US Militarism
White House releases “guidance” for targeted killings
Obama’s drone-missile machinery of murder
By Patrick Martin, 8 August 2016
The document provides essentially unlimited authority to the CIA and Pentagon to conduct assassinations with drone-fired missiles, subject to review only by the White House.
Rio 2016: The “Olympic ideal” and the reality of capitalism
By Bill Van Auken, 8 August 2016
The Olympics are being held under conditions of military occupation in Brazil, one of the world’s must unequal countries, wracked by economic, social and political crises.
Why the CIA is for Hillary Clinton
By Patrick Martin, 6 August 2016
The Clinton campaign is seeking to direct all anti-Trump sentiment in a right-wing, pro-war direction.
“Thinking Through the Unthinkable”
RAND Corporation lays out scenarios for US war with China
By Peter Symonds, 5 August 2016
The RAND Corporation study provides further evidence that a US war against China is being planned and prepared in the upper echelons of the American military-intelligence apparatus.
What is behind the campaign against Erdogan?
By Ulrich Rippert, 5 August 2016
German politicians are demanding firm measures against Turkey and the break-off of accession talks to the EU.
New York Times covers up Obama administration’s role in Turkish coup
By Bill Van Auken, 5 August 2016
The combination of propaganda and disinformation makes it impossible to know where the CIA ends and the Times editorial board begins.
New chemical weapons claims pose threat of US escalation of Syrian war
By Tom Eley, 3 August 2016
Chemical weapons allegations against the Syrian government should be taken as a warning that the US is prepared to escalate its confrontation with Russia over Syria.
From WikiLeaks’ Clinton Email Archive
The New York Times’ chief military correspondent met secretly with State Department in 2010 to bury Iraq War Logs
By E.P. Bannon, 3 August 2016
The revelation of the correspondence again makes clear the degree to which the American “fourth estate” is completely integrated into the capitalist state.
After Democrats’ celebration of militarism, US warplanes bomb Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 2 August 2016
The bombing of the Libyan coastal city of Sirte was ordered amid an explosive escalation of American militarism.
Democratic Party’s anti-Putin rhetoric prepares escalation of Syrian War
By Andre Damon, 1 August 2016
A campaign to accuse the Putin government of hacking into Democratic Party servers is aimed at creating the conditions for military escalation in Syria and against Russia itself.
US warplanes kill at least 28 more civilians in northern Syria
By Barry Grey, 30 July 2016
The latest mass killing occurred in the same region where, nine days before, the US military bombed a group of houses, killing as many as 200 civilians.
US army threatens whistleblower Chelsea Manning with indefinite solitary confinement
By Isaac Finn, 30 July 2016
According to the ACLU, Manning could face added time and other punishments on the basis of charges related to a failed suicide attempt.
Turkish newspaper identifies US general behind failed military coup
By Johannes Stern, 28 July 2016
The newspaper describes a huge Pentagon/CIA-sponsored operation spanning several months and involving billions of dollars to prepare the coup.
New Zealand Greens celebrate US warship visit
By Tom Peters, 28 July 2016
The embrace of the US military by the Greens and its supporters points to a further shift to the right by this party.
US-China underwater rivalry in South China Sea
By Peter Symonds, 28 July 2016
While submarines play an important part in conventional warfare, the preoccupation of China and the United States is their role in a nuclear war.
Will the US use Indian military bases to wage its Afghan War?
By K. Ratnayake and Keith Jones, 28 July 2016
A former senior Indian diplomat has warned that the US’s harnessing of India to its anti-China “Pivot” will result in India being drawn into the Afghan war.
US stokes divisions over South China Sea at ASEAN summit
By Peter Symonds, 25 July 2016
The Philippines and Vietnam are at loggerheads with Cambodia over a reference in the final communiqué to the recent UN-backed court ruling negating China’s maritime claims.
Democratic convention opens: An agenda of militarism and war
By Barry Grey, 25 July 2016
The program of global militarism at the heart of the Clinton campaign is combined with the ferocious promotion of racial and gender politics.
Pentagon accuses Russia of targeting US-British Special Forces base in Syria
By Thomas Gaist, 25 July 2016
US-Russian tensions are surging in Syria, despite the Obama administration’s efforts to delay a further escalation of the war until after the 2016 US elections.
