Making the Case for Peace to Conservatives

In the United States, political conservatives tend to support American wars and military interventions abroad and generally favor a hawkish foreign policy. People dedicated to peace and alternatives to violence need to persuade such conservatives to oppose US military action more often. Persuading people, whatever their ideological affiliation, to change their minds is extremely difficult. … Continue reading Making the Case for Peace to Conservatives →

“More Lives Were Saved”: Annihilated Cities and Choosing the Lesser Evil

The American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (whose 72nd anniversaries were this past summer) have long been defended because they supposedly saved more lives than they destroyed. By using atomic bombs to force Japan’s surrender in August 1945, the United States (so the argument goes) avoided either an American invasion of Japan or a … Continue reading “More Lives Were Saved”: Annihilated Cities and Choosing the Lesser Evil →

Using Empathy during a New Cold War

An American contemplating the hostile state of current US-Russian relations might well be pessimistic. Russia, this American observer might conclude, is an implacably hostile enemy whose actions reflect Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambition to act aggressively abroad while suppressing dissent at home. From this perspective, America has no choice but to wage a new Cold … Continue reading Using Empathy during a New Cold War →

Engagement, Not Confrontation: The Need for a New US Policy toward Russia

America and Russia are currently engaged in a new Cold War: a conflict marked by mutual suspicion and hostility; confrontation in certain regions of the world, such as Ukraine and Syria; and at least potential military competition. Over a quarter-century after the last Cold War ended with the Soviet Union’s formal dissolution in December 1991, … Continue reading Engagement, Not Confrontation: The Need for a New US Policy toward Russia →

Self-Defeating Violence: The Case of the First World War

The United States recently reached the 100th anniversary of American entry into the First World War. Although American businesses had provided arms and money to the Allied nations (which included Britain, France and Russia) in their war against Germany and the other Central Powers, US President Woodrow Wilson had sought to avoid sending American troops … Continue reading Self-Defeating Violence: The Case of the First World War →

Three Reasons for Opposing the US Bombing of Syria

The United States’ intervention in the Syrian civil war took a new turn on April 7, when American ships launched a missile strike on the Syrian government’s Al Shayrat air base. This attack on Bashar al-Assad’s regime marked a shift in US policy—previous American military actions in Syria over roughly the past two-and-a-half years had … Continue reading Three Reasons for Opposing the US Bombing of Syria →

Remembering Nat Hentoff (1925-2017)

Defenders of life lost one of their most eloquent, frustrating, and idiosyncratic voices earlier this year when Nat Hentoff died on January 7, at the age of 91. This Jewish, atheist, civil libertarian, pro-lifer’s critiques of abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia, poverty, racism, and war, provide much to inspire adherents of the consistent ethic of … Continue reading Remembering Nat Hentoff (1925-2017) →

Waging Indirect War: How the United States Contributes to Yemen’s Agony

Led by Saudi Arabia, a coalition of Arab states has been conducting aerial bombing in Yemen for roughly 18 months. The Coalition’s air war, which is an intervention into Yemen’s civil war, has killed large numbers of civilians and severely damaged Yemen’s economy and infrastructure. Yet over the past year and a half this deadly … Continue reading Waging Indirect War: How the United States Contributes to Yemen’s Agony →

The Just War Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons

Although nuclear weapons receive far less attention today than during the Cold War, the weapons—and the dangers and ethical problems they pose—remain with us. The nuclear weapons currently held by the nine nuclear powers number almost 10,000. Of these, over 3,900 are deployed with operational military forces. Almost 2,000 nuclear weapons are on high alert … Continue reading The Just War Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons →

Varieties of Hawk: Clinton v. Trump on Foreign Policy

For an American peace advocate, the two major political parties rarely offer appealing candidates in a presidential election. The 2016 election is no exception to this rule. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the nominees for the Democratic and Republican Parties, respectively, seem dedicated to the continued use of American military force around the world. … Continue reading Varieties of Hawk: Clinton v. Trump on Foreign Policy →