Journalist and television writer David Simon delivered a speech to the Festival of Dangerous Ideas that was every bit as scorching as his incendiary television series The Wire. “I come from a country that is utterly schizophrenic, he said of
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Stark findings of torture and of the CIA misleading officials and the public are among the conclusions of a report released today by the outgoing Democrats on the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. As part of our Verbatim series, F&O
Natural Security columnist Chris Wood is not impressed with this week’s much-trumpeted deal between China and the United States. He writes: “optimists greeted with hosannas the announcement that the Presidents Obama of the United States and Xi of China had agreed to a
Relations between Iran and the United States have been ice cold since 1979. The terrorist attack of 9/11 could have been one opportunity for a thawing, but “among the plethora of murderously stupid things former United States President George W. Bush did
International affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe writes on the sea-change in the Middle East as Tehran and Washington find common cause and turmoil grows in Iraq and Syria. Excerpt: As al-Qaida-linked groups hijack the anti-government insurgencies in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, Washington is
There is an interesting side issue, about science and American law, to this Dispatches, Science story about research on abortions, featuring an interview with Tracy Weitz, one of the most prominent abortion researchers in the United States. Comments Weitz: “there’s a whole
International affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe examines the contentious roles of the military and Islamists in the desperate quest by Turkey’s prime minister to cling to political power. Excerpt: Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has spent a decade trying to curb the political
Journalist and television writer David Simon delivered a speech to the Festival of Dangerous Ideas that was every bit as scorching as his incendiary television series The Wire. “I come from a country that is utterly schizophrenic, he said of the United
“Say what you will about the United States military, no organization on earth is more focused on maintaining its capabilities no matter what,” writes Natural Security columnist Chris Wood. “As a result, its upper echelons spend a fair amount of time considering
F&O international affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe examines the chaos that typhoon Haiyan made of the Philippines’ presidential campaign. An excerpt: When aid arrived this week in the Philippines’ Capiz region devastated by typhoon Haiyan, some of it came in tasteful blue bags decorated
By Brian BrennanPublished October 10, 2013 On October 17, 2013, the American government could enter unchartered territory. If Congressional Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on raising the statutory borrowing limit known as the “debt ceiling,” the government could be forced to default