In a recent interview with Der Spiegel, General Petraeus reiterated his anti-corruption push, in which he tells his troops to be careful where they spend their money. With the latest stories from DC that show folks like Blackwater/Xe, KBR, and other US contractors getting off the hook, you have to wonder if the strategy of “Do As We Say, Not As We Do” will ever work. And if it won’t, then why do we continue to spend money and lives to keep pursuing it?

As our combat troops leave Iraq, the number of private security contracts is expected to increase over two fold. What does this mean for our ability to hold them accountable for their conduct in war zones?

The way things are looking so far from the federal investigation, apparently nobody is to blame for possibly the worst ecological disaster in history.

What happens if Sara Palin gets the presidency?

–a refrain heard over and over in the progressive community used to dismantle any opposition to voting for the least objectionable candidate with a D next to their name. A “support the status quo” bumper sticker with good intentions, but horrible results. It is a strategy imbedded in irrational fear. Is voting for the least objectionable candidate with a D next to their name really the way to move progressive ideals forward?

Accountability for torture certainly is anti-war work. Join the Aug. 1-2 Fast Against Torture. It’s been eight years since the torture memos.

Eight years is enough! Fast Against Torture commemorates eight years since the Yoo/Bybee torture memos were written.

A request to the Dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law for help in seeking asylum for an Iraqi lawyer who advised the Geneva Conventions would not apply to captured American soldiers.

A request to the Dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law for help in seeking asylum for an Iraqi lawyer who advised the Geneva Conventions would not apply to captured American soldiers.

People are wringing their hands this morning, conflicted about Obama’s speech last night. Some say it was pitch perfect, others are disappointed. Obama has a pattern going in regard to accountability. Some people are more “threatened” by this pattern than others. In my opinion, the underlying controversy can be summed up in one word: Accountability. This is a discussion about the pattern of accountability as it relates to Obama’s presidency and why some of his constituency might be getting anxious.

Preliminary thoughts on the National Peace Jirga in Afghanistan by Josh Mull.