Columnists
Hugh Gusterson
Now showing: Countdown to Zero
A new movie for nuclear abolition attracts criticism from surprising quarters.
The olive branch in the West Bank
Showcasing a world where local Fatah, Hamas, and Israeli activists come together, a new documentary provides a snapshot of what peace looks like between Palestine and Israel.
Against counterinsurgency in Afghanistan
How much do we have to lose before the Obama administration realizes that counterinsurgency won’t win?
Do professional ethics matter in war?
The U.S. military's controversial use of embedded anthropologists in Iraq and Afghanistan is both unethical and ineffective. It's time to shut this program down.
An American suicide bomber?
While some pundits find it impossible that Washington would ever employ a war-fighting strategy that involves suicide bombers, they too easily forget the country's suicidal dance with nuclear weapons.
Afghanistan: Vietnam all over again
Seemingly confident that he can avoid the miscalculations LBJ made in Vietnam 45 years ago, President Obama believes escalation will resolve the conflict in Afghanistan--a misbegotten strategy, then and now.
How to get out of Afghanistan
The answer isn't ordering more troops or drone attacks, it is conducting shrewd negotiations that will divide the many disparate elements that constitute the Taliban.
The shared sins of Soviet and U.S. nuclear testing
A new documentary helps illustrate the sad truth that neither the totalitarian Soviet Union nor the democratic United States protected those most affected by their testing programs.
Why the war in Afghanistan cannot be won
The tools President Obama and his military advisers believe they need for victory in Afghanistan--more troops and development aid--are actually what will lead to Washington's downfall there.
Thinking creatively about the North Korean stalemate
Forget stringent designations. To solve the long impasse with Pyongyang, its nuclear weapon status needn't be perfectly clear.
Hiroshima and the power of pictures
Whether it's photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors or chronicling detainee abuse in Iraq, war imagery can evoke, provoke, and incite--exactly why it should never be suppressed.
Iran: Looking forward
As Tehran's hard-liners reassert their authority after the country's disputed election, it will be harder than ever to convince them to abandon their nuclear program.
The CTBT debate begins again
With President Obama vowing "aggressive" and "immediate" ratification of the CTBT, the treaty's opponents already have started practicing their arguments against it.
Why Thomas Friedman is wrong about the National Ignition Facility
While a remarkable engineering feat, Lawrence Livermore's National Ignition Facility won't solve the country's energy woes as easily as Friedman claims.
The Washington Post's distorted take on Yucca Mountain
When criticizing President Obama's recent decision to end funding for Yucca Mountain, the Post's editorial board ignored some important facts.
Empire of bases
Eliminating foreign military bases will save the U.S. government money and foreign policy headaches.
The legacy of Ed Grothus and the Black Hole
The late Ed Grothus protested against nuclear weapons from his fabled atomic yard sale/antinuclear art installation located near Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The bursting global security bubble
Are there lessons the United States and the rest of the world can learn about international security from the current financial meltdown?
Profile
Columnist Resources
Recent Work
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"Anthropologists Should Stay Off the Front Line"
New Scientist (July 30, 2008) -
"When Professors Go to War"
Foreign Policy (July 2008) -
"Paranoid Potbellied Stalinist Gets Nuclear Weapons: How the U.S. Print Media Cover North Korea"
Nonproliferation Review (March 2008) -
"Anthropology and Militarism"
Annual Review of Anthropology (September 2007) -
"Taking the Reliable Replacement Warhead Personally"
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (July/August 2007 print edition)
Recommended Links
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Federation of American Scientists
Nonpartisan technical analysis on complex global issues that hinge on science and technology -
Iraq Slogger
Insights, scoops, and blunders about the Iraq War -
LANL: The Corporate Story
Anonymous weblog that provides an uncensored LANL forum -
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
U.S. nuclear weapons lab -
Los Alamos National Laboratory
U.S. nuclear weapons lab -
Military Anthropology Network
Online community that facilitates free and informed exchange between academics and practitioners on matters related to culture, anthropology, and the security sector -
Natural Resources Defense Council: Nuclear Weapons, Waste & Energy
NRDC's coverage of nuclear issues -
Network of Concerned Anthropologists
Independent, ad hoc network of anthropologists seeking to promote an ethical anthropology -
Nuke Test Films
Library of declassified U.S. nuclear test films -
Science Progress
A project of the Center for American Progress that seeks to improve science understanding among policy makers