US vice president’s trip triggers debate on US-China conflict
By Mike Head and James Cogan, 23 July 2016
A full-scale US assault on China would almost certainly escalate into a nuclear war, in which millions would die.
The Turkish coup, US militarism and the collapse of democracy
By Bill Van Auken, 22 July 2016
The tumultuous events in Turkey have exposed the interconnection between the worldwide eruption of US militarism and the global breakdown of democratic forms of rule.
US vice-president makes menacing warning to China
By Peter Symonds, 21 July 2016
Biden’s speech in Sydney made clear that the US will not tolerate any equivocation by Canberra and other regional allies in supporting its war preparations in the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia, US vice president issues belligerent challenge to China
By Mike Head, 20 July 2016
Biden’s trip to Australia came in the immediate aftermath of the arbitration court decision in The Hague declaring illegal Chinese land reclamation activities in the South China Sea.
US admiral holds “frank” talks in Beijing over South China Sea
By Peter Symonds, 20 July 2016
The Chinese regime is playing directly into Washington’s hands by resorting to its own reckless military measures that heighten the danger of conflict.
American war planes slaughter civilians in northern Syria
By Thomas Gaist, 20 July 2016
US airstrikes killed dozens of civilians in Aleppo province Monday, adding to the hundreds of thousands of civilian dead produced by Washington’s regime change operation.
Our man in Ankara: US ambassador denies US role in Turkish coup
By Bill Van Auken, 20 July 2016
Ambassador Bass, a former advisor to Dick Cheney, issued a “categorical” denial that Washington had any involvement in the Turkish military’s abortive uprising of July 15.
US releases Saudi documents: 9/11 coverup exposed
By Bill Van Auken, 16 July 2016
The declassification of the section of the 9/11 commission report on Saudi ties to 9/11 point to a deliberate distortion and exploitation of the attacks as a pretext for war.
The Hague ruling: A dangerous step toward war
By Peter Symonds, 14 July 2016
The court decision on the South China Sea will heighten tensions and the risk that a minor incident spirals out of control and triggers a conflict between the US and China.
US Marines deploy to South Sudan
By Thomas Gaist, 14 July 2016
The deployment, carried out in the name of protecting US citizens, marks the latest escalation in the drive by US imperialism to assert control over Sudan and its oil resources.
Hague court decision sets stage for US confrontation with China
By Peter Symonds, 13 July 2016
Yesterday’s tribunal ruling branding China’s actions in the South China Sea as “illegal” provides another pretext for the US to ramp up its military expansion in Asia.
US Defense Secretary Carter announces 560 more US troops to Iraq
By Thomas Gaist, 13 July 2016
The deployments will support a joint US-Iraqi offensive against the urban center of Mosul, which is projected to last for months and turn hundreds of thousands more Iraqis into refugees.
Hague court decides South China Sea case today
By Joseph Santolan, 12 July 2016
Regardless of the details of today’s tribunal decision, Washington will exploit the ruling to escalate its war drive against China.
NATO summit plans escalation against Russia in Eastern Europe, Middle East
By Alex Lantier, 11 July 2016
NATO is planning a major military escalation, based on plans for a perpetual state of war in the Middle East and preparations for all-out war with Russia in Europe.
UN court to deliver decision on South China Sea disputes
By Peter Symonds, 11 July 2016
With a ruling imminent, the US has cranked up its propaganda apparatus and military activity in the South China Sea, setting the stage for a dangerous confrontation with China.
US and South Korea agree on THAAD anti-missile system
By Ben McGrath, 11 July 2016
The installation will likely inflame tensions while continuing to stoke an arms race in East Asia.
New book by David North
A Quarter Century of War: The US Drive for Global Hegemony 1990–2016
By David North, 11 July 2016
We publish here the preface to A Quarter Century of War: The US Drive for Global Hegemony, 1990-2016 by David North, the chairman of the international editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site. The book is available for preorder today at Mehring Books.
NATO convenes summit in Warsaw to make war preparations against Russia
By Johannes Stern, 8 July 2016
The measures to be decided on by the western military alliance in the Polish capital will further escalate the threat of war in Europe.
The New York Times on the Chilcot report on Iraq war: “Nothing new here”
By Bill Van Auken, 8 July 2016
During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, the Times provided invaluable assistance to the Bush administration in dragging the American people into a criminal war based on lies.
