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America’s Militarized Profession of Faith
The Church of the Pentagon W.J. Astore I grew up in the Catholic Church, where I professed my faith weekly at every mass I attended. I also grew up a fan of the U.S. military, even as I read many...
View ArticleTime for a Real Peace Dividend
W.J. Astore On “Two Minutes to Midnight,” I talk about some of the themes I’ve developed at this site. Produced by Catalysta, the idea behind the series is to encourage fresh thinking on the...
View ArticleThe Military-Industrial Complex Is Not a Way of Life at All
W.J. Astore As I mentioned in a previous Bracing View, I was invited to participate in a forum to generate new ideas to tackle the military-industrial complex (MIC) that President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
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Militarism Run Mad
W.J. Astore Remember President Biden’s request for $33 billion in “aid” to Ukraine? That $33 billion package has become $40 billion and has already been approved by the House. More than half of this...
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A Peculiar Form of American Madness
W.J. Astore Heroification of the military is a strange mindset for any self-avowed democracy America is touched by a peculiar form of collective madness that sees military action as creative rather...
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The Madness of U.S. Militarism
W.J. Astore Where are today’s Eisenhowers, Butlers, and Shoups? As a teenager in the 1970s, I recall talking to my dad about fears of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. My dad...
View ArticleThe Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy
W.J. Astore Bombs, Bullets, and Bellicosity Instead of Brains In my latest article for TomDispatch.com, I parse the meaning of America’s latest National Defense Strategy. Hint: It’s not about defense....
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Junior ROTC Shouldn’t Exist
W.J. Astore High school students shouldn’t be wearing military uniforms I entered the Air Force through ROTC and served for 20 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. I also taught for 15 years at...
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Seven Reasons Why We Can’t Stop Making War (2010)
W.J. Astore From Boots on the Ground to Robot Assassins in the Sky I’m proud to say I’ve been writing for TomDispatch since 2007, posting more than 100 original articles at the site. Among the many...
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What Ever Happened to Gary Cooper?
W.J. Astore On Ending Militarism in America Fourteen years ago, I wrote the following article for TomDispatch. A colleague wrote to me today saying he had saved the article, had re-read it, and still...
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Peace Hero Martin Luther King Jr.
W.J. Astore MLK recognized the evils of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism Martin Luther King, Jr., hero for peace. It’s sad that the word “hero” is so often modified by or married to “war”...
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Did the USA Lose the Cold War?
W.J. Astore Thoughts on War with Podcast by George Yesterday, I appeared on Podcast by George. George Clark and I discussed the Russia-Ukraine War, Gaza, and the military-industrial-congressional...
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Sparta University USA
W.J. Astore We must have order here! As a retired military officer and also as a longtime student and professor, I’ve come to recognize the increasing resemblance of “civilian” campuses to military...
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The Heretics
W.J. Astore Global Dominance at Any Price American foreign policy remains in the grip of heretics. They believe that the Prince of Peace is actually a god of war. They believe America is strengthened...
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The Distraction of Joe Biden
W.J. Astore What genocide? What war? What militarism? Joe Biden has become a major distraction. Much like Donald Trump, he’s demanding far too much attention. As genocide continues in Gaza, as war...
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“Generation Warfighter” Needs to End
W.J. Astore Empty Boasts of Having the “World’s Best” Military Hide Rot, Waste, and Stupidity Sixteen years ago, I made a plea to my fellow citizens to banish the word “warfighter” from our...
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Selling the Russia-Ukraine War to Trump
W.J. Astore This Week in U.S. Militarism During his one debate with Joe Biden, Donald Trump made the audacious claim that if reelected in November he would end the Russia-Ukraine War before his...
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Multicultural Militarism
W.J. Astore The Bombs Land Softer When a Latina Lesbian Drops Them Listening to Chris Hedges and Cornel West the other day, I heard them use the term “multicultural militarism” to describe the...
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Dude, Where’s My Country?
W.J. Astore Peace Through Strength! As a retired U.S. military officer, I’m appalled at the notion of “peace through strength.” You may as well say “war is peace.” Peace is achieved through dialogue....
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Close Down the Pentagon!
W.J. Astore Send the “troops” to the front! Coming soon to a Kindle store near you: all my articles for TomDispatch, with a new introduction by me and a foreword by Tom Engelhardt. You can preorder it...
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