Biden warned Obama during Afghan war review not to get 'locked into Vietnam'
On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, as President Obama was crafting his final Afghan war strategy, Vice President Biden fired off six handwritten memos by secure fax from Nantucket island in Massachusetts, where the Biden family traditionally gathered to celebrate the November holiday. As Biden had for months, he was keeping ...
Military thwarted president seeking choice in Afghanistan
President Obama was on edge. For two exhausting months, he had been asking military advisers to give him a range of options for the war in Afghanistan. Instead, he felt that they were steering him toward one outcome and thwarting his search for an exit plan. He would later tell ...
Mixed messages from Obama, Petraeus on Afghanistan pullout
WASHINGTON - Even as new disclosures reveal that President Obama was leaning hard on the Pentagon to come up with an exit strategy for Afghanistan with no “wiggle room,” US troops on the ground are increasingly seeking out just that.As they make their case, soldiers tend to point to the ...
Senate blocks move to lift ban on gays in US military
WASHINGTON — The US Senate Tuesday blocked moves to repeal a ban on gays in the military in a procedural vote, indefinitely delaying consideration of the controversial measure.Known as "Don't ask, Don't tell," the 1993 law has aroused impassioned debate with celebrities such as pop star Lady Gaga calling for ...
2 ministers burn Quran in Tennessee backyard
SPRINGFIELD, TN — A Florida pastor's threat to burn Islam's holy book on the anniversary of 9/11 set off a nationwide furor and incited Muslim anger as far away as Afghanistan, but the incendiary plan ended quietly in the backyard of a home in Springfield.After a week that included warnings ...
[Welcome to OpenMike. This is where Mike blogs. Soon to be its own pretty section of MichaelMoore.com] So the friggin' SECRETARY OF DEFENSE took time off running all our wars to call some nutjob preacher in Florida. And we have to witness the sissy sight of Gen. Petraeus begging from ...
Gates visits US forces in southern Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – As the last of 30,000 U.S. reinforcements arrive in Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday got a firsthand look at operations in the dangerous south where Afghan and international troops are ramping up security.Gates traveled to Kandahar province, a region where U.S., Afghan and NATO ...
For Gates the US war in Iraq is over but cloud remains
CAMP RAMADI, Iraq — US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that America's war in Iraq is over but admitted that the outcome will remain "clouded" by the reason it was waged in the first place.Asked by reporters at Camp Ramadi, an American base about 100 kilometres (80 miles) west ...
Obama: End of Iraq combat effort, 'no victory lap'
WASHINGTON – Closing a divisive chapter of American history, President Barack Obama marked the end of the nation's combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday without declaring victory, winding down the U.S. role in a war he considered a terrible mistake.Obama's defiant pledge to end the war helped catapult him into ...
Darpa’s Star Hacker Looks To WikiLeak-Proof The Pentagon
Tomorrow’s Bradley Mannings may have to be sneakier than just dumping docs onto a Lady Gaga disc. The futurists at Darpa are working on a project that would make it harder for troops to funnel classified material to WikiLeaks — or to foreign governments. And that means if you work ...
US spy chief: no more 'blabbing secrets' to the media
WASHINGTON — The chief of US intelligence has warned spy agencies against "blabbing secrets" to the media, saying employees should be "seen not heard."In a blunt memo, James Clapper, the new director of national intelligence, scolded staff members about leaks that appeared in recent news reports, saying it was a ...
US points to oil as key to Iraq's postwar future
WASHINGTON — When the U.S. overthrew Saddam Hussein seven years ago, the Bush administration envisioned a liberated Iraq that was rich, stable, democratic and a shining example to the rest of the Arab world.Now, with the end of U.S.-led combat operations in Iraq, the Obama administration is predicting more or ...
More U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan Under Obama Than Under Bush
During former-Pres. George W. Bush’s tenure, 575 U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan. Since President Obama took office on Jan. 20, 2009, 580 U.S. troops have perished there (as of August 19). In just 19 months, the Afghan war under Obama has claimed more U.S. lives than the previous administration’s ...
US troops shoot three during Bagram anti-war protest
United States troops shot three civilians including a 12-year-old boy at a demonstration near its main base at Bagram airfield at the weekend - the latest in a rising wave of protests against the occupation. Nato claimed the soldiers had been forced to shoot at locals after they surrounded contractors ...
Robert Gates sets retirement date for next year
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates confirmed last night plans to leave office next year. However, he said he first wanted to make sure the start of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan was on track.The confirmation, in an interview with the magazine Foreign Policy, was published after Dr Gates locked horns ...
Robert Gates Says He'll Leave Pentagon by End of 2011
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that he may leave his job possibly as early as January but certainly by the end of 2011, Foreign Policy Magazine reports. "It would be a mistake to wait until January 2012," Gates said in an interview. "This is not the kind of job you ...
White House: US on track to end Iraq combat role
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is satisfied that the United States can safely end its combat role in Iraq at the end of this month and meet the deadline for removing all U.S. troops from the country by the end of 2011, White House officials said Wednesday.Obama was briefed on ...
Where's Julian? WikiLeaks Mysteriously Scrubs a Press Conference
Almost as quickly as it scheduled a press conference in London for Monday to address Pentagon demands that it hand over any secret U.S. government documents in its possession, the whistle-blower Web site WikiLeaks postponed the event indefinitely.The initial announcement, circulated Sunday morning by London's Frontline Club, identified the topic ...
