“Gooks”
Among themselves GIs were able to rationalize their own brutal behavior by dismissing their victims as mere “gooks” or “dinks.” “They were only VC,” they said as a woman was raped or an old man…
Category: The War-making State
Carpe Diem, U.S. Americans
You have a rich tradition of resistance. You need only read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States to remind yourself of this. Hundreds of thousands of you have survived the relentless propaganda…
The Price is Worth It*
For Brooke Adams Large nations do what they wish, while small nations accept what they must. –Thucydides Imperialism says it wants to make us happy! –Ernesto Cardenal One does not become revolutionary from science, but…
On Nervousness and Gnats
1. pros•e•cute (pròs¹î-ky¡t´) verb pros•e•cut•ed, pros•e•cut•ing, pros•e•cutes verb, transitive 1. Law. a. To initiate civil or criminal court action against. b. To seek to obtain or enforce by legal action. 2.a. To pursue (an undertaking,…
Refuseniks
On Peretz Kidron, Refusenik! Israel’s Soldiers of Conscience (London and New York: Zed Books, 2004) 1. General, your tank is a powerful vehicle It tramples the forest, it crushes a hundred men. But it has one flaw:…
The War Within: The Voice of Camilo Mejía
On Camilo Mejía, Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía Road from Ar Ramadi is the story of man who goes from being a privileged son of the Nicaraguan…
The Mere Gook and Haji Rule
Under reviewDeborah Nelson, The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth about U.S. War Crimes—Inside the Army’s Secret Archive of Investigations (New York: Basic Books, 2008) and Chris Hedges and Laila al-Arian, Collateral Damage:…
To Olmert and Company
How many nanoseconds did it take your hasbara specialists to transform the “Gaza Massacre” into a heroic tale of self-defense against the Hamas terrorists? How many percentage points will this operation in Gaza gain your…
On Reciprocity and Responsibility
My friend Laura Weis (who is currently working in Indonesia) sent me the following excerpts from a piece by Glenn Greenwald. A while back, an Israeli friend of mine asked me, “Why should you care…
An Israeli Poet
The following poem by Israeli Aharon Shabtai is translated from the Hebrew by Peter Cole. It appears in his aptly entitled collection from New Directions, J’Accuse. “War” I, too, have declared war: You’ll need to…