Covert Ops

In Our Orbit: A Tolerance for Ambiguity

In Our Orbit: A Tolerance for Ambiguity In Our Orbit: A Tolerance for Ambiguity

In The Good Spy, Kai Bird documents the life of CIA agent Robert Ames, a sincere and unlikely mediator in the Middle East.

Jul 29, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Cecilia D’Anastasio

How ‘Benghazi’ Birthed the New Normal in Africa

How ‘Benghazi’ Birthed the New Normal in Africa How ‘Benghazi’ Birthed the New Normal in Africa

Each crisis, from Benghazi to the Boko Haram kidnappings, has provided further US justification for a military expansion that’s been underway for years.

May 15, 2014 / Nick Turse

The True Costs of Remote Control War

The True Costs of Remote Control War The True Costs of Remote Control War

Imagine if drone wars had a human face all the time so that we could understand what it was like to live constantly with the specter of death.

May 12, 2014 / Pratap Chatterjee

Abu Ghraib: A Torture Story Without a Hero or an Ending

Abu Ghraib: A Torture Story Without a Hero or an Ending Abu Ghraib: A Torture Story Without a Hero or an Ending

Despite all evidence to the contrary, many Americans continue to believe that brutality, torture and rank illegality is the road to national safety.

Apr 28, 2014 / Karen J. Greenberg

Washington’s Secret ‘Cuba Twitter’ Program Is the Same Old Policy of Regime Change

Washington’s Secret ‘Cuba Twitter’ Program Is the Same Old Policy of Regime Change Washington’s Secret ‘Cuba Twitter’ Program Is the Same Old Policy of Regime Change

Such covert operations are not sanitized by running them through USAID and wrapping them in the rhetoric of “democracy promotion.”

Apr 23, 2014 / Editorial / William M. LeoGrande

Why Kidnapping, Torture and Perjury Are No Longer Crimes in Washington

Why Kidnapping, Torture and Perjury Are No Longer Crimes in Washington Why Kidnapping, Torture and Perjury Are No Longer Crimes in Washington

Unlike the rest of us, members of our national security state exist in what might be called ‘post-legal’ America. 

Apr 21, 2014 / Tom Engelhardt

How Not to End Violence in a War-Torn Land

How Not to End Violence in a War-Torn Land How Not to End Violence in a War-Torn Land

The US plan to create another armed group to inject into Libya’s fractious sea of competing militias is going forward—and is fraught with peril.

Apr 15, 2014 / Nick Turse

The US Military Has Been ‘At War’ in Africa on the Sly For Years

The US Military Has Been ‘At War’ in Africa on the Sly For Years The US Military Has Been ‘At War’ in Africa on the Sly For Years

If you want to know what US forces are doing in Africa, it helps to be connected to a large engineering or construction firm looking for business.

Apr 14, 2014 / Nick Turse

Why Is the US Military Averaging More Than a Mission a Day in Africa?

Why Is the US Military Averaging More Than a Mission a Day in Africa? Why Is the US Military Averaging More Than a Mission a Day in Africa?

The officers running secret operations there have been calling Africa "the battlefield of tomorrow, today." 

Mar 27, 2014 / Nick Turse

America’s Secret War in 134 Countries

America’s Secret War in 134 Countries America’s Secret War in 134 Countries

The deployment of US Special Operations forces is a growing form of overseas power projection.

Jan 16, 2014 / Nick Turse

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