thenation--2020-05-27--What Will Post-Pandemic Warfare Look Like?

Covid-19 , an ongoing global human tragedy , may have at least one silver lining .
It has led millions of people to question America ’ s most malignant policies at home and abroad .
Regarding Washington ’ s war policies abroad , there ’ s been speculation that the coronavirus might , in the end , put a dent in such conflicts , if not prove an unintended peacemaker—and with good reason , since a cash-flush Pentagon has proven impotent as a virus challenger .
Meanwhile , it ’ s become ever more obvious that , had a fraction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in chronically underfunded disease control agencies , this country ’ s response to the coronavirus crisis might have been so much better .
Curiously enough , though , despite President Trump ’ s periodic complaints about America ’ s “ ridiculous endless wars , ” his administration has proven remarkably unwilling to agree to even a modest rollback in US imperial ambitions .
In some theaters of operation—Iraq , Iran , Venezuela , and Somalia above all—Washington has even escalated its militarism in a fit of macabre , largely under-the-radar pandemic opportunism .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ obvious moment to reflect on whether America ’ s nearly two-decade-old “ war on terror ” ( perhaps better thought of as a set of wars of terror ) might actually end .
Predictions are tricky matters .
Nonetheless , the spread of Covid-19 has offered a rare opportunity to raise questions , challenge frameworks , and critically consider what “ ending ” war might even mean for this country .
In some sense , our post-9/11 wars have been gradually subsiding for some time now .
Even though the total number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has actually risen in the Trump years , those numbers pale when compared to the US commitment at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars .
The number of American soldiers taking fire overseas has , in recent years , dropped to levels unthinkably low for those of us who entered the military around the time of the 9/11 attacks .
That said , in these years , even unwinnable , unnecessary wars have proven remarkably unendable .
For evidence of this , look no further than that perennial war hawk Senator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lack of success of the various campaigns run by US Africa Command , or AFRICOM , across that continent and the Pentagon ’ s stated desire to once again pivot to great-power competition with China and Russia , just before the pandemic arrived on our shores Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced plans for a modest troop drawdown in parts of Africa .
Appalled by even such minor retrenchments , Graham , leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers , reportedly confronted Esper and threatened to make his “ life hell , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Less than two months later , AFRICOM declared a public health emergency at the largest of this country ’ s African bases in Djibouti amid concerns that even far smaller , more spartan American facilities on that continent lacked the requisite medical equipment to fight the spreading virus .
Whether the pandemic facilitates Esper ’ s contemplated reductions remains to be seen .
( A mid-April AFRICOM press release offering reassurance that the “ command ’ s partnership endures during Covid-19 ” doesn ’ t bode well for such a transformation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have some effect .
Just as quarantine and social distancing measures have transformed people ’ s lives and work in the United States , Washington ’ s war fighting will undoubtedly have to adapt , too .
Minimally , expect the Pentagon to wage wars ( largely hidden from public view ) that require ever fewer of its troops to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with allies and fewer still to die doing so .
Expect Washington to mandate and the Pentagon to practice what might increasingly be thought of as social distancing style warfare .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Just as senior leaders constantly counseled us junior officers in the bad old days to “ put an Iraqi face between you and the problem , ” so today ’ s and tomorrow ’ s troopers will do their best to place drones or ( less precious ) proxy lives between themselves and enemies of any sort .
Meanwhile , the already immense chasm between the American public and the wars being fought in its name is only likely to widen .
What may emerge from these years is a version of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unending , it may no longer pass for war in the classic sense .
To grasp how we ’ ve made it to a social distancing version of war , it ’ s necessary to go back to the earlier part of this century , years before a pandemic like Covid-19 was on anyone ’ s radar screen .
When , as a young Army lieutenant and later captain , I joined what were then called “ surges ” in Iraq in 2006 and Afghanistan in 2011 , conventional foot soldiers like me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The doctrine of counterinsurgency , or COIN , then ruled the Pentagon ’ s intellectual roost .
The trick , so key commanders believed , was to flood the war zone with infantry brigades , securing the conflict ’ s “ center of gravity ” : the locals .
Behind the scenes , Special Operations units were already taking on ever-larger roles .
Nevertheless , there were ample “ boots on the ground ” and relatively high casualties in conventional units like mine .
Times have changed .
Full-scale invasions and long-term occupations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cure-all , long ago fell out of favor .
By Barack Obama ’ s second term , such unpopular and costly campaigns were passé .
Even so , rather than rethink the efficacy of imperial interventionism , Washington simply substituted new methods masquerading as the latest strategy of success .
By the time Donald Trump delivered his “ American carnage ” inaugural address , the burdens of Washington war-making had flipped .
When I served in Iraq and Afghanistan , about half of the Army ’ s 40-odd combat brigades were deployed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
The remainder were training for their next rotations and already on the “ patch chart ” where each unit ’ s logo indicated its future scheduled deployment .
This was the life on the conveyor belt of American war that a generation of soldiers like me lived .
By January 2017 , however , the number of conventional brigades deployed in the war on terror could be counted on one hand .
For instance , the Army ’ s most recent round of deployments , announced this April , included just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were aviation units and , among the ground forces , one was headed for Europe , another for Kuwait .
Only two ground combat brigades , in other words , were slated for Iraq , Syria , or Afghanistan and one of them was a reconstituted Security Force Assistance Brigade—essentially a skeleton crew of officers and noncommissioned officers meant to train and advise local troops .
Meanwhile , the Pentagon ’ s Special Operations forces , which had by then crested above 70,000 , a figure so large as to raise questions about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stepped onto that conveyor belt .
America ’ s commandos now bear most of the burden of forever-war deployments and ( modest ) casualties .
When the virus struck , the Pentagon had long been developing a bifurcated military machine with two separate and largely discrete roles .
The commandos—with key assists from drones , CIA paramilitaries , local proxies , and private security contractors—continued to fight the lingering war on terror .
They were generally handling the lethal end of American war , calling in airstrikes , while training , advising , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces .
Conventional active-duty brigades—reduced to 32—were largely given quite a different task : to prepare for a future revamped Cold War with Russia and , increasingly , China .
That crew—infantry , armored brigades , and Navy carrier squadrons—had the “ new , ” purportedly vital mission of checking , containing , or challenging Moscow in Eastern Europe and Beijing in the South China Sea .
Senior generals and admirals were comfortable with such Cold War–style tasks ( most having been commissioned in the mid-1980s ) .
However , viewed from Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provocative as ever more American riflemen , tanks , and warships regularly deployed to former Soviet republics or , in the case of the Navy , to Western Pacific waters that abut China , making the risk of accidental escalation seem ever more conceivable .
Meanwhile , those shadowy special operators were directing the ongoing shooting wars and other conflicts , which , though given precious little attention in this country , seemed patently counterproductive , not to say unwinnable .
For the Pentagon and military-industrial complex profiteers , however , such unending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great-power build-up , were the gift that just kept giving , a two-tiered modus operandi for endless war-funding .
Thought of a certain way , American war will , in the future , increasingly be waged in cold blood .
While Covid-19 spreads virally through respiratory droplets , the disease of endless war continues to be blood-borne ( even if ever less of it is American blood ) , ensuring that the social distancing style combat of the future could become even more of an abstraction here .
In addition , the preferred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be uniformed soldiers , special or otherwise , or necessarily American—or in some cases ( think drones and future robotic weaponry ) human .
US war fighting has already been increasingly privatized .
Only recently , Erik Prince , the former CEO of the private military company Blackwater , an influential Trump ally as well as the brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos , pitched the president on a far-fetched plan to privatize the whole Afghan War .
The Donald passed on the offer , but that it was even considered at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of private contractors and soldiers of fortune in future American war-making may be here to stay .
In that sense , the recent fiasco of an armed raid led by former Green Berets turned mercenaries and aimed at the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro may prove as much a foreboding glimpse of the future as it was a farce .
