This is the last of a three-part series looking at how the ... Read More
America in the Hands of a Professional Military
April 15, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
This is the first of a three-part series looking at how the professionalization of the military has led to the privatization of warfare and an era of persistent conflict. Americans observe two anniversaries this year, neither one of them wanted. March marked eight years of combat in Iraq, and October, 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan. These are America's "long wars," a seemingly endless grind of combat. These long wars invite comparison, and some recall the eight years of U.S. war in Vietnam, but there is a more compelling distinction. It was a conscript Army that flew its Hueys over ... Read More
Make Solar Light, Not War
March 26, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
In 2004, the streets of the Iraqi city of Fallujah erupted into the worst fear the American forces had: house-to-house fighting. The urban battle resulted in the bloodiest battle of the Iraq war with at least 800 civilians dead, much of the city's infrastructure destroyed or damaged, and a city of more than 200,000 deserted. As Fallujah's residents returned, they were angry with the occupiers for the carnage, destruction and "collateral damage." To keep the peace, the American military realized guns, grenades and other threats of violence had to give way to improving day-to-day life. ... Read More
