Peter Van Buren, those Syria strikes, and the cindered remains of our moral authority

Crashing the War Party

This week we had the privilege of talking to author and columnist Peter Van Buren, who served with the State Department in Iraq and experienced such a traumatic eye-opener he became a whistleblower and full-time critic of U.S. war policy ever since. We discuss the New York Times investigation of a 2019 bombing of women and children by a secret U.S. special forces unit in Syria, and the delusion that this was an aberration not the rule in Washington foreign policy. In the intro, Kelley and Dan talk about Washington buzz — again — over a possible Russia-Ukraine war. Will the hawks get what they wish for?

More from Peter Van Buren:

The US makes the rules, and Syria massacre was no exception -- Responsible Statecraft, 11/16

It Looks Like We Forgot -- The American Conservative, 9/27

We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, 2012.

Who Pays the Moral Price for War? -- The Nation, May 2017

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