Tom Engelhardt

Thomas M. "Tom" Engelhardt (born 1944) is an American writer and editor. He is the creator of The Nation Institute's tomdispatch.com, an online blog. He is also the co-founder of the American Empire Project and the author several books including most recently The United States of Fear (2011), Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single Superpower World (2014)  and A Nation Unmade by War (2018).

Quotes
(most recent first)
 * Addicted to war? Not us. Still, all in all, it’s quite a record and let’s not forget that looming on the horizon is another possible war, this time with Iran, a country that the men overseeing the invasion of Iraq in 2003 (including present National Security Advisor John Bolton) were eager to go after even then. “Everyone wants to go to Baghdad,” so the saying reputedly went in Washington at the time. “Real men want to go to Tehran.” And it’s just possible that, in 2019, Bolton and crew will be able to act on that much delayed urge. Considering the history of American wars in these years, what could possibly go wrong?
 * We’re Not the Good Guys, CounterPunch (4 July 2019)


 * To sum up, no one should ever claim that we Americans aren’t “at home” in the world. We’re everywhere, remarkably well funded and well armed and ready to face off against the aggressors and provocateurs of this planet. Just one small suggestion: thank the troops for their service if you want, and then, as most Americans do, go about your business as if nothing were happening in those distant lands. As we head into election season 2020, however, just don’t imagine that we’re the good guys on Planet Earth. As far as I can tell, there aren’t many good guys left.
 * We’re Not the Good Guys, CounterPunch, (4 July 2019)


 * Now, I don’t mean to sell Donald Trump short in any way. Give that former reality TV star credit. Unlike either Hillary Clinton or any of his Republican opponents in the 2016 election campaign, he sensed that there were voters in profusion in the American heartland who felt that things were not going well and were eager for a candidate just like the one he was ready to become.
 * If Donald Trump is the Symptom, Then What is the Disease? CommonDreams, (17 June 2019)


 * We are, of course, talking about nothing short of the ultimate crime, but on any given day of our lives, you’d hardly notice that it was underway. Even for an old man like me, it’s a terrifying thing to watch humanity make a decision, however inchoate, to essentially commit suicide. In effect, there is now a suicide watch on Planet Earth. Let’s hope the kids can make a difference.
 * Suicide Watch on Planet Earth, CounterPunch,(26 April 2019)


 * The Global War on Terror has become the Pentagon’s greatest tool in waging endless military campaigns.
 * When It Comes to War, We’re Just Getting Started, The Nation,  (15 April 2019)


 * The US military just can’t get enough of Somalia.... When it comes to the US military... It’s all of Africa.
 * When It Comes to War, We’re Just Getting Started, The Nation,  (15 April 2019)