Author Archive
Stories written by William Blum
William Blum left the State Department in 1967, abandoning his aspiration of becoming a Foreign Service Officer, because of his opposition to what the United States was doing in Vietnam. He then became one of the founders and editors of the Washington Free Press. Mr. Blum has been a freelance journalist in the United States, Europe, and South America and was one of the recipients of Project Censored’s awards for “exemplary journalism” in 1999. He is the author of numerous books, including: Freeing the World to Death: essays on the American Empire, Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since World War II, and Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower. Mr. Blum writes a free monthly newsletter, the Anti-Empire Report, which you may subscribe to by contacting him at bblum6@aol.com.

Things Which Don’t Go Away

Things the American government and media don’t let go of. And neither do I.

USrael and Iran

If and when the United States and Israel bomb Iran (marking the sixth country so blessed by Barack Obama) and this sad old world has a new daily horror show to look at on their TV sets, and we then discover that Iran was not actually building nuclear weapons after all, the American mainstream media [...]

So please tell me again: What’s the war about?

When facts are inconvenient, when international law, human rights and history get in the way, when war crimes can’t easily be justified or explained away, when logic doesn’t help much, the current crop of American political leaders turns to what is now the old reliable: 9/11. We have to fight in Afghanistan because … somehow [...]

The Cold War is over. Long live the Cold War.

I recently attended a showing of Oliver Stone’s new documentary film, “South of the Border”, which concerns seven present-day government leaders of Latin America -– in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Paraguay, Cuba and Brazil — who are not in love with US foreign policy.

Separation of Oil and State?

Oil Platform

On May 19, in a congressional hearing, Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) asked BP America President Lamar McKay: “Is there any technology that exists that you know of that could have prevented this from happening?” “I don’t know of a piece of technology that could have prevented it,” replied McKay.1 Given the extremely grave consequences of [...]

Some Thoughts on ‘Patriotism’ Written on July 4

U.S. Flag

Most important thought: I’m sick and tired of this thing called “patriotism”. The Japanese pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor were being patriotic. The German people who supported Hitler and his conquests were being patriotic, fighting for the Fatherland. All the Latin American military dictators who overthrew democratically-elected governments and routinely tortured people were being patriotic [...]

When politicians misbehave. By speaking the truth.

The German president, Horst Koehler, resigned last week because he said something government officials are not supposed to say. He said that Germany was fighting in Afghanistan for economic reasons.

Bad guys and good guys

The United States does this every other day, sending robotic death machines called Predators flying over Afghanistan and Pakistan, to send Hellfire missiles screaming into wedding parties, funerals, homes, not knowing who the victims are

Fantasizing a U.S.-Israel Relationship Without Hypocrisy

Obama before U.S. and Israeli flags

Things internationally are so dispiriting there’s nothing left to do but fantasize. I picture Turkey, as a member of NATO, demanding that the alliance come to its defense after being attacked by Israel. Under Article 5 of the NATO charter an armed attack on one member is deemed to constitute an armed attack on all members.

Israel, U.S. foreign policy and my video

I of course received the usual right-wing frothing at the mouth, but I also heard from five or six people on the left who expressed political criticism of it, two of them asking to be removed from my mailing list. All of them were upset for the same reason –- The video makes no mention of Israel.

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