Military
No, an Iranian 'Mothership' Isn't Attacking New Jersey With UFOs
The wave of drone sightings is sparking sci-fi speculation mixed with war fever.
Review: A True Crime Podcast About a Massacre in Iraq
Season three of the In the Dark podcast divulges new details about U.S. Marines' killings of 24 Iraqis in 2005.
Trump Targets Birthright Citizenship and Calls for Military Role in Deportations
Both plans are an affront to America’s image as a nation of immigrants.
Mass Deportations
Plus: New York's transit authority needs cash, baristas don't understand economics, and more...
Pentagon Fails 7th Audit in a Row but Hopes To Pass by 2028
Congress required all federal agencies to submit annual financial reports in 1990. The Pentagon finally got around to complying in 2018, and it still hasn't passed an audit.
The Math Does Not Favor Avoiding Senate Scrutiny of Trump's Bizarre Cabinet Picks
Several Republican senators have said they are not inclined to abdicate their "advice and consent" role in presidential appointments.
Abolish the Army
"Standing armies are dangerous to liberty," Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 29.
How Donald Trump and Elon Musk Could Cut $2 Trillion in Government Spending
If Musk is truly serious about fiscal discipline, he'll advise the president-elect to eschew many of the policies he promised on the campaign trail.
Pentagon Paid Nearly 8,000 Percent Markup on Boeing's Bathroom Soap Dispenser
The Air Force paid nearly $150,000 above market value for airplane bathroom fixtures, a Department of Defense watchdog found.
Can the U.S. Government Tell Chinese People Apart?
Drone maker DJI claims the Pentagon has unfairly smeared it as an arm of the Chinese military based on a mix-up of Chinese names.
Are Books and Brains Weapons? The U.S. Government Thinks So.
Sending user manuals, algorithms, and lines of code can be legally equivalent to exporting bombs.
If You're Worried About Fascism, Worry About War
The most serious danger is the one that historically allowed dictators to take power.
Neither Trump Nor Harris Wants To Drain the Swamp. They Want You To Join It.
Both candidates have promised a litany of special favors to handpicked constituencies. If you don't fit into the right categories, you'll pay the price.
Biden and Graham Reportedly Schemed on How 'To Go to War For Saudi Arabia'
The Republican senator said it would “take a Democratic president” to commit American troops to defend the Saudi kingdom, according to a new book.
No, Trump Did Not Endorse a Military Assault on People 'Simply Because They Oppose His Candidacy'
The former president's authoritarian tendencies are alarming enough without inventing new outrages.
Biden Pulls America Even Deeper Into the Middle East
Israel is getting U.S. troops and Saudi Arabia is getting billions of dollars' worth of American weapons.
Boots on the Ground
Plus: California tries to punish Musk, China's economic recovery, and more...
A Year of War in the Middle East Cost Americans Nearly $23 Billion
U.S. taxpayers are underwriting wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.
Ayatollah's Antagonism
Plus: Longshoremen are ending their strike, the E.U. will impose huge new tariffs, and more...
U.S.-Funded Armies Fight Each Other In Lebanon
American taxpayers underwrite both the Israeli and Lebanese armies. Now they’re shooting at each other.
Hezbollah's Leader Killed
Plus: Fentanyl wars, rent stabilization in NYC, possible dockworker strike, and more...
War Game Documents an All-Star Political Live-Action Role-Playing Game
What happened when some officials role-played a bigger, noisier rerun of January 6, 2021
Lebanon's Deadliest Day Since October
Plus: Lisbon's pro-natalism, COVID sex parties, raw milk, and more...
The Military Tried To Hide Evidence of a Massacre. A Lawsuit Just Exposed It.
The New Yorker sued for photos of the Haditha killings in Iraq—and found audio of a Marine general bragging about covering up those photos.
The Afghan Allies Left Behind in the Graveyard of Empires
Thousands of people who helped the U.S. in Afghanistan are still looking for an escape.
Israelis and Palestinians Found Common Ground at the DNC. Is That Enough?
Both Israeli hostage families and Palestinian Americans want the war to end with a prisoner exchange. But that isn’t moving Democratic policy.
Why Is the U.S. Military Buying Tinder Ads in Lebanon?
Uncle Sam is resorting to some unusual methods to support the Israeli war effort.
Biden Opens the Floodgates on Weapons for the Middle East
The president is reversing a ban on selling offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia and advancing taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel.
RFK Jr. Pays Lip Service to the Debt While Pushing Policies That Would Increase It
It's good to hear a candidate actually talk about our spending problem. But his campaign promises would exacerbate it.
Trump Wishes Americans Stayed in Afghanistan To Fight China
The president who helped end America’s longest war now regrets leaving behind U.S. bases.
The National Debt Is Crossing an Ominous Line
The U.S. has successfully navigated past debt challenges, notably in the 1990s. Policymakers can fix this if they find the will to do so.
Biden, Trump, and RFK Jr. Are All Anti-Freedom
Those three presidential candidates are making promises that would have bewildered and horrified the Founding Fathers.
Federal Judge, ICE Agents Linked to Compromised Spyware Use
The surveillance company mSpy just suffered its third data breach in a decade, exposing government officials snooping for both official and unofficial reasons.
Why Can't Americans Have an Honest Foreign Policy Discussion?
War and peace are the most important decisions a country can make. No politician wants to level with Americans about it.
Mike Rowe: Make America Stand for Something Again
The Dirty Jobs host talks about patriotism, history, and his new movie for Independence Day 2024.
The National Debt Is Now So High That Every American Essentially Owes $100,000
We could grow our way out of our debt burden if politicians would limit spending increases to just below America's average yearly economic growth. But they won't even do that.
Abortion, Guns, and Hunter Biden.
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the Selective Service.
A Real-Life Psyop: How the U.S. Military Spread Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theories
Washington keeps getting caught pushing the kind of disinformation it claims to oppose.
House Passes Bill To Automatically Register Young Men for the Draft
The Selective Service should be abolished, not made more efficient and equitable.
Mandatory National Military Service Is a Bad Idea
Donald Trump's acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller advocated the plan this week, which Trump later called a "ridiculous idea."
When a North Carolina Colonel Shot This Utility Worker, Journalists Suggested His Victim Was a Spy
The reaction to Ramzan Daraev’s death is an extreme example of anti-immigrant panic and national security paranoia.
Democrats Surprised To Learn Bombs Are Used To Bomb People
Sen. Elizabeth Warren condemned Israel for killing Palestinian civilians with bombs that she had voted to send Israel.
AI Warfare Is Boring but Deadly
Bureaucrats in cubicles will kill more people than Terminator robots will.
Glenn Greenwald and Alan Dershowitz Debate Bombing Iran
The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Glenn Greenwald takes on famed lawyer and author Alan Dershowitz.