Obama halts drawdown of US troops in Afghanistan
By Thomas Gaist, 7 July 2016
The White House announced Wednesday that 8,400 US troops will remain deployed in Afghanistan until Obama leaves office next January.
US planners prepare air war on China
By Peter Symonds, 7 July 2016
The Mitchell Institute report released last week reveals the detailed character of the Pentagon’s preparations and plans for a conflict with China.
Chelsea Manning hospitalized, then returned to prison
By Patrick Martin, 7 July 2016
While some media reports claimed a suicide attempt was involved, this has not been confirmed by the Army or Manning’s attorneys.
Chinese military drills ahead of South China Sea court ruling
By Peter Symonds, 6 July 2016
The military exercises are meant as a warning to the US, which has deliberately inflamed territorial disputes in the sea over the past six years.
Behind US proposal for military cooperation with Russia
Washington plans escalation of war for regime-change in Syria
By Thomas Gaist, 5 July 2016
Both the Democratic and Republican presumptive presidential candidates have declared their support for intensified bombing and the imposition of a no-fly zone directed against the Syrian regime and its Russian backers.
US attempt to hustle India into Nuclear Suppliers Group stalls
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 5 July 2016
US officials have vowed to work with India to secure its entry into the NSG, while joining India in suggesting that Beijing was responsible for its rebuff.
The Fort Bragg baseball game, American militarism and the Fourth of July
By Niles Niemuth—SEP candidate for vice president, 5 July 2016
Sunday’s baseball game at the Fort Bragg military base was intended to manipulate the celebration of the American Revolution in order to promote militarism and war.
Terror attacks shake US-backed Baghdad regime
By Thomas Gaist, 4 July 2016
At least 125 Iraqis were killed by a massive car bomb explosion in Baghdad Saturday, underscoring the crisis of the US-backed Iraq state
Obama administration blames suicide hotline workers for veteran deaths
By Eric London, 4 July 2016
The architects of war are seeking to blame the working class for a veteran suicide crisis caused by the sadistic character of the wars themselves.
Obama’s war in Iraq and the third battle of Fallujah
By Thomas Gaist, 29 June 2016
The “liberation” of Fallujah, touted as a victory, has already inflamed sectarian conflicts and set the stage for further escalation of the Obama administration’s renewed war in Iraq.
US Congressional report on Benghazi leaves roots of attack in the dark
By Bill Van Auken, 29 June 2016
The partisan Republican probe produced no new evidence indicting its principal target, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
State Department Syria memo: Setting the stage for war with Russia
By Bill Van Auken, 24 June 2016
The frustration expressed by the 51 State Department signatories is with the failure not just of Obama’s Syria policy, but of US imperialism’s entire Middle East strategy.
Mideast war architects back Clinton over Trump
By Patrick Martin, 24 June 2016
Former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, an architect of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, is the highest-profile Republican to announce his support for the Democratic presidential candidate.
Two US aircraft carriers in war games in western Pacific
By Peter Symonds, 21 June 2016
The show of force is a sign that the US intends to ramp up its confrontation with China following an imminent ruling on the Philippine legal challenge to Beijing’s maritime claims.
Reports of sectarian massacres as Fallujah falls to Iraqi government
By James Cogan, 20 June 2016
The Iraqi forces are being accompanied by US, British and Australian military “advisors.”
UN Security Council agrees to military intervention off Libyan coast
By Marianne Arens, 20 June 2016
Within the framework of the EU’s Operation Sophia, Germany is expanding its naval presence off the Libyan coast and leading the preparations for a military intervention.
State Department “dissent” memo backs escalation of regime-change war in Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 18 June 2016
The memo has ratcheted up tensions with Moscow while providing a glimpse of what may prove to be the policy of the next US administration.
US Navy to continue Black Sea incursions, brushing aside Russian demands
By Thomas Gaist, 18 June 2016
Rather than countering “Russian aggression,” the breakneck militarization of the Black Sea is rooted in the drive by the US and European powers to control the Eurasian landmass.
The return of “secular stagnation”
By Nick Beams, 17 June 2016
Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen’s comments on Wednesday pointed to the emergence of “secular stagnation” in the global economy, a term first developed in the 1930s.