Wikileaks vs the Pentagon: Phony Fingerpointing
Consider the following statement offered by Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a news conference last week. He was discussing Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks as well as the person who has taken responsibility for the vast, still ongoing Afghan War document dump at that site. "Mr. Assange,” Mullen ...
Obama restores rank of disgraced Vietnam general
WASHINGTON – More than 30 years after his death, an Air Force general has been exonerated of charges that he violated presidential restrictions on aerial bombing during the Vietnam War and that he ordered the falsification of records to conceal the missions.John D. Lavelle was forced to retire in April ...
Pentagon demands WikiLeaks return all leaked documents
Washington (CNN) -- The Defense Department has demanded WikiLeaks return all documents belonging to the Pentagon and delete any records of the documents, department spokesman Geoff Morrell said Thursday. "The only acceptable course is for Wikileaks to take steps immediately to return all versions of all of these documents to ...
Insurance companies profiting from fallen soldiers is alleged
The Missouri and Kansas insurance departments said Tuesday that they were checking for complaints over a practice in which life insurance companies were reportedly profiting from the deaths of U.S. soldiers. First revealed last week by Bloomberg News, the practice involves life insurers that reportedly earn millions in additional profits ...
Secretary Gates agrees to work on war message in meeting with GOP senators
President Obama has a problem with mixed messages about when American troops will leave Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Senate Republicans.At a meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Republicans complained about inconsistency among political, policy and military leaders in the administration, telling Gates this cast doubt on U.S. military ...
Pentagon PR Strategy: More Briefings, Fewer 'Win' and 'Lose' Phrases for Afghanistan
The Pentagon has outlined a new strategy to "communicate U.S. policy objectives" in Afghanistan and "manage expectations" of the American public about the progress of the nine-year-long war.In a three-page memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Douglas Wilson, the new Assistant ...
House Democrats take up war funding bill
WASHINGTON — With their ranks infused with anti-war sentiment, Democrats controlling the House inched forward Thursday with a plan to both finance President Barack Obama's Afghanistan troop surge and salvage their dwindling jobs agenda.Long delayed, the measure came to the floor Thursday amid building pressure on Democrats to act before ...
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March 23rd, 2013
This evening is going be a big moment in turning our country around on the issue of gun violence. That's why I desperately want you ...
March 21st, 2013
I am hosting a nationwide series of house parties this Saturday night where tens of thousands of people will gather together in living rooms to ...
March 15th, 2013
The response to my Newtown letter this week has been overwhelming. It is so very clear to everyone that the majority of Americans have had ...
March 13th, 2013
America, You Must Not Look Away (How to Finish Off the NRA)
The year was 1955. Emmett Till was a young African American boy from Chicago visiting relatives in Mississippi. One day Emmett was seen "flirting" with ...
February 26th, 2013
My Final Word on Buzzfeed and Emad Burnat's Detention at LAX
Thanks to everyone for bearing with me as I spend so much time on what happened to Emad Burnat. It's important to me because he's ...
February 26th, 2013
Michael Moore Responds to Buzzfeed Story on '5 Broken Cameras' Co-Director Emad Burnat
On Tuesday, February 19th, Emad Burnat, the Palestianian co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary '5 Broken Cameras,' was detained with his wife and son at Los ...
February 20th, 2013
Last night was the Motion Picture Academy-sponsored dinner in Beverly Hills honoring the directors and producers of this year's five nominated films for Best Documentary. ...
September 11th, 2010
If the 'Mosque' Isn't Built, This Is No Longer America
OpenMike 9/11/10 Michael Moore's daily blog I am opposed to the building of the "mosque" two blocks from Ground Zero. I want it built on ...
December 14th, 2010
Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange
Yesterday, in the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, the lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange presented to the judge a document from me stating that ...
May 12th, 2011
Some Final Thoughts on the Death of Osama bin Laden
"The Nazis killed tens of MILLIONS. They got a trial. Why? Because we're not like them. We're Americans. We roll different." – Michael Moore in ...
November 22nd, 2011
Where Does Occupy Wall Street Go From Here?
This past weekend I participated in a four-hour meeting of Occupy Wall Street activists whose job it is to come up with the vision and ...
September 22nd, 2011
A STATEMENT FROM MICHAEL MOORE ON THE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS
I encourage everyone I know to never travel to Georgia, never buy anything made in Georgia, to never do business in Georgia. I will ask ...
December 16th, 2010
Dear Swedish Government: Hi there -- or as you all say, Hallå! You know, all of us here in the U.S. love your country. Your ...
November 2nd, 2010
This letter contains (almost) no criticisms of how the Democrats have brought this day of reckoning upon themselves. That -- and where to go from ...
'Dirty Wars' by Jeremy Scahill
Why have you started a comedy festival in northern Michigan in the middle of winter?
Because if you were here in the dead of winter in the middle of nowhere (which is actually somewhere to us), you'd need a few laughs too ... Continue Reading
Michael Moore on MSNBC with Michael Eric Dyson, 3/22/13
Michael Moore on Democracy Now!, 6/28/12
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Michael Moore on MSNBC, Super Tuesday, 3/6/12
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Michael Moore on the Rachel Maddow Show, 2/27/12
