Iran Deserves Better

When Iran moved toward a decent democratic government, the UK, U.S., and oil barons destroyed it and put in place a horrendously brutal dictatorship. When Iranians overthrew that dictatorship, religious lunatics seized power and treated the people of Iran so cruelly for so long that many of them longed for that dictatorship — or the CIA-owned son thereof — and still do. When Iraq attacked Iran, the U.S. provided targeting assistance and chemical weapons. Then the U.S. labeled Iran an evil read more

The U.S. Labor Movement as a Force for Peace and International Cooperation

Although the U.S. labor movement is sometimes depicted as hawkish and xenophobic, this characterization ignores its repeated attempts to grapple with the global problem of war.

On June 9, 2026, for example, delegates at the annual national convention of the AFL-CIO, the 15-million member labor federation with which most American unions are affiliated, voted to adopt Resolution 9, “We Want a Just and Peaceful World.”

Declaring that “working people must never be treated as pawns in geopolitical read more

$3 Trillion a Year for U.S. Military Spending

Recently the least popular person alive said, “I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?”

Already unpopular with kind and decent people, Trump may have — with that comment — tanked his popularity with every weapons company public relations hack on Earth. Their most deeply held pretense has always been that military spending isn’t needed for wars but rather to prevent wars.

Of course, Trump promised not to start any read more

We Need a Culture of Peace

Remarks from a webinar about the Peace Manifesto.

Hi. This is David Swanson and I’m speaking as Executive Director of World BEYOND War. I’m honored to be a part of celebrating one year of the peace manifesto that people can find and promote at activatingpeace.org.

Maybe celebrating is the wrong word and recommitting is the right one. I am still sick and tired of the culture of war and supportive of a culture of peace. If it’s OK, I’ll tell you a bit about what I mean by that. read more

Tomgram: Engelhardt, A Personal TomDispatch Farewell (of Sorts)

This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Once Upon a Time (and Not Any Time Either!)
My Strange Tale of How the War on Terror Came Home in the Age of Donald J. Trump

By

Okay, here’s what this old man remembers nearly a quarter of a century later.

I was living in New York City (as I still am) when, on September 11, 2001, two hijacked planes full of passengers read more

Tomgram: Alfred McCoy, A World Without America?

This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Yes, the decline of empires has long been as much a part of history, and often as dramatic, as their rise. However, Trump-style decline should, I think, still be seen as a rarity in the history of empires. Though he’s seldom written about this way, Donald J. Trump is quite literally the personification of American imperial decline. In truth, he’s acting it out in an all read more