US Senate votes to include women in the draft
By Tom Hall, 17 June 2016
The decision to require women to register with the Selective Service is being fraudulently hailed as a victory for women’s rights by leading Democrats.
NATO commits to Afghan war through 2020, prepares Eurasian-wide escalation
By Thomas Gaist, 17 June 2016
NATO’s extension of its mission in Afghanistan is one element in a “package of enhancements” aimed at strengthening its grip over strategic portions of Eurasia.
US-China tensions rise amid major naval exercises
By Peter Symonds, 16 June 2016
The Malabar war games involving the US, Japanese and Indian navies are “complex, high-end, war-fighting exercises” aimed against China.
The social roots of the mass shooting in Orlando
By Barry Grey, 15 June 2016
The question that is imperiously raised by events such as the Orlando massacre is: What is it about American society that so frequently leads mentally unstable individuals to resort to mass murder?
The Orlando massacre and the 2016 US election
By Bill Van Auken, 14 June 2016
Both major parties’ presumptive presidential nominees have rushed to exploit the tragedy in Orlando to promote war and reaction.
Obama green-lights escalation of Afghanistan war
By Thomas Gaist, 11 June 2016
The White House has authorized a major escalation of US air and ground combat operations targeting Taliban forces and others opposed to the stooge regime in Kabul.
Hurtling toward the precipice of war, Modi cements Indo-US alliance
By Keith Jones, 10 June 2016
The alliance between the Indian bourgeoisie and US imperialism represents a sea change in world geopolitics, with explosive implications for inter-state relations across Asia and the world.
Former US generals, diplomats clamor for renewal of Afghan war
By Thomas Gaist, 9 June 2016
The demands for an essentially permanent US presence in Afghanistan have become more insistent amidst a growing crisis of the Afghan government.
US and Chinese military aircraft in second close encounter in East Asia
By Peter Symonds, 9 June 2016
The incident took place amid Washington’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Beijing over maritime disputes in the East China and South China Seas.
Fallujah: A symbol of US war crimes
By James Cogan, 8 June 2016
The humanitarian disaster that is unfolding in Fallujah is the product of the US-led invasion in 2003 and Washington’s deliberate stoking of sectarian conflict in the face of determined Iraqi resistance.
Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore
Washington and Beijing draw battle lines over South China Sea
By James Cogan, 6 June 2016
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter threatened that China “could end up erecting a Great Wall of self-isolation.”
The assassination of Mullah Akhtar Mansour: Washington plays with fire in Eurasia’s geopolitical tinderbox—Part 1
By Thomas Gaist, 4 June 2016
The US’s May 21 assassination of the Taliban’s political leader was an immense provocation and a grave warning to the international working class.
The US elections and the criminalization of American politics
By Patrick Martin, 3 June 2016
The leading contenders for the Republican and Democratic Parties, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, may both face criminal indictments before the elections.
US-backed offensive against Fallujah threatens “human catastrophe”
By Bill Van Auken, 1 June 2016
The siege of the Iraqi city has exposed the deep sectarian fault lines in Iraq that are the product of the US occupation and its divide-and-rule tactics.
Union of Concerned Scientists warns of US-China nuclear war
By Peter Symonds, 1 June 2016
While graphically warning of the danger of nuclear conflict, the UCS has no proposal to prevent it—other than a vain hope in a diplomatic solution.
Who is responsible for the massacre in the Mediterranean?
By Bill Van Auken, 31 May 2016
With estimates of up to 900 refugees drowning, the past week has been the deadliest so far this year.
China prepares to send nuclear submarines into Pacific Ocean
By Peter Symonds, 31 May 2016
Chinese submarines will be deployed in an effort to prevent Beijing’s nuclear arsenal being wiped out in an American nuclear first strike.
The danger of nuclear war between the US and China
By Peter Symonds, 30 May 2016
A conspiracy of silence reigns over the preparations for war, aimed at deadening the consciousness of the population to the rising risks of nuclear conflict.
Deepening national antagonisms dominate G7 summit
By Nick Beams, 27 May 2016
The G7 nations are seeking to ramp up military pressure against China, amid a deepening economic slump and divisions within their own ranks.
The decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
By Joseph Kishore, 27 May 2016
President Barack Obama visits Hiroshima today, but will make no apology for the US dropping of the atomic bomb on the city. The WSWS is republishing an essay that first appeared on the 60th anniversary of that horrible crime.
