Threat perception is central to decision making regarding war and the use of force; alliance politics; and the role of deterrence.  Exaggerations of threat make war more likely and  weaken the ability of an alliance to function effectively and rationally.  Since the end of World War II, the United States has consistently exaggerated the threat, particularly with regard to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.  Once again, the United States is embarking on a campaign of exaggerated threat perception as politicians and pundits exaggerate the “threat” of a so-called “resurgent” Russia and a so-called “aggressive” China. More

During the days of the U.S.’s exit from Afghanistan, I have been inching through the U.S. Army’s own massive history of The U.S. Army in the Iraq War: a wide window on the ignorance and arrogance that has led the U.S. into one bloody quagmire after another. Based on hundreds of documents and interviews, the two-volume history starts off with long mea culpa—an acknowledgment of the naiveté that led the U.S. into a chaotic and bloody occupation of the land where human civilization began. More

Donald Trump will likely go down in U.S. history as one of the worst, if not most corrupt, presidents.  Sadly, his reactionary legacy will live on much, much longer than his one term in office.  His three Supreme Court appointments – Neil Gorsuch (2017), Brett Kavanaugh (2018) and Amy Coney Barrett (2020) – have joined with the Court’s two arch conservatives — Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito – and one moderate — John Roberts – to forge the most conservative Court since the 1930s. More

Democrats cannot disgrace the Supreme Court by packing it (adding seats to it). It is already a disgrace. After the Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Texas on September 1, 2021—in a devious, single page, 5-4, shadow decision—three of its members blasted their five colleagues in the majority for ignoring their “obligations to protect not only the rights of women, but also the sanctity of [the Court’s] precedents and of the rule of law.” Such a Court needs no help disgracing itself. The ‘lofty’ Court is and always has been a lowly political tool, resting on an illegitimate foundation since Marbury v. Madison (see below). More