Laurie Calhoun's Blog, page 13

All Smoke, No Mirrors: Appearance vs Reality in Drone Strikes

In 2009, a reported 27,000 people were employed in the public relations wing of the Pentagon (AP). I presume that there are even more today. Their job, as is true of every state-funded Ministry of Propaganda, is to win over “hearts and minds”, while the rest of the institution focuses on homicide. Only the extraordinary […]

Interview by Mike Church of Laurie Calhoun on Veritas Radio Network

On Friday, June 10, 2016, Mike Church and I will be discussing:   “How Just War Theory Became a Rhetorical Ally in Never-ending War”   Please join us for the live broadcast at: 9:40am CST (in New Orleans, where Mike will be) 10:40am EST 3:40pm in the UK (where I am currently)   Here is […]

Lessons from Tina, RAF Reaper Drone Operator Who Likens ISIS to the Nazis

I have been meaning to discuss an article from the 4 May 2016 edition of The Sun for almost a month, but I have put it off in part because the whole issue is so utterly depressing. There have been a few different short pieces in mainstream media outlets featuring the perspectives of drone operators, […]

Note to Obama, Sisyphean American Assassin: Dead No. 1 Taliban Leader Replaced by Somebody Else

As President Obama’s term in office draws to a close, he has been scurrying about in a diaphanous attempt to convey the impression that he has accomplished a lot. Will he have any significant legacy beyond having served as the country’s first Assassin-in-Chief, who normalized targeted killing—the Hannibal Lectoresque stalking and hunting of human beings—through […]

Remembering the Magna Carta

It took a long time for human societies to come up with the idea of universal human rights and the equality of persons under the law. Before 1215, monarchs could capriciously decree “Off with their heads!” and dispatch anyone with impunity. In the short term, leaders were the equivalent of terrestrial gods, acting with the […]

David Swanson’s review essay on War and Delusion: A Critical Delusion

David Swanson has added War and Delusion: A Critical Examination to his list of “required reading”. I am honored! review essay: “Just War Lies”    

What’s worse than the Department of PreCrime? The US Drone Program

I have seen Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film Minority Report mentioned in the writings of a few different people, so when the opportunity presented itself to me recently, I decided to find out why it is still being talked about 14 years after its release. Not being much for science fiction, it’s not surprising that I […]

The Jig is Up: Just War Theory Can No Longer Be Used as a Cover for State Policies of Mass Homicide

For more than fifteen years—a sizeable chunk of my adult life—I have been criticizing the just war paradigm which has undergirded calls for war by the leaders of states for centuries. My first essay on the topic was published in 2000: “The Injustice of Just Wars,” but that was only the beginning. I also published […]

Morality & Misery: The Meaning of Drone Operator PTSD

For years, drone killing has been successfully marketed as “smart war”: the ability to defeat enemies without risking harm to allied soldiers. However, given the chaos throughout the Middle East, it seems safe to say that rather than keeping terrorists in check, drones have inspired more and more young people to undertake jihad in response. […]

Paperback edition of We Kill Because We Can: From Soldiering to Assassination in the Drone Age

Coming in September 2016, with a new foreword covering lethal drone developments from 2015 to present: