Peace and War

By David Swanson

Fifty years ago this Monday, President Dwight Eisenhower gave a farewell address in which he famously warned of the dangers of influence on our government by the “military industrial complex.” Our current Secretary of War, Robert Gates, has proposed to retire this year and has recommended that his successors stop increasing the military budget. But Eisenhower didn’t just bring this up on his way out the door. It was seven years earlier that he had remarked:

“Every read more

By David Swanson, Euro Atlantic Quarterly

One of the mistakes that foreigners make about the United States, millions of Americans make themselves with much less justification: they overestimate the difference between members of the Democratic and Republican Parties in Washington, D.C.

The two parties scream at each other on television quite a lot and attract supporters who come from two very different cultures. But over half of every dollar of income tax in the United States is spent on the military, read more

By David Swanson

Americans are down to 35% supporting the war on Afghanistan. The trouble is that our government officials, media pundits, and newspaper editors are part of the 35% and feel no particular obligation to represent the rest of us. And they repeat the same nonsensical justifications for the war so often that we imagine they’re 90% instead of the 35% they are or the 20% they should be pretty soon if current trends read more

http://dccatholicworker.wordpress.com/

COME TO WASHINGTON, D.C. SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2011 TO COMMEMORATE THE U.S. SLAUGHTER OF IRAQ, AND REDEDICATE OUR LIVES TO LIVING OUT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S DREAM OF ABOLISHING WAR AND INJUSTICE.

8:45am Mass at Sacred Heart Church 16^th & Park Road NW ‘’Mass of Repentance for War’’ celebrated by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Sponsored by Pax Christi Metro DC

10:30 am   Assemble at read more

Here’s a post by Robert Naiman that provides a useful list of the most Democratic congressional districts in which the incumbent has supported wars, and a list of districts where the incumbent showed some very minimal pretense of interest in peace but was defeated last month.

Naiman’s analysis, in my opinion, needs tweaking, but is nonetheless a great place to start. It needs tweaking because, rather than looking at the list of congressmembers who read more

On the first day of Wikileaks, my government gave to me: the military in every embassy.

On the second day of Wikileaks, my government gave to me: two criminal presidents.

On the third day of Wikileaks, my government gave to me: three  illegal wars.

On the fourth day of Wikileaks, my government gave to me: four covered up crimes.

On the fifth day of Wikileaks, my government gave to me: five plutocracies (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

On the sixth day of Wikileaks, my government gave to me: six sycophants ( read more

By David Swanson

“And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we’ve been told from our birth
Hell they won’t lie to me
Not on my own damn TV
But how much is a liar’s word worth
And what happened to peace on earth”
–Willie Nelson

When President Barack Obama joined the ranks of Henry Kissinger and the other gentle souls who have received Nobel Peace Prizes, he did something that I don’t think anyone else had previously done in a Peace Prize acceptance read more

For all the talk of strategic counterinsurgency that oozes out of Washington, and all the manuals explaining that 80% of our investment in a nation-building operation should be civilian, we've been investing about 3% of our efforts in Afghanistan into a civilian project the leader of which has described it as a way to support the military. That leader was, until he died yesterday, Richard Holbrooke.

Asked at a U.S. Senate hearing earlier this year what in the world he was doing and toward read more

Now!  Click here to listen or download Cindy's interview with Matt 'maximum gonzo' Taibbi and David Swanson, author of War is a Lie, the new blockbuster read more

Listen here: mp3.

More on the book: http://warisalie.org

With Wikileaks Revelations, Peace Community Redoubles Demand for End to Wars and Voices Support for Whistleblowers

While only a tiny fraction of the U.S. diplomatic cables scheduled for publication by Wikileaks have thus far been made available, some conclusions can already be drawn. These cables and the Iraq and Afghan War Diaries provide an opportunity for Americans to see our government for what it is.

Our government is seen here as controlling a global military and espionage empire that impacts read more

By David Swanson

Here’s an easy question: would you rather go to jail for a few hours with a bunch of friends or die?

Here’s a poorly kept secret: the wars that a majority of Americans want ended are not ending, and the war machine that a majority of Americans want cut back is growing.

Here’s a situation that is not secret at all but too horrifying for us to acknowledge: if the war machine continues on its current course, we will not survive it economically, environmentally, or read more

Antiwar Radio Podcast Transcript: Scott Horton Interviews David Swanson, November 24, 2010

SCOTT HORTON: All right, y’all, welcome back to the show. It’s Antiwar Radio. We’re at Antiwar.com/radio, KaosRadioAustin.org, and at LRN.fm. All right, next guest on the show is David Swanson. He’s the author of Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union, and the new one is called War is a Lie, just out on October read more

From BradBlog

(Each "Hour" actually 38 mins, now that commercials are removed.)

HOUR 1: The show started out light enough, with a bunch of wacky news. Then David Swanson joined us Don't miss this really interesting — and undoubtedly, controversial, discussion!…
Download MP3 or listen online below…

HOUR 2: Swanson stays with us for another two segments. Then, new revelations from Germany about read more