When uniformed US service members are deemed necessary , the trend toward using just handfuls of them to run an increasingly proxy-war machine is likely to accelerate .
Such teams will fit well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 people .
For instance , drone ground control stations , essentially mobile trailers , require only a pair of operators .
Similarly , the military ’ s newest cyberwar branch ( formed in 2015 ) may not be made up of the hackers of Donald Trump ’ s imagination ( “ somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds ” ) , but they , too , will work in tiny teams abroad , and at a great distance .
Pushing those guidelines just a tad will be Army Special Forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which may prove to be core building blocks for a new American version of post-pandemic warfare .
Most disturbingly , American social distancing ways of war will likely operate smoothly enough without suppressing terrorist groups any more successfully than the previous versions of forever war did , or solving local ethno-religious conflicts , or improving the lives of Africans or Arabs .
Like their predecessors , future American wars in cold blood will fail , but with efficiency and , from the point of view of the military-industrial complex , lucratively .
Here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tragic paradox of it all .
As the coronavirus should have reminded us , the true existential threats to the United States ( and humanity ) —disease pandemics , a potential nuclear Armageddon , and climate change—will be impervious to Washington ’ s usual military tools .
No matter the number of warships , infantry and armored brigades , or commando teams , none of them will stand a chance against lethal viruses , rising tides , or nuclear fallout .
As such , the Pentagon ’ s plethora of tanks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any virus around ) , and towers of cash ( sorely needed elsewhere ) will , in the future , be monuments to an era of American delusion .
A rational ( or moral ) system with any semblance of genuine legislative oversight or citizen input might respond to such conspicuous realities by rethinking the national security paradigm itself and bringing the war state to a screeching halt .
Unfortunately , if America ’ s imperial past is any precedent , what lies ahead is the further evolution of 21st century imperial war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Covid-19 may prove the death knell of American war as classically imagined .
Future combat , even if broadly directed from Washington , may be only vaguely “ American.
” Few uniformed citizens may take part in it and even fewer die from it .
During the prolonged endgame of wars that don ’ t really end , US military fatalities will certainly continue to occur in occasional ones and twos—often in far-flung places where few Americans even realize their country is fighting ( as with those four US troops killed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Army soldier and two private contractors killed in Kenya earlier this year ) .
Such minuscule American losses will actually offer Washington more leeway to quietly ramp up its drone attacks , air power , raiding , and killing , as has already happened in Somalia , with assumedly ever less oversight or attention at home .
As in the Horn of Africa of late , the Pentagon won ’ t even have to bother to justify escalations in its war-making .
Which raises a sort of “ if a tree falls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there… ” conundrum : If the United States is killing brown folks around the world , but hardly anyone notices , is the country still at war ?
Moving forward , policy-makers and the public alike may treat war with the same degree of entitlement and abstraction as ordering items from Amazon ( especially during a pandemic ) : Click a button , expect a package at the door posthaste , and pay scant thought to what that click-request set in motion or the sacrifice required to do the deed .
Only in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constant : Lots of someones get killed .
The American people may leave their wars to unrepresentative professional “ volunteers ” led by an unchecked imperial presidency that increasingly outsources them to machines , mercenaries , and local militias .
One thing is , however , guaranteed : Some poor souls will be at the other end of those bombsights and rifle barrels .
In contemporary battles , it ’ s already exceptionally rare that a uniformed American is on that receiving end .
Almost midway through 2020 , only eight US service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Iraq and Afghanistan combined .
Yet many thousands of locals continue to die there .
No one wants US troops to die , but there ’ s something obscene—and morally troubling—about the staggering casualty disparity implicit in the developing 21st century American way of war , the one that , in a Covid-19 world , is increasingly being fought in a socially distanced way .
Taken to its not-unimaginable extreme , Americans should prepare themselves for a future in which their government kills and destroys on a global scale without a single @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic , in other words , talk of “ ending ” this country ’ s forever wars may prove little more than an exercise in semantics .

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.
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Covid-19, an ongoing global human tragedy, may have at least one silver lining. It has led millions of people to question America’s most malignant policies at home and abroad.
Regarding Washington’s war policies abroad, there’s been speculation that the coronavirus might, in the end, put a dent in such conflicts, if not prove an unintended peacemaker—and with good reason, since a cash-flush Pentagon has proven impotent as a virus challenger. Meanwhile, it’s become ever more obvious that, had a fraction of “defense” spending been invested in chronically underfunded disease control agencies, this country’s response to the coronavirus crisis might have been so much better.
Curiously enough, though, despite President Trump’s periodic complaints about America’s “ridiculous endless wars,” his administration has proven remarkably unwilling to agree to even a modest rollback in US imperial ambitions. In some theaters of operation—Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and Somalia above all—Washington has even escalated its militarism in a fit of macabre, largely under-the-radar pandemic opportunism.
For all that, this is an obvious moment to reflect on whether America’s nearly two-decade-old “war on terror” (perhaps better thought of as a set of wars of terror) might actually end. Predictions are tricky matters. Nonetheless, the spread of Covid-19 has offered a rare opportunity to raise questions, challenge frameworks, and critically consider what “ending” war might even mean for this country. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
In some sense, our post-9/11 wars have been gradually subsiding for some time now. Even though the total number of US troops deployed to the Middle East has actually risen in the Trump years, those numbers pale when compared to the US commitment at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The number of American soldiers taking fire overseas has, in recent years, dropped to levels unthinkably low for those of us who entered the military around the time of the 9/11 attacks.
That said, in these years, even unwinnable, unnecessary wars have proven remarkably unendable. For evidence of this, look no further than that perennial war hawk Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Given the lack of success of the various campaigns run by US Africa Command, or AFRICOM, across that continent and the Pentagon’s stated desire to once again pivot to great-power competition with China and Russia, just before the pandemic arrived on our shores Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced plans for a modest troop drawdown in parts of Africa. Appalled by even such minor retrenchments, Graham, leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers, reportedly confronted Esper and threatened to make his “life hell,” should the secretary downsize US forces there.
Less than two months later, AFRICOM declared a public health emergency at the largest of this country’s African bases in Djibouti amid concerns that even far smaller, more spartan American facilities on that continent lacked the requisite medical equipment to fight the spreading virus. Whether the pandemic facilitates Esper’s contemplated reductions remains to be seen. (A mid-April AFRICOM press release offering reassurance that the “command’s partnership endures during Covid-19” doesn’t bode well for such a transformation.) Current Issue View our current issue
Still, the disease will surely have some effect. Just as quarantine and social distancing measures have transformed people’s lives and work in the United States, Washington’s war fighting will undoubtedly have to adapt, too. Minimally, expect the Pentagon to wage wars (largely hidden from public view) that require ever fewer of its troops to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with allies and fewer still to die doing so. Expect Washington to mandate and the Pentagon to practice what might increasingly be thought of as social distancing style warfare.
Soldiers will operate in ever smaller teams. Just as senior leaders constantly counseled us junior officers in the bad old days to “put an Iraqi face between you and the problem,” so today’s and tomorrow’s troopers will do their best to place drones or (less precious) proxy lives between themselves and enemies of any sort. Meanwhile, the already immense chasm between the American public and the wars being fought in its name is only likely to widen. What may emerge from these years is a version of war so unrecognizable that, while still unending, it may no longer pass for war in the classic sense.
To grasp how we’ve made it to a social distancing version of war, it’s necessary to go back to the earlier part of this century, years before a pandemic like Covid-19 was on anyone’s radar screen.
American Wars Don’t End, They Evolve
When, as a young Army lieutenant and later captain, I joined what were then called “surges” in Iraq in 2006 and Afghanistan in 2011, conventional foot soldiers like me were the main game in town. The doctrine of counterinsurgency, or COIN, then ruled the Pentagon’s intellectual roost. The trick, so key commanders believed, was to flood the war zone with infantry brigades, securing the conflict’s “center of gravity”: the locals. Behind the scenes, Special Operations units were already taking on ever-larger roles. Nevertheless, there were ample “boots on the ground” and relatively high casualties in conventional units like mine.
Times have changed. Full-scale invasions and long-term occupations, along with COIN as a war-on-terror cure-all, long ago fell out of favor. By Barack Obama’s second term, such unpopular and costly campaigns were passé. Even so, rather than rethink the efficacy of imperial interventionism, Washington simply substituted new methods masquerading as the latest strategy of success.
By the time Donald Trump delivered his “American carnage” inaugural address, the burdens of Washington war-making had flipped. When I served in Iraq and Afghanistan, about half of the Army’s 40-odd combat brigades were deployed in those two regional theaters at any given time. The remainder were training for their next rotations and already on the “patch chart” where each unit’s logo indicated its future scheduled deployment. This was the life on the conveyor belt of American war that a generation of soldiers like me lived. By January 2017, however, the number of conventional brigades deployed in the war on terror could be counted on one hand.
For instance, the Army’s most recent round of deployments, announced this April, included just six brigades. Of these, two were aviation units and, among the ground forces, one was headed for Europe, another for Kuwait. Only two ground combat brigades, in other words, were slated for Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan and one of them was a reconstituted Security Force Assistance Brigade—essentially a skeleton crew of officers and noncommissioned officers meant to train and advise local troops. Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s Special Operations forces, which had by then crested above 70,000, a figure so large as to raise questions about how “special” they remained, stepped onto that conveyor belt. America’s commandos now bear most of the burden of forever-war deployments and (modest) casualties.
A Two-Tier War-Making System
When the virus struck, the Pentagon had long been developing a bifurcated military machine with two separate and largely discrete roles. The commandos—with key assists from drones, CIA paramilitaries, local proxies, and private security contractors—continued to fight the lingering war on terror. They were generally handling the lethal end of American war, calling in airstrikes, while training, advising, and sometimes even leading often abusive indigenous forces.
Conventional active-duty brigades—reduced to 32—were largely given quite a different task: to prepare for a future revamped Cold War with Russia and, increasingly, China. That crew—infantry, armored brigades, and Navy carrier squadrons—had the “new,” purportedly vital mission of checking, containing, or challenging Moscow in Eastern Europe and Beijing in the South China Sea. Senior generals and admirals were comfortable with such Cold War–style tasks (most having been commissioned in the mid-1980s). However, viewed from Russia or China, such missions looked increasingly provocative as ever more American riflemen, tanks, and warships regularly deployed to former Soviet republics or, in the case of the Navy, to Western Pacific waters that abut China, making the risk of accidental escalation seem ever more conceivable.
Meanwhile, those shadowy special operators were directing the ongoing shooting wars and other conflicts, which, though given precious little attention in this country, seemed patently counterproductive, not to say unwinnable. For the Pentagon and military-industrial complex profiteers, however, such unending brushfire conflicts, along with a new great-power build-up, were the gift that just kept giving, a two-tiered modus operandi for endless war-funding.
Enter the coronavirus.
In Cold Blood
Thought of a certain way, American war will, in the future, increasingly be waged in cold blood. While Covid-19 spreads virally through respiratory droplets, the disease of endless war continues to be blood-borne (even if ever less of it is American blood), ensuring that the social distancing style combat of the future could become even more of an abstraction here.
In addition, the preferred post-pandemic warriors of that future may not be uniformed soldiers, special or otherwise, or necessarily American—or in some cases (think drones and future robotic weaponry) human. US war fighting has already been increasingly privatized. Only recently, Erik Prince, the former CEO of the private military company Blackwater, an influential Trump ally as well as the brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, pitched the president on a far-fetched plan to privatize the whole Afghan War.
The Donald passed on the offer, but that it was even considered at such a high level suggests the role of private contractors and soldiers of fortune in future American war-making may be here to stay. In that sense, the recent fiasco of an armed raid led by former Green Berets turned mercenaries and aimed at the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro may prove as much a foreboding glimpse of the future as it was a farce.
When uniformed US service members are deemed necessary, the trend toward using just handfuls of them to run an increasingly proxy-war machine is likely to accelerate. Such teams will fit well with public health guidelines limiting gatherings to 10 people. For instance, drone ground control stations, essentially mobile trailers, require only a pair of operators. Similarly, the military’s newest cyberwar branch (formed in 2015) may not be made up of the hackers of Donald Trump’s imagination (“somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds”), but they, too, will work in tiny teams abroad, and at a great distance. Pushing those guidelines just a tad will be Army Special Forces A-Teams of 12 Green Berets each, which may prove to be core building blocks for a new American version of post-pandemic warfare.
Most disturbingly, American social distancing ways of war will likely operate smoothly enough without suppressing terrorist groups any more successfully than the previous versions of forever war did, or solving local ethno-religious conflicts, or improving the lives of Africans or Arabs. Like their predecessors, future American wars in cold blood will fail, but with efficiency and, from the point of view of the military-industrial complex, lucratively.
Here, of course, is the deep and tragic paradox of it all. As the coronavirus should have reminded us, the true existential threats to the United States (and humanity)—disease pandemics, a potential nuclear Armageddon, and climate change—will be impervious to Washington’s usual military tools. No matter the number of warships, infantry and armored brigades, or commando teams, none of them will stand a chance against lethal viruses, rising tides, or nuclear fallout. As such, the Pentagon’s plethora of tanks, aircraft carriers (themselves petri dishes for any virus around), and towers of cash (sorely needed elsewhere) will, in the future, be monuments to an era of American delusion.
A rational (or moral) system with any semblance of genuine legislative oversight or citizen input might respond to such conspicuous realities by rethinking the national security paradigm itself and bringing the war state to a screeching halt. Unfortunately, if America’s imperial past is any precedent, what lies ahead is the further evolution of 21st century imperial war to the end of time.
Post-Pandemic War
Still, Covid-19 may prove the death knell of American war as classically imagined. Future combat, even if broadly directed from Washington, may be only vaguely “American.” Few uniformed citizens may take part in it and even fewer die from it.
During the prolonged endgame of wars that don’t really end, US military fatalities will certainly continue to occur in occasional ones and twos—often in far-flung places where few Americans even realize their country is fighting (as with those four US troops killed in an ambush in Niger in 2018 and the Army soldier and two private contractors killed in Kenya earlier this year). Such minuscule American losses will actually offer Washington more leeway to quietly ramp up its drone attacks, air power, raiding, and killing, as has already happened in Somalia, with assumedly ever less oversight or attention at home. As in the Horn of Africa of late, the Pentagon won’t even have to bother to justify escalations in its war-making. Which raises a sort of “if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there…” conundrum: If the United States is killing brown folks around the world, but hardly anyone notices, is the country still at war?
Moving forward, policy-makers and the public alike may treat war with the same degree of entitlement and abstraction as ordering items from Amazon (especially during a pandemic): Click a button, expect a package at the door posthaste, and pay scant thought to what that click-request set in motion or the sacrifice required to do the deed.
Only in war, one thing at least stays constant: Lots of someones get killed. The American people may leave their wars to unrepresentative professional “volunteers” led by an unchecked imperial presidency that increasingly outsources them to machines, mercenaries, and local militias. One thing is, however, guaranteed: Some poor souls will be at the other end of those bombsights and rifle barrels.
In contemporary battles, it’s already exceptionally rare that a uniformed American is on that receiving end. Almost midway through 2020, only eight US service members have been killed by hostile fire in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Yet many thousands of locals continue to die there. No one wants US troops to die, but there’s something obscene—and morally troubling—about the staggering casualty disparity implicit in the developing 21st century American way of war, the one that, in a Covid-19 world, is increasingly being fought in a socially distanced way.
Taken to its not-unimaginable extreme, Americans should prepare themselves for a future in which their government kills and destroys on a global scale without a single service member dying in combat. After the pandemic, in other words, talk of “ending” this country’s forever wars may prove little more than an exercise in semantics.


