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Links to Recent Articles of Interest
By Carolyn Eisenberg, Common Dreams, posted September 15
On a “friendly fire” incident that killed over 200 and briefly revealed the secret US bombing of Cambodia. “There was no intention to attack friendly soldiers and their families; however, this erroneous air strike was occurring in a context in which U.S. bombers had been striking Cambodia secretly and illegally for five years.” The author teaches history at Hofstra University and wrote Fire and Rain: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Wars in Southeast Asia (Oxford U. Press, 2023).
By Jim Lobe and Connor Echols, Responsible Statecraft, posted September 11
Primarily an interview with Peter Kornbluh, a longtime Chile expert working for the National Security Archive, who has overseen the publication over time of documents showing the US government’s relation to the overthrow of Chile’s elected government in 1973. The article below is a fuller version of his findings.
By Peter Kornbluh, National Security Archive, posted September 8
A detailed recounting of “U.S. government actions, internal debates and policy deliberations as conditions for the coup evolved between March and September 1973.”
By Margaret Power, Truthout, posted September 11
Memories of six months n Chile in 1976-77, three years after the 1973 military coup. “I learned directly what it was like to live under a military dictatorship…. But I also experienced the profound commitment of many Chileans, both inside and outside of prison, to work together to build a society in which exploitation and oppression do not exist.” The author is a professor emerita of history at Illinois Institute of Technology and co-chair of the H-PAD Steering Committee.
By Norman Solomon, TomDispatch, posted September 7
“For the White House, the Pentagon, and Congress, the war on terror offered a political license to kill and displace people on a large scale in at least eight countries…. And as the years went by, the point seemed to be not winning that multicontinental war but continuing to wage it, a means with no plausible end.” The author’s latest book is War Made Invisible: How the US Hides the Hidden Toll of Its Military Machine (New Press, 2023).
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies, Common Dreams, posted September 5
On the irony of William Burns’s current role as head of the CIA amid the Ukraine War in view of his strenuous but unsuccessful efforts as Ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008 to head off the Bush administration’s push for NATO expansion to the Russian border.
By Lawrence Wittner, CounterPunch, posted September 5
On the origins and impact of the Partial Test Ban Treaty of September 1963, which led to a series of other arms agreements, which reduced the number of nuclear weapons worldwide “from 70,000 to 12,500.” Despite setbacks in recent years, “the revived march toward nuclear catastrophe can be halted by finally banning nuclear weapons―if people will demand it.” The author is a professor emeritus of history at SUNY Albany.
By Andrew J. Bacevich, Commonweal, posted August 28
Delineates three “underlying principles” that guided President Johnson in the Vietnam War and argues that these principles have continued to mislead US policymakers in Iraq and now Ukraine. The author is a retired Army colonel and an emeritus professor of history and international relations at Boston University.
By Rebecca Gordon, TomDispatch, posted August 24
“So, what should we give a hundred-year-old presidential adviser for his birthday? How about a summons to appear at the International Criminal Court to answer for the blood of millions staining his hands?” On the rehabilitation of Kissinger’s public image and a reminder of the violent policies he unleashed and encouraged in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and South America. The author teaches at the University of San Francisco.
Report by PEN America, posted August 23
A lengthy, detailed report. “Educational intimidation bills ignore the rights of many, if not most, parents and are in fact quite damaging to the freedom to read and learn in America’s public education system—and in states where these bills have become law, that chilling effect is on full display.”
By Stephen Kinzer, Boston Globe, posted August 23 (alternative link)
On political background to the upset election of reformer Bernardo Arévalo as president of Guatemala. “Few Guatemalans missed the echoes of history that reverberated through this celebration. Arévalo’s father, Juan Jose Arévalo, personified democracy and social justice — but two American presidents took him as an intolerable enemy.” The author is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
By Nick Turse, Responsible Statecraft, posted August 23
Lists coups in seven West African countries from 2014 to the present in which officers with US training played a role. The list is incomplete, but the State Department refuses to provide any information on trainees. The author is managing editor of TomDispatch and has written extensively about the US military presence in Africa.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for suggesting some of the above articles and to Roger Peace for valuable consulting. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.