is now a post-legal society.

Why Haven't We Learned Anything After 10 Years of Fighting in Afghanistan?

Posted on May 19, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Almost 10 years after the Bush administration invaded Afghanistan, we find ourselves in a state that might otherwise be achieved only if you mated déjà vu with a Mobius strip.

China as Number One? Don't Bet Your Bottom Dollar

Posted on May 8, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

The specter of China as the USA's future enemy once again has reared its ugly head.

Osama Bin Laden's American Legacy

Posted on May 5, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

The world bin Laden really changed forever wasn't in the Greater Middle East. It was here.

Imperial Decline: How Does It Feel to Be Inside a Dying Empire?

Posted on Apr 19, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Could this be what it’s like to watch, paralyzed, as a country on autopilot begins to come apart at the seams while still proclaiming itself “the greatest nation on Earth”?

Why We Should Start Using New Terms to Describe U.S. Air Power

Posted on Mar 17, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

To put it simply, it’s time for Americans to take the "war" out of "air war."

The American Empire Is Collapsing Before Our Eyes in the Mideast

Posted on Mar 2, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

As the sun peeks over the horizon of the Arab world, dusk is descending on America.

With an $80 Billion Budget, How Did Our Intel Agencies Fail to See the Revolution That Exploded in Egypt?

Posted on Feb 15, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

You don’t need an $80-billion-plus budget and a morass of 17 intelligence agencies to look at the world and draw a few intelligent conclusions.

How Hosni Mubarak Became One of the Richest Men in the World on Our Dime

Posted on Feb 13, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

The fortune amassed by Egypt’s former president and his two sons (both billionaires) could reach $70 billion.

Steep Oil Prices, Food Shortages Will Likely Spark Deadly Riots This Year

Posted on Jan 23, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

From now on, rising prices, powerful storms, severe droughts and floods, and other unexpected events are likely to play havoc with the fabric of global society.

Needed: A 12-Step Program for the Warmongers -- The Pentagon Has Been Hooked on Empire for 30 Years

Posted on Jan 5, 2011, Source: TomDispatch.com

Washington, the Pentagon, and the U.S. military need to enter rehab for their addiction to waging war and empire across the planet.

How Quickly Our Heroic Troops Are Forgotten When They Die

Posted on Dec 9, 2010, Source: TomDispatch.com

The casualties of the imperial venture Afghanistan rarely make much news anymore.

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