Lindsay Koshgarian: $21 trillion spent by US on war since 9/11
For just a fraction of what we’ve spent on militarization these last 20 years, we could start to make life much better.
Majid Naficy: Kabul
But larks have not forgotten to fly
And grass still sprouts from the earth of Kabul
And rivers are replenished by the snows of Pamirs
And the groves of Samangan are filled with sounds of birds.
Video: Salam
A female Lyft driver navigates the night shift in NYC while waiting to hear life or death news from Syria.
Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J.S. Davies: Waking from Our Post-9/11 nightmare
Our only hope for the future is to abandon the futile quest for hegemony and instead commit to peace, cooperative diplomacy, international law, and disarmament.
Tom Engelhardt: The Decline and Fall of the Roman… Whoops!… American Empire
What Really Matters in the U.S. of A.
David Bacon: At the end of this hated war, we need truth
The U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan should force a reckoning with a long history of military intervention.
Ali A. Olomi: The history of the Taliban is crucial in understanding their success now – and also what might happen next
The rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban left many surprised. A key to understanding what is happening now – and what might take place next – is looking at the past and how the Taliban came to prominence.
George Lakey: As the US empire declines, what openings exist for progressive movements?
Hard as it may be to see beyond the chaos and suffering in Afghanistan, the larger picture reveals real opportunities for social change.
Karen J. Greenberg: The Endless Shadow of the War on Terror
Will the Forever Wars Become Forever Policy?
Gregory Djanikian: What I Can Tell You
I can tell you that the women
halfway to the olive groves one morning
must have heard a chatter of birds
and the foot soldiers coming.
H.D. (Hilda Doolittle): The Walls Do Not Fall
tendons, muscles shattered, outer husk dismembered,
yet the frame held:
we passed the flame: we wonder
what saved us? what for?
W.D. Ehrhart: Afghanistan | Vietnam Redux
The real tragedy in all this is that the United States of America invaded yet another foreign country, imagining that we could bend it to our will and create a “Mini-Me” version of ourselves, and then spent twenty years, trillions of dollars, and thousands of lives ignoring what was obvious from the very outset.
Abby Zimet: Banksy’s Most Excellent Spraycation
“A wall is a very big weapon,” Banksy says. “It’s one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with.”
C.J. Polychroniou: Climate Crisis Must Be Treated Like Outbreak of a World War
If we convince ourselves that combatting the climate crisis is equivalent to fighting a world war, we do have a realistic chance of rescuing planet Earth.
