Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses retired General Stanley McChrystal’s generous retirement package, lucrative speaking fees, and new “teaching” position at Yale University; the celebrity status of retired military and government officials, even when they are notorious for torture, coverups, and being fired for insubordination; the missing-in-action campus antiwar movements in “liberal” American...

Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses the periodic, ritualistic exercise of claiming progress in the Afghanistan War, wherein US generals tell bland lies to Congress and nobody asks follow-up questions; the 300,000+ member Afghan army that is always right around the corner from competency; the end of patriotic breast-beating pro-war fervor in the military and government; and why congressional staffers would...

Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses her article “Do Afghan Riots Spell E-X-I-T;” the mainstream media’s sudden realization that the Afghan War effort is failing; increases in the frequency and severity of IED injuries to US soldiers (who are demoralized and have lost faith in their objectives); why the culture gap between US military trainers and Afghan army recruits is too great to be bridged, resulting in...

Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses her article “Surge Finally Getting a Second Look?” about the dawning realization in military circles that David Petraeus is a stuffed shirt and the Iraq surge didn’t really work; how the “surge” fiction was packaged and sold as a comprehensive COIN strategy (not surprisingly a failure as well); why the media will eventually realize that, since Iraq and Afghanistan are...

Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses her article “Post-9/11: All Eyes on You;” the International Spy Museum’s obnoxious advertising campaign that makes a joke out of all-too-real government intrusions into our privacy; how incremental increases of government power go largely unnoticed by the American “sheeple;” and the Washington Post’s noteworthy “Top Secret America” project on the national security state’s...

Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses her article “Muslims Smash Right-Wing Stereotypes;” jumping to incorrect conclusions about race and religion in the UK riots; the informal loyalty oath already demanded of American Muslims; why conservatives should blame Bill Clinton instead of Islam for 9/11; and why American Muslims may soon experience the repression of their European counterparts.

Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses her article “What Really Goes on in Afghanistan?” at Antiwar.com; how the US military plays down the severity and effectiveness of Taliban attacks; the great uncertainty of events in Afghanistan, owing to the minimal media presence; and why it’s pretty obvious there will be no Karzai government “stepping up” if/when US forces step down.

Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses her article “DoD Dodges Deadly Dust Data” about U.S Navy medical researcher Capt. Mark Lyles’s study of Iraq’s toxic dust; Iraq’s unique blend of naturally occurring heavy metals and bacteria with man made toxic burn pits and depleted uranium; the increase of neurological and respiratory illnesses among soldiers, without any definitive studies explaining why (because the...

This recording is from the KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles broadcast of March 18th. Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses the toxic legacy left by the US in Iraq, particularly in Fallujah and Basra; the numerous and severe birth defects caused by some combination of depleted uranium, water pollution and burn pits; doctors advising women in Fallujah to avoid bearing children, due to the high likelihood of deformities...

Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses the police accountability and prison reform website criminaljustice.change.org; why the protests in Iraq – so far met with arrests, beatings and torture – make Washington squirm; and the fate of Antiwar Radio guest Shane Bauer, who has been in Iranian custody since being arrested for suspected espionage in July 2009.

Featured Antiwar.com columnist Kelley B. Vlahos discusses her article 'Julian Assange: Man of the Decade;' why WikiLeaks — inspired by a culture of open source software, free exchange of information, high technology and distrust of authority — is the natural antagonist of a US-led global security state; dossier collections on 'suspicious' Americans who have not been charged with, or even suspected of committing, a crime; the 'who is a journalist' debate that presumes a press pass is required...

Featured Antiwar.com columnist Kelley B. Vlahos discusses the waning popularity of COIN strategy even among its strongest former proponents, the return of heavy air strikes and conventional warfare tactics in Afghanistan, the limited effectiveness of backroom negotiations with the Taliban due to missing key players, the increasingly difficult search for a face-saving exit strategy from Afghanistan and the liberal interventionist Democrats who dream of exporting freedom and democracy via...

Featured Antiwar.com columnist Kelley B. Vlahos discusses her acceptance of the Andrew Exum challenge: making a case for a non-COIN strategy in Afghanistan, why talk of withdrawal is verboten in the US media and 'serious minded' think tanks, the uncertainty of Taliban dominance in a US-free Afghanistan and why Hamid Karzai’s government is doomed no matter what happens.