Thousands of civilians in danger as US-backed forces mount offensives in Iraq and Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 26 May 2016
The offensives launched by US-backed forces on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border threaten to deepen the region’s crisis.
Obama appeals for closer US-Vietnamese ties
By Peter Symonds, 25 May 2016
In return for lifting the arms embargo, Obama undoubtedly extracted commitments from Hanoi to align more closely with Washington against Beijing.
US-backed offensive to seize Iraqi city of Fallujah
By Peter Symonds, 24 May 2016
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi is desperately seeking to shore up his fragile government.
Obama seeks Vietnam military ties amid rising tensions with China
By Bill Van Auken, 23 May 2016
Part of the discussions in Hanoi will involve the pre-positioning of US military hardware at bases used four decades ago to wage war on the Vietnamese people.
A pittance for Zika, $600 billion for the Pentagon
By Kate Randall, 20 May 2016
The priority of the ruling class and its political representatives is not the protection and wellbeing of the vast majority of Americans, but funding the gigantic US military apparatus.
Spy plane “intercept” highlights US push for South China Sea confrontation
By Mike Head, 20 May 2016
Allegations that Chinese aircraft “unsafely” intercepted a US surveillance plane underscore Pentagon calls for a “trigger” for conflict with China.
US and its allies threaten escalation of Syrian war
By Bill Van Auken, 18 May 2016
The failure to set a date for the resumption of talks points to the continuation of a conflict that threatens to spill over into a wider war involving the US and Russia.
US forces in combat in Somalia as AFRICOM plans for war across continent
By Thomas Gaist, 18 May 2016
Washington is preparing interventions throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where the US military’s Africa Command is currently examining a dozen locations for new bases.
NATO-Russia war tensions laid bare at Washington summit
By Thomas Gaist, 16 May 2016
The past week has seen the American-dominated Western alliance markedly intensify its preparations for aggressive war along Russia’s eastern and southern borders.
US Special Forces have been operating secretly in Libya for months
By Thomas Gaist, 14 May 2016
American commando teams are waging and preparing for war across ever-growing stretches of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Obama and the bombing of Hiroshima
By Andre Damon, 13 May 2016
The American president will travel to Hiroshima not to apologize for past crimes, but to prepare new ones.
US-NATO officials unveil Romania-based missile system
By Thomas Gaist, 13 May 2016
In a move Russian officials denounced as a “direct threat,” US and NATO officials presided over the formal launch of a new missile system based in Bucharest.
War danger grows following new US provocation in South China Sea
By James Cogan, 11 May 2016
US imperialism continues to stoke up long-standing, competing claims over territory in the South China Sea to militarily encircle and destabilise the Chinese regime.
A further eruption of US militarism in the Middle East
By Bill Van Auken, 10 May 2016
A century after the Sykes-Picot agreement dividing the Middle East between imperialist powers, the volcanic eruption of US militarism has shattered the nation-state system created by that accord.
US-backed Chinese separatists, dissidents meet in Dharamsala, India
By Kumaran Ira, 6 May 2016
American sponsored dissident groups held a conference last weekend in the midst of escalating war threats against China.
US change of command in Europe signals escalation of anti-Russia threats
By Bill Van Auken, 5 May 2016
NATO’s planned escalation of its presence on Russia’s western flank has led Moscow to prepare deployment of three new divisions.
US Navy Seal killed in Iraq combat
By Bill Van Auken, 4 May 2016
The fighting in Iraq came as the US and Russia sought to broker a renewed cessation of hostilities in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
The 9/11 cover-up continues
By Andre Damon, 3 May 2016
Over the weekend, CIA Director John Brennan denied allegations of Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the September 11 terror attacks and demanded that documents pointing to its complicity remain hidden from the American people.
Iraqi regime shaken by storming of Baghdad’s Green Zone
By Thomas Gaist, 2 May 2016
In a desperate effort to prop up its ailing puppet regime, Washington is preparing to meet opposition with, as Defense Secretary Carter put it, “the full might of the US military.”
US senators demand escalation of military confrontation with China
By James Cogan, 2 May 2016
The rhetoric reflects the fact that major figures in the US political establishment are more than prepared to trigger a war.
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