thenation--2020-05-27--Conversations With ‘The Nation’: Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein joins Nation editorial director and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel in conversation at noon on Wednesday , June 3 @ @ @ @ @ Tech ’ s use of the pandemic to reshape the world .
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Naomi Klein joins Nation editorial director and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel in conversation at noon on Wednesday, June 3, to talk about Big Tech’s use of the pandemic to reshape the world. Klein is a journalist, social activist, and author of The Shock Doctrine and, most recently, The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal. Register now to join us for $10 or choose a package to access the next 5 weekly conversations at a discounted rate. And check out the schedule of upcoming Nation virtual events.
Our virtual series, “Conversations With The Nation,” helps to support rigorous progressive journalism at a critical moment in our history. Labor activist Ai-jen Poo, environmental activist and author Bill McKibben, Representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, and NARAL president’s Ilyse Hogue have joined us. Sign up for Nation e-mails to receive new speaker announcements and invitations to future events.


thenation--2020-05-27--Would a 2020 NBA Champion Ever Be Seen as Legitimate?

George Karl is one of nine NBA coaches who have won over a thousand games in their career .
He also has a 40-year reputation as a straight talker , never afraid to ruffle some feathers .
When it comes to restarting the NBA season amid the coronavirus pandemic , Karl was in good form , tweeting , “ It ’ s just my opinion and I don ’ t have all the facts .
But , as a huge hoops fan , I think it ’ s time to call the NBA season .
Honors the game better .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we can come back healthy and strong next season !
” Such a statement is apostasy at the current moment , as the league hemorrhages revenue .
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has committed to reopen at any cost .
His current plan is to send everyone to Orlando to resume the season .
In an act of corporate synergy , games would be held ( without fans in attendance ) at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex , a part of Walt Disney World .
Disney owns ESPN , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The network is desperate for content to broadcast .
Everyone wants to cash checks , and if that means having the playoffs take place in a dome in Orlando without fans , then so be it .
But even as the country takes steps to reopen its doors , safely holding NBA basketball games is a hell of a lot more complicated than just saying , “ We ’ re all going to Disney World.
” First and foremost , there is the question of the kinds of testing that would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuban , the Dallas Mavericks owner who is also on the Trump commission to reopen sports—a commission that contains no health experts , no union leaders , no women , and no people of color—has said that his team will not participate unless daily testing is possible .
But as many epidemiologists , like Dr. Celine Gounder , have stated , supplying constant tests to a multibillion-dollar sports league while frontline workers don ’ t have enough testing is a moral abomination .
The NBA is well aware that the optics of plentiful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said on Tuesday , “ Regular testing will be key in our return to play.
” He added that it will “ not come at the expense of testing front line health care workers or others who need it.
” But how the league will guarantee that remains a mystery .
In addition to how they will engineer a program of constant testing in an atmosphere of scarcity , it is unclear how this contact sport will manage when players test positive for Covid-19 .
Will the entire league @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in March when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive ?
What of the higher risk NBA employees ?
Coaches over the age of 65 ?
Support staff with health problems ?
The NBA has no answer for any of this either .
There is also the question of how salaries will be determined .
The NBPA is weighing the offers , but judging by the comments of union leader Chris Paul , the players are raring to return .
Paul said , Then there is the most looming question : Would a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the veneer of legitimacy ?
Would a season that ends in Orlando with no fans ever matter ?
Will a season that is a blatant money grab aimed at satisfying the bank accounts of owners , players , and broadcast partners produce a champion worthy of its name ?
The answer is that it will be seen as legitimate only if the fans grasp onto this construct and imbue it with their interest .
If the fans care—an iffy proposition—all the media naysaying in the world will not matter .
But that doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are looking at a cynical , withered end to the 2020 season of the world ’ s most beautiful sport .
I will welcome the televised distraction , but can ’ t say that it is anything to celebrate .
George Karl is right : It dishonors the game to finish the season in Orlando .
But honor has nothing to do with it .

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George Karl is one of nine NBA coaches who have won over a thousand games in their career. He also has a 40-year reputation as a straight talker, never afraid to ruffle some feathers. When it comes to restarting the NBA season amid the coronavirus pandemic, Karl was in good form, tweeting, “It’s just my opinion and I don’t have all the facts. But, as a huge hoops fan, I think it’s time to call the NBA season. Honors the game better. We stay on a more regular schedule and we can come back healthy and strong next season!”
Such a statement is apostasy at the current moment, as the league hemorrhages revenue. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has committed to reopen at any cost. His current plan is to send everyone to Orlando to resume the season. In an act of corporate synergy, games would be held (without fans in attendance) at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, a part of Walt Disney World. Disney owns ESPN, which is a multibillion-dollar television partner of the NBA. The network is desperate for content to broadcast. Everyone wants to cash checks, and if that means having the playoffs take place in a dome in Orlando without fans, then so be it.
But even as the country takes steps to reopen its doors, safely holding NBA basketball games is a hell of a lot more complicated than just saying, “We’re all going to Disney World.” First and foremost, there is the question of the kinds of testing that would be necessary to pull this off. Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner who is also on the Trump commission to reopen sports—a commission that contains no health experts, no union leaders, no women, and no people of color—has said that his team will not participate unless daily testing is possible. But as many epidemiologists, like Dr. Celine Gounder, have stated, supplying constant tests to a multibillion-dollar sports league while frontline workers don’t have enough testing is a moral abomination.
The NBA is well aware that the optics of plentiful testing for players could spell disaster. NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said on Tuesday, “Regular testing will be key in our return to play.” He added that it will “not come at the expense of testing front line health care workers or others who need it.” But how the league will guarantee that remains a mystery. In addition to how they will engineer a program of constant testing in an atmosphere of scarcity, it is unclear how this contact sport will manage when players test positive for Covid-19. Will the entire league shut down again, as it did in March when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive? What of the higher risk NBA employees? Coaches over the age of 65? Support staff with health problems? The NBA has no answer for any of this either.
There is also the question of how salaries will be determined. The NBPA is weighing the offers, but judging by the comments of union leader Chris Paul, the players are raring to return. Paul said,
“Obviously we want to play. Oh man, we want to play. We want to play bad. And I think that’s a consensus for the guys around the league. We want it to be, obviously, as safe as possible. But the biggest thing is, we miss the game.”
Then there is the most looming question: Would a championship won in this context have even the veneer of legitimacy? Would a season that ends in Orlando with no fans ever matter? Will a season that is a blatant money grab aimed at satisfying the bank accounts of owners, players, and broadcast partners produce a champion worthy of its name?
The answer is that it will be seen as legitimate only if the fans grasp onto this construct and imbue it with their interest. If the fans care—an iffy proposition—all the media naysaying in the world will not matter. But that doesn’t change the fact that we are looking at a cynical, withered end to the 2020 season of the world’s most beautiful sport.
I will welcome the televised distraction, but can’t say that it is anything to celebrate. George Karl is right: It dishonors the game to finish the season in Orlando. But honor has nothing to do with it.


thenation--2020-05-27--There’s Only One Possible Conclusion: White America Likes Its Killer Cops

George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police in broad daylight this Memorial Day weekend .
We know he was murdered because video shows Floyd handcuffed and pinned under the knee of an officer who was crushing his throat into the pavement .
Floyd could be heard telling the officer that he couldn ’ t breathe .
He could be heard telling the officer , “ Don ’ t kill me.
” Onlookers were heard begging the officer to stop killing the man .
The police didn ’ t stop .
The police are never going to voluntarily stop killing black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue until the majority of white people in this country make the killings stop .
The police work for white people , and they know it .
White people know it too .
Deep down , white people know exactly whom the police are supposed to “ protect and serve , ” and they damn well know it ’ s not black and brown people .
We saw some video of that too , over the weekend .
Amy Cooper was walking in Central Park with her dog .
Her dog was off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rules and city ordinances .
A bird-watcher , Christian Cooper , who happens to be black , asked her to follow the rules .
Instead of just putting her dog on a leash , Amy decided to use Christian ’ s race against him .
