What War Is Good For

Friday night's theme episode of The Independents, titled "The War on War," delved into myriad applications (and mis-applications) of that murderful word. Cato Executive Vice President David Boaz, for example, spoke about the potency of war as an often deadly policy metaphor:

And former Reagan-administration deputy defense secretary K.T. McFarland and retired Col. David Hunt chewed on just what the phrase "War on Terror" can and should mean in 2014:

Speaking of war, I'm on a star-studded speakers list for an October 18 conference being held in New York by The Future of Freedom Foundation. Titled "Stop the Wars on Drugs and Terrorism," the confab will include presentations from the likes of Glenn Greenwald, Radley Balko, Jeremy Scahill, Eugene Jarecki, Ethan Nadelmann, and more. (All the hyperlinks on the speakers' names go to Reason TV interviews that are well worth your time.) More info at the conference website.