Civil libertarians relaxed when, in September 2003, Republicans bowed to public outcry and cancelled Total Information Awareness. TIA was a covert “data mining” operation run out of the Pentagon by creepy Iran-Contra figure John Poindexter. Bush Administration marketing mavens had tried to dress up the sinister “dataveillance” spook squad—first by changing TIA to Terrorism … [Read more...] about The Return of Total Information Awareness
Op-Ed
Unnecessary Evil
Some urban myths refuse to die. One notorious myth, the “ticking bomb scenario,” has led to torture, murder and the potentially permanent diminishment of America’s reputation as a civilized nation. On Dec. 13, 2005, The New York Times reported: “The White House prefers, in background conversations, to talk about the ‘doomsday scenario’: What would happen if the president … [Read more...] about Unnecessary Evil
Armchair Warriors
If we are, as Jean-Paul Sartre said, defined by our actions, most of the blame for the murder of more than 100,000 Iraqis belongs to our top government officials. But Bush’s armchair warriors couldn’t have invaded Iraq without a compliant and complicit United States military—one that, it should be noted, is all volunteer. These individuals, who enjoy free will, fire the guns … [Read more...] about Armchair Warriors
Ragtag Insurgents
Most Americans were unaware that we had botched Afghanistan; most still are. I watched the Pentagon send in a miniscule 8,000-troop complement where, according to its top strategists, at least half a million occupation soldiers (stationed for at least 20 years) would have been needed to control the nation’s roads, pacify the provinces and establish the security essential for … [Read more...] about Ragtag Insurgents
Expose the Cluelessness
Judith Miller, the mousy Bush Administration propaganda mouthpiece forced to retire from The New York Times last week, is hardly an anomaly. American journalism is contaminated by widespread institutional corruption. Yet coming on the heels of the same paper’s humiliation by phony Times reporter Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass’ reign of error at The New Republic, the Miller … [Read more...] about Expose the Cluelessness