She first threatened to call the cops , and then did just that , claiming that an “ African American man ” was “ threatening ” her in the park .
The very instant that Amy Cooper felt she needed the support of institutionalized racism to get her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where to find it .
She knew exactly whom to call .
Amy Cooper was the one in violation of the rules .
Yet there she was , calling the cops .
No doubt , it wouldn ’ t have even occurred to her to call them to the scene of her lawlessness if not for the way cops tend to harass , jail , and , yes , murder people who look like Christian Cooper .
Or George Floyd .
Or Eric Garner .
Or Terence Crutcher .
Or Alton Sterling .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Diallo .
When Amy Cooper threatened to call the cops , she was threatening to take a black man ’ s life .
It ’ s a threat that only works because cops are so consistently willing to murder black and brown men .
Amy Cooper was able to dial up 400 years of racial oppression and violence on her phone more easily than I am able to order a pizza .
It doesn ’ t have to be this way .
It is entirely within the scope of white power in America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people could elect mayors and prosecutors who are committed to police reform .
White judges and juries could hold the police accountable for their crimes .
White Republicans could challenge and eventually break the power of police unions just as easily as they break teachers ’ unions or any labor union that stands in the way of rapacious capitalism .
If a majority of white people decided , today , that racist policing should end , we ’ d start seeing changes to police forces by the middle of next week .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A majority of them clearly want the cops to behave this way .
They want the viciousness .
They want the horror .
Why ?
It ’ s not just that a majority of white America probably thinks Amy Cooper did the right thing in her specific situation ; it ’ s that they think they will one day be in a situation where Amy ’ s actions are justified .
One day they might be alone in a park around a strange black man , and what might happen then ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ nice ” black person , but what if he weren ’ t ?
What if he were a “ mean ” or “ aggressive ” black person , and you were just alone in the park , illegally walking your dog ?
Best to keep brutal , dangerous , and racist cops around , because , hey , you never know .
White people think they might one day be Amy Cooper and they want to have somebody to call , just in case .
They know they ’ ll never be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s safe for Christian Cooper to bird-watch while black just isn ’ t the most important thing to a majority of white America .
Oh , a bunch of white people will be performatively outraged and saddened by Amy Cooper ’ s behavior .
They ’ ll gladly participate in her online dragging .
But when it comes to neutering the police so that the Amy Coopers of the world don ’ t have that kind of privilege and power over the Christian Coopers of the world , most of those white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same token , white people will participate in the outrage over specific murders , like George Floyd ’ s murder or Breonna Taylor ’ s .
They will join in calls to bring individual racists to account , like Amy Cooper or Gregory and Travis McMichael .
But when it comes time to deal with institutional purveyors of racism , as opposed to individual bad actors , the outrage and support of the white community is not there .
We see that disconnect on display now as police use the coronavirus to threaten @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Center for Constitutional Rights , the NAACP Legal Defense Fund , and the Legal Aid Society have joined a motion asking courts to investigate the New York Police Department ’ s enforcement of social distancing during the pandemic .
The legal motion suggests that the NYPD is in violation of court orders imposed on the city because of its unconstitutional stop-and-frisk program .
The lawyers are asking for an immediate moratorium on NYPD enforcement of social distancing orders .
Since March , 81 percent of social distancing violations issued by the NYPD @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
And those stats simply confirm what our eyes are already telling us .
We ’ ve all seen the pictures of white people gathered in parks as police officers politely hand out masks , but no tickets , just as we ’ ve all seen videos , shot just a neighborhood away , showing black and brown people getting beaten and manhandled by the cops for allegedly violating social distancing protocols .
Anybody could have seen this coming .
In fact , I wrote about how this would happen once the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I don ’ t have a crystal ball .
I ’ m not a wizard .
I just know that cops can not be trusted with the power they already have—and should never be given any more .
Putting the NYPD in charge of enforcing social distancing was a decision that was so obviously going to lead to racially biased enforcement of the orders that one has to assume it was intentional .
Most black people know what happens when cops are given power , but we can ’ t get 51 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about it .
We can ’ t get New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio , who centered his first mayoral campaign on his opposition to stop-and-frisk , to take a stand against the racist actions of his police force .
We can ’ t get the white people who are willing to gather in large crowds to enjoy a spring day to gather in a large crowd to protest at City Hall .
Breonna Taylor Was Murdered for Sleeping While Black Covid Is About to Become the Newest Excuse for Police Brutality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Know Ahmaud Arbery Was Lynched Why would they ?
White people are not ignorant and they ’ re not blind .
They see the racial bias in policing , and they know that bias benefits them .
They know they ’ re not going to catch a beatdown for not wearing a mask .
They know they ’ re not going to be choked to death on the street in broad daylight .
They know that having racist police officers around gives them incredible power , and power makes people feel good even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve been in rooms where I ’ ve heard white people congratulate themselves for not calling the cops on some black person , as if declining the option to use terrorism against a black person was some kind of proof of liberal good faith .
Black people have tried , again and again , to end the horror of police brutality against us .
We march , we protest , we educate , we vote .
We teach our children a special set of rules .
We produce art and literature and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations and movements .
And yet we can ’ t achieve structural change in policing because a majority of white America always sets its will against us .
White people in our own communities , our alleged “ friends and neighbors , ” consistently vote and act in ways that empower the police and ignore their brutality against us .
White people could put their police dogs on a leash .
But they won ’ t .
And more black and brown people will get mauled and killed until white people decide to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ die like George Floyd , because most white people want to live like Amy Cooper .

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George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police in broad daylight this Memorial Day weekend. We know he was murdered because a video shows Floyd handcuffed and pinned under the knee of an officer who was crushing his throat into the pavement. Floyd could be heard telling the officer that he couldn’t breathe. He could be heard telling the officer, “Don’t kill me.” Onlookers were heard begging the officer to stop killing the man.
The police didn’t stop. The police are never going to voluntarily stop killing black and brown people. The killings will continue until the majority of white people in this country make the killings stop.
The police work for white people, and they know it. White people know it too. Deep down, white people know exactly whom the police are supposed to protect and serve, and they damn well know it’s not black and brown people. We saw some video of that too, over the weekend. Amy Cooper, who is white, was walking in Central Park with her dog. Her dog was off its leash, in violation of park rules and city ordinances. A bird-watcher, Christian Cooper, who happens to be black, asked her to follow the rules. Instead of just putting her dog on a leash, she decided to use his race against him. She first threatened to call the cops and then did just that, claiming that an “African American man” was “threatening” her in the park.
The very instant that Amy Cooper felt she needed the support of institutionalized racism to get her through her morning, she knew exactly where to find it. She knew exactly whom to call. She was the one in violation of the rules. Yet there she was, calling the cops. No doubt, it wouldn’t have even occurred to her to call them to the scene of her lawlessness if not for the way cops tend to harass, jail, and yes, murder people who look like Christian Cooper. Or George Floyd. Or Eric Garner. Or Terence Crutcher. Or Alton Sterling. Or Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. Or Amadou Diallo.
When Amy Cooper threatened to call the cops, she was threatening to take a black man’s life. It’s a threat that works only because cops are so consistently willing to murder black and brown men. She was able to dial up 400 years of racial oppression and violence on her phone more easily than I am able to order a pizza.
It doesn’t have to be this way. It is entirely within the scope of white power in America to rein in its police. White people could elect mayors and prosecutors who are committed to police reform. White judges and juries could hold the police accountable for their crimes. White Republicans could challenge and eventually break the power of police unions just as easily as they break teachers’ unions or any labor union that stands in the way of rapacious capitalism. If a majority of white people decided, today, that racist policing should end, we’d start seeing changes to police forces by the middle of next week. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
But white people do not stop their cops. A majority of them clearly want the cops to behave this way. They want the viciousness. They want the horror. Why? It’s not just that a majority of white America probably thinks Amy Cooper did the right thing in her specific situation; it’s that they think they will one day be in a situation in which such actions are justified. One day they might be alone in a park around a strange black man, and what might happen then? Sure, Christian Cooper seems like a “nice” black person, but what if he weren’t? What if he were a “mean” or “aggressive” black person, and you were just alone in the park, illegally walking your dog? Best to keep brutal, dangerous, and racist cops around, because, hey, you never know.
