W.J. Astore: Anti-war Pragmatists and Pro-war Fantasists
What if peace is really based on pragmatism, and war on fantasy?
W.J. Astore: Dreaming Big About the U.S. Military
As the U.S. military enjoys enormous budgets ($718 billion this year, rising possibly to $750 billion for 2020), Americans are told not to dream big. There might just be a connection here.
W.J. Astore: Ending Wars, Not “Winning” Them, Should Be America’s Goal
Beware the tunnels you choose to go down (Wikimedia) . You can’t win wars that should never have been fought. The U.S. should never have fought the Iraq and Afghan … Continue reading
W.J. Astore: U.S. Politicians and their Love of the Military
James Madison. We need his wisdom more than ever.. If there’s one area of bipartisan agreement today, it’s politicians’ professed love of the U.S. military. Consider George W. Bush. He … Continue reading
W.J. Astore: The Forever War — A Peculiar Form of American Zen
As a teenager, I read Joe Haldeman’s book, “The Forever War.” The title intrigued, as did the interstellar setting. Haldeman’s soldiers are caught up in a conflict whose rules keep … Continue reading
W.J. Astore: The Many Purposes of War
Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian military theorist who wrote at the end of the Napoleonic Era, is noted for saying that war is a continuation of politics. That saying explains … Continue reading