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Nancy O’Brien Simpson

Empire in Plain Sight – The War Department Returns

In August 2025, Donald Trump stood before cameras and said what no president had dared: America should scrap the Department of Defense and restore the Department of War. “Why are we ‘defense’?” he asked. “‘War Department’ sounded stronger… when we used to win wars all the time.” He even bragged he could do it by executive order—no need for Congress, just the stroke of his pen. It was supposed to be bravado, a throwaway line. But in that moment, the veil lifted. America was not caught defending itself; America was boasting about conquest. For once, the empire said its name out loud.

Vietnam to Gaza: A Blood-Soaked Pattern
The history is not complicated. In Vietnam, we claimed to be stopping communism. In truth, we rained more bombs than in World War II to crush a poor nation fighting for self-determination.

In Iraq, we sold a lie about weapons of mass destruction. What we really wanted was oil and dominance. We pounded our chests with pride, televised “shock and awe,” and watched Baghdad burn like it was entertainment. To this day, Americans look back on that display of destruction with twisted pride, as though reducing a sovereign nation to rubble were a football game we won.

Afghanistan was our twenty-year proving ground. We claimed to be fighting terror, but what we really did was funnel billions to defense contractors while grinding an already broken country into dust. Lockheed Martin thrived. Northrop Grumman thrived. Halliburton feasted. The