White people think they might one day be Amy Cooper, and they want to have somebody to call, just in case. They know they’ll never be Christian Cooper. Making a society that’s safe for Christian Cooper to bird-watch while black just isn’t the most important thing to a majority of white America.
Oh, a bunch of white people will be performatively outraged and saddened by Amy Cooper’s behavior. They’ll gladly participate in her online dragging. But when it comes to neutering the police so that the Amy Coopers of the world don’t have that kind of privilege and power over the Christian Coopers of the world, most of those white people will fall silent.
By the same token, white people will participate in the outrage over specific murders, like George Floyd’s and Breonna Taylor’s. They will join in calls to bring individual racists to account, like Amy Cooper and Gregory and Travis McMichael. But when it comes time to deal with institutional purveyors of racism, as opposed to individual bad actors, the outrage and support of the white community is not there. We see that disconnect on display now as police use the coronavirus to threaten and harass black and brown people.
The Center for Constitutional Rights, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and the Legal Aid Society have joined a motion asking courts to investigate the New York Police Department’s enforcement of social distancing during the pandemic. The legal motion suggests that the NYPD is in violation of court orders imposed on the city because of its unconstitutional stop-and-frisk program. The lawyers are asking for an immediate moratorium on NYPD enforcement of social distancing orders.
Since March, 81 percent of social distancing violations issued by the NYPD have been made against black or Latinx people. And those stats simply confirm what our eyes are already telling us. We’ve all seen the pictures of white people gathered in parks as police officers politely hand out masks but no tickets, just as we’ve all seen videos, shot just a neighborhood away, showing black and brown people getting beaten and manhandled by the cops for allegedly violating social distancing protocols.
Anybody could have seen this coming. In fact, I wrote about how this would happen once the NYPD was empowered to enforce social distancing. I don’t have a crystal ball. I’m not a wizard. I just know that cops cannot be trusted with the power they already have—and should never be given any more. Putting the NYPD in charge of enforcing social distancing was a decision that was so obviously going to lead to racially biased enforcement of the orders that one has to assume it was intentional.
Most black people know what happens when cops are given power, but we can’t get 51 percent of white people to do anything about it. We can’t get New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who centered his first mayoral campaign on his opposition to stop-and-frisk, to take a stand against the racist actions of his police force. We can’t get the white people who are willing to gather in large crowds to enjoy a spring day to gather in a large crowd to protest at City Hall. More from Mystal Breonna Taylor Was Murdered for Sleeping While Black Elie Mystal Covid Is About to Become the Newest Excuse for Police Brutality Elie Mystal We Didn’t Need Video to Know Ahmaud Arbery Was Lynched Elie Mystal
Why would they? White people are not ignorant, and they’re not blind. They see the racial bias in policing, and they know that bias benefits them. They know they’re not going to catch a beatdown for not wearing a mask. They know they’re not going to be choked to death on the street in broad daylight. They know that having racist police officers around gives them incredible power, and power makes people feel good, even if they never use it. I’ve been in rooms where I’ve heard white people congratulate themselves for not calling the cops on some black person, as if declining the option to use terrorism against a black person was some kind of proof of liberal good faith.
Black people have tried, again and again, to end the horror of police brutality against us. We march, we protest, we educate, we vote. We teach our children a special set of rules. We produce art and literature and music documenting our pain. We start organizations and movements. And yet we can’t achieve structural change in policing because a majority of white America always sets its will against us. White people in our own communities, our alleged friends and neighbors, consistently vote and act in ways that empower the police and ignore their brutality against us.
White people could put their police dogs on a leash. But they won’t. And more black and brown people will get mauled and killed until white people decide to do better. More black people will die like George Floyd, because most white people want to live like Amy Cooper.


thenation--2020-05-27--Mitch McConnell Is Even Worse Than Trump

The United States passed a somber milestone on Tuesday , as the number of deaths officially attributed to Covid-19 exceeded 100,000 .
The only commemoration that Donald Trump undertook was a tweet boasting that “ if I hadn ’ t done my job well , & early , we would have lost 1 1/2 to 2 Million People , as opposed to the 100,000 plus that looks like will be the number.
” Aside from this note of self-congratulation , Trump spent the day on unusually frenzied attacks on political and journalistic foes .
He mocked Joe Biden for wearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nancy Pelosi.
” He also continued to speculate , without any basis in fact , that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough might have murdered an intern in 2001 , when he was a congressman .
The Scarborough tweets are particularly demented because the widower of the deceased woman asked Trump to stop bringing the matter up , since it only brings pain to her family .
Even the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal , one of the few newspapers that regularly carries water for the president , denounced Trump for “ debasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s hurting the country.
” Trump also tweeted that mailed-in ballots will lead to a “ Rigged Election.
” His two tweets were so egregious that for the first time ever Twitter appended a fact check to Trump ’ s tweets noting that the claims were “ unsubstantiated.
” Whether consciously or by reflex action , Trump is stirring up culture-war controversies with the media and Democrats as a way to move the discussion beyond the pandemic and the economic crisis .
A distraction strategy makes sense because Trump has effectively given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the pandemic .
As Greg Sargent of The Washington Post notes , “ Trump ’ s war on reality has veered into a new place .
Trump is responding to our most dire public health and economic crises in modern times with a concerted , far-reaching effort to concoct the mirage that we ’ re racing past both.
” For Biden to Unite the Party , He Needs Warren as His Running Mate The Best Way to Lampoon Trump : His Own Words “ The signs of this , ” Sargent observes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new federal testing blueprint that largely casts responsibility on the states .
In Trump ’ s new rage-tweets at the North Carolina governor over whether a full convention will be held under coronavirus conditions .
And in demands for liability protections for companies so sickened workers can ’ t sue.
” Trump ’ s response to the pandemic , now that the first wave has peaked and is perhaps beginning a slow decline , is to ride it out .
He is going to do as much as he can to pretend that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distance himself from any responsibility for the continuing deaths .
Trump has in effect gone AWOL .
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has been equally derelict , taking repeated breaks from Washington and focusing his energies more on filling court vacancies than crafting a policy response to the pandemic .
In mid-March , the hashtag # WheresMitch gained currency because he recessed the Senate to return to his home state of Kentucky to celebrate the elevation of a protégé , Justin Walker , to the federal bench .
Last Friday , the Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three weeks .
That leaves the $ 3 trillion relief package that the House has passed in a limbo , awaiting McConnell ’ s return for negotiations to even start deliberating about any Senate revisions .
McConnell ’ s decision to delay the relief package comes at a time when unemployment rates are about to approach 20 percent , a catastrophic level not seen since the Great Depression .
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell warns that the recession could last until the end of 2021 .
Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pair of opposites who have been forced together .
Trump is the loud outsider who has no real understanding of how government works .
McConnell is the low-key consummate insider , skilled at gaming the system through backroom deals .
Jane Mayer ’ s in-depth profile of the Kentucky senator in The New Yorker quotes many Washington observers who draw a contrast between the two men .
One former Trump administration official told Mayer , “ It would be hard to find two people less alike in temperament in the political arena .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ an unspoken thought .
McConnell is the opposite—he ’ s constantly thinking but says as little as possible.
” The official added , “ Trump is about winning the day , or even the hour .
McConnell plays the long game .
He ’ s sensitive to the political realities .
His North Star is continuing as Majority Leader—it ’ s really the only thing for him .
He ’ s patient , sly , and will obfuscate to make less apparent the ways he ’ s moving toward a goal.
” But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s single-minded focus on keeping his position as majority leader aligns him in a deep way with Trump , despite their superficial dissimilarities .
Both Trump and McConnell are nihilists , eager above all to hold on to power and to serve the wealthy donors of the Republican Party .
Mayer quotes John David Dyche , a conservative lawyer in Louisville who had been a McConnell admirer until recently and wrote an admiring biography of him .
According to Dyche , McConnell “ of course realizes that Trump is a hideous human being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but doesn ’ t do anything about it because the senator has “ no ideology except his own political power.
” Far from being an odd couple , Trump and McConnell are a perfectly paired duo .
They work well together as a grifter team .
Trump is the clown who grabs all the attention , while McConnell picks the pockets of the distracted crowd .
As grotesque as Trump is , McConnell is worse .
McConnell has been around longer and has helped create the conditions that made Trump ’ s rise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Obama years , including blocking the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland , contributed to the demoralization of the Democratic base and the larger feeling in America that Washington is hopelessly gridlocked .
In 2016 Trump skillfully exploited the anxiousness created by gridlock and sold himself as the outsider who can fix it .
Democrats are eager to defeat Trump in the fall election .
But they should bear in mind that McConnell is the bigger villain .
The goal should be to make sure McConnell loses his position as majority leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were ejected from his seat .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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The United States passed a somber milestone on Tuesday, as the number of deaths officially attributed to Covid-19 exceeded 100,000. The only commemoration that Donald Trump undertook was a tweet boasting that “if I hadn’t done my job well, & early, we would have lost 1 1/2 to 2 Million People, as opposed to the 100,000 plus that looks like will be the number.” Aside from this note of self-congratulation, he spent the day on unusually frenzied attacks on political and journalistic foes. He mocked Joe Biden for wearing a mask and railed against “crazy Nancy Pelosi.”
He also continued to speculate, without any basis in fact, that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough might have murdered a staff member in 2001 when he was a congressman. The Scarborough tweets are particularly demented because the widower of the deceased woman asked Trump to stop bringing the matter up, since it only brings pain to her family. Even the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, one of the few newspapers that regularly carry water for the president, denounced Trump for “debasing his office,” saying “he’s hurting the country.”
Trump also tweeted that mailed-in ballots will lead to a “Rigged Election.” His two tweets were so egregious that for the first time ever, Twitter appended a fact check to Trump’s tweets noting that the claims were “unsubstantiated.”
Whether consciously or by reflex action, Trump is stirring up culture-war controversies with the media and Democrats as a way to move the discussion beyond the pandemic and the economic crisis. A distraction strategy makes sense because Trump has effectively given up on crafting any serious policy response to the pandemic. As Greg Sargent of The Washington Post wrote, “Trump’s war on reality has veered into a new place. Trump is responding to our most dire public health and economic crises in modern times with a concerted, far-reaching effort to concoct the mirage that we’re racing past both.” More From Jeet Heer The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution August 14, 2023 Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? August 11, 2023 When Phallocrats Go Limp August 4, 2023
“The signs of this,” Sargent said, “are everywhere: in a new federal testing blueprint that largely casts responsibility on the states. In Trump’s new rage-tweets at the North Carolina governor over whether a full convention will be held under coronavirus conditions. And in demands for liability protections for companies so sickened workers can’t sue.”
Trump’s response to the pandemic, now that the first wave has peaked and is perhaps beginning a slow decline, is to ride it out. He is going to do as much as he can to pretend that it is all but over and to distance himself from any responsibility for the continuing deaths. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Trump has in effect gone AWOL. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has been equally derelict, taking repeated breaks from Washington and focusing his energies more on filling court vacancies than crafting a policy response to the pandemic. In mid-March, the hashtag WheresMitch gained currency because he recessed the Senate to return to his home state of Kentucky to celebrate the elevation of a protégé, Justin Walker, to the federal bench. Current Issue View our current issue
Last Friday, the Senate started another recess, this one lasting three weeks. That leaves the $3 trillion relief package that the House has passed in limbo, awaiting McConnell’s return for negotiations to even start deliberating about any Senate revisions. His decision to delay the relief package comes at a time when unemployment is about to approach 20 percent, a catastrophic level not seen since the Great Depression. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the recession could last until the end of 2021.
Trump and McConnell are often treated like an odd couple, a pair of opposites who have been forced together. Trump is the loud outsider who has no real understanding of how government works. McConnell is the low-key consummate insider, skilled at gaming the system through backroom deals.
Jane Mayer’s in-depth profile of the Kentucky senator in The New Yorker quotes many Washington observers who draw a contrast between the two men. One former Trump administration official told Mayer, “It would be hard to find two people less alike in temperament in the political arena. With Trump, there’s rarely an unspoken thought. McConnell is the opposite—he’s constantly thinking but says as little as possible.” The official added, “Trump is about winning the day, or even the hour. McConnell plays the long game. He’s sensitive to the political realities. His North Star is continuing as Majority Leader—it’s really the only thing for him. He’s patient, sly, and will obfuscate to make less apparent the ways he’s moving toward a goal.”
But as Mayer makes clear, McConnell’s single-minded focus on keeping his position as majority leader aligns him in a deep way with Trump, despite their superficial dissimilarities. Both Trump and McConnell are nihilists, eager above all to hold on to power and to serve the wealthy donors of the Republican Party. She quotes John David Dyche, a conservative lawyer in Louisville who had been a McConnell admirer until recently and wrote an admiring biography of him. According to Dyche, McConnell “of course realizes that Trump is a hideous human being & utterly unfit to be president” but doesn’t do anything about it because the senator has “no ideology except his own political power.”
Far from being an odd couple, Trump and McConnell are a perfectly paired duo. They work well together as a grifter team. Trump is the clown who grabs all the attention, while McConnell picks the pockets of the distracted crowd.
As grotesque as Trump is, McConnell is worse. McConnell has been around longer and has helped create the conditions that made Trump’s rise possible. McConnell’s obstruction during the Obama years, including blocking the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland, contributed to the demoralization of the Democratic base and the larger feeling in America that Washington is hopelessly gridlocked. In 2016, Trump skillfully exploited the anxiousness created by gridlock and sold himself as the outsider who could fix it.
Democrats are eager to defeat Trump in the fall election. But they should bear in mind that McConnell is the bigger villain. The goal should be to make sure McConnell loses his position as majority leader. Even sweeter would be if he is ejected from his seat.


thenation--2020-05-27--In Rural America, Opioids Kill Many More Than Covid-19

On a Monday night in the town next to mine , about 100 people—a big turnout for Greene County , whose population is only 47,000—crowded into a movie theater to watch a documentary called Smacked !
It ’ s about opioid addiction in rural areas , focusing in particular on two counties west of here .
Most of the attendees , it was clear from the discussion after the film , knew someone—often a family member—who was addicted or who had died of an overdose .
They were angry , bewildered , and at a loss as to what to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ featured in the film said during the discussion that she blamed herself for her son ’ s overdose death , I felt the sense of shared heartbreak throughout the hall .
One former addict , offering his thoughts on how to help people kick their habit , said , “ We have to just love each other.
” But somehow , that didn ’ t seem like an adequate solution .
The spotlight has moved on from opioid addiction in the last couple of years as the national death rate has started to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addiction programs and tighter restrictions on opioid prescriptions .
But where I live , and in a lot of other rural areas , things may have stopped getting worse—but they aren ’ t getting noticeably better .
Despite growing attention to the problem , Greene County has one of the highest per capita death rates from overdoses in the state .
Where I Live , the Pandemic Can Feel Remote What the Pandemic Looks Like in Rural New York More in this series Moreover , the outbreak of the coronavirus has led to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including increased stress and the cancellation of face-to-face addiction support group meetings .
Over the last couple of months , there have been 25 overdoses and three deaths in the county , compared with 10 overdoses and two deaths in the same period last year , according to Greener Pathways , a local addiction assistance organization .
( At present the death toll in the county from Covid-19 is 18 . )
And grim as the figures are , they don ’ t represent the full extent of the problem .
Narcan—the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which reverses the effects of the opioid—is so widely available these days that many overdoses ( including from heroin , an increasingly popular opioid that is cheaper and easier to obtain than pills ) are never reported .
There doesn ’ t seem to be any single answer to why rural counties like mine are hurting so badly .
People working in the field cite reasons ranging from the inadequacy of treatment to the isolation of rural life .
“ There ’ s nothing else to do ” for many young people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ O ’ Connor , a friend of mine who works as a trained paramedic .
“ It ’ s also an area of high binge drinking and high suicide rates.
” And even if someone wants to seek treatment in one of the few locations where it ’ s offered , he says , “ How do you get the gas money to go there ?
” One big reason for the opioid problems now is the fact that for many years , rural residents were given opioid prescriptions at nearly double the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , only partially explainable by the presence of more older people with chronic pain .
More than 18 million prescription pain pills were distributed in Greene County between 2006 and 2014—enough to provide over 40 pills a year for every resident .
I got more than my share : When I had a bad case of shingles a few years ago , a doctor at our nearest hospital gave me a prescription for 120 Oxycontin pills but provided no warning about their addictive potential .
Fortunately , I had the good sense to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As for why rural residents don ’ t seek help for addiction , the most plausible explanation seems to me to be the fear of social shaming .
In an area where everyone knows everyone , and everyone is expected to stand on their own two feet , drug use is often perceived as a sign of weak character .
“ The stigma is a really big thing , ” says Danielle Hotaling , who describes herself as having abused both alcohol and drugs as a teenager .
Hotaling , who lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coordinator of the Columbia-Greene Addiction Coalition , says people view drug use as “ a moral issue.
” She adds , “ Many are not yet seeing it for what it is : It ’ s a disease.
” Katie Oldakowski , who works for a local mental health organization , says the lack of sympathy extends even to substance abusers who die of overdoses .
“ They call it ‘ thinning the herd , ’ ” she says .
I haven ’ t heard that phrase myself , but I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frequent flyers , ” used to describe addicts who regularly overdose and then are brought back by Narcan .
Explaining why this is so common , Aidan O ’ Connor says that addicts are in such mental or physical distress that they aren ’ t thinking rationally .
“ The drugs take away the pain , ” he says .
“ If you give them Narcan you ’ re taking away the euphoria or bringing back the pain.
” Then what ’ s the solution ?
I was surprised during the discussion after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say that what had prompted him to seek help was the fear of prison or death .
That certainly accords with what I ’ ve heard from “ lock ’ em up ” law enforcement officials .
But even the recently elected county sheriff , who also spoke , said he favors more treatment rather than more jail time .
“ Scare tactics work for some people , ” Oldakowski says , but everyone has to find their own path out .
Looking at the broader picture , says O ’ Connor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s representative on the county legislature , elected officials need to come up with ways to improve schools , housing , and the economy .
Rural America as a whole needs fixing , he says .
“ We ’ ve taken care of the health emergency ; we ’ ve stopped the numbers growing with needle exchanges and other programs , ” he says .
“ But we still have the same problems we did before.
” Editor ’ s note : This article has been updated to reflect the revised death @ @ @ @ @ @ @

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On a Monday night in the town next to mine, about 100 people—a big turnout for Greene County, whose population is only 47,000—crowded into a movie theater to watch a documentary called Smacked! It’s about opioid addiction in rural areas, focusing in particular on two counties west of here.
Most of the attendees, it was clear from the discussion after the film, knew someone—often a family member—who was addicted or who had died of an overdose. They were angry, bewildered, and at a loss as to what to do. When a mother who had featured in the film said during the discussion that she blamed herself for her son’s overdose death, I felt the sense of shared heartbreak throughout the hall.
One former addict, offering his thoughts on how to help people kick their habit, said, “We have to just love each other.” But somehow, that didn’t seem like an adequate solution.
The spotlight has moved on from opioid addiction in the last couple of years as the national death rate has started to come down, in parallel with more addiction programs and tighter restrictions on opioid prescriptions. But where I live, and in a lot of other rural areas, things may have stopped getting worse—but they aren’t getting noticeably better. Despite growing attention to the problem, Greene County has one of the highest per capita death rates from overdoses in the state. All Politics Is Local My Neighbors Certainly Didn’t Celebrate Biden’s Win, but They Also Didn’t Publicly Mourn Trump’s Loss Karen Rothmyer Trump’s Response to Losing the Vote Calvin Trillin One Black Lives Matter Protest in Rural New York Opens the Door to Change Karen Rothmyer
Moreover, the outbreak of the coronavirus has led to a spike that experts attribute to factors including increased stress and the cancellation of face-to-face addiction support group meetings. Over the last couple of months, there have been 25 overdoses and three deaths in the county, compared with 10 overdoses and two deaths in the same period last year, according to Greener Pathways, a local addiction assistance organization. (At present the death toll in the county from Covid-19 is 18.)
And grim as the figures are, they don’t represent the full extent of the problem. Narcan—the most common brand of the medication naloxone, which reverses the effects of the opioid—is so widely available these days that many overdoses (including from heroin, an increasingly popular opioid that is cheaper and easier to obtain than pills) are never reported. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
There doesn’t seem to be any single answer to why rural counties like mine are hurting so badly. People working in the field cite reasons ranging from the inadequacy of treatment to the isolation of rural life. “There’s nothing else to do” for many young people who stay in the area, says Aidan O’Connor, a friend of mine who works as a trained paramedic. “It’s also an area of high binge drinking and high suicide rates.” And even if someone wants to seek treatment in one of the few locations where it’s offered, he says, “How do you get the gas money to go there?” Current Issue View our current issue
One big reason for the opioid problems now is the fact that for many years, rural residents were given opioid prescriptions at nearly double the rate of patients in large urban areas, only partially explainable by the presence of more older people with chronic pain. More than 18 million prescription pain pills were distributed in Greene County between 2006 and 2014—enough to provide over 40 pills a year for every resident.
I got more than my share: When I had a bad case of shingles a few years ago, a doctor at our nearest hospital gave me a prescription for 120 Oxycontin pills but provided no warning about their addictive potential. Fortunately, I had the good sense to be nervous and took only a dozen.
As for why rural residents don’t seek help for addiction, the most plausible explanation seems to me to be the fear of social shaming. In an area where everyone knows everyone, and everyone is expected to stand on their own two feet, drug use is often perceived as a sign of weak character. “The stigma is a really big thing,” says Danielle Hotaling, who describes herself as having abused both alcohol and drugs as a teenager. Hotaling, who lives in my village and is now the coordinator of the Columbia-Greene Addiction Coalition, says people view drug use as “a moral issue.” She adds, “Many are not yet seeing it for what it is: It’s a disease.” Katie Oldakowski, who works for a local mental health organization, says the lack of sympathy extends even to substance abusers who die of overdoses. “They call it ‘thinning the herd,’” she says.
I haven’t heard that phrase myself, but I’ve heard similarly dismissive ones such as “frequent flyers,” used to describe addicts who regularly overdose and then are brought back by Narcan. Explaining why this is so common, Aidan O’Connor says that addicts are in such mental or physical distress that they aren’t thinking rationally. “The drugs take away the pain,” he says. “If you give them Narcan you’re taking away the euphoria or bringing back the pain.”
Then what’s the solution? I was surprised during the discussion after the movie to hear one former addict say that what had prompted him to seek help was the fear of prison or death. That certainly accords with what I’ve heard from “lock ’em up” law enforcement officials. But even the recently elected county sheriff, who also spoke, said he favors more treatment rather than more jail time.
“Scare tactics work for some people,” Oldakowski says, but everyone has to find their own path out.
Looking at the broader picture, says O’Connor, who served a term as our town’s representative on the county legislature, elected officials need to come up with ways to improve schools, housing, and the economy. Rural America as a whole needs fixing, he says. “We’ve taken care of the health emergency; we’ve stopped the numbers growing with needle exchanges and other programs,” he says. “But we still have the same problems we did before.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the revised death toll from Covid-19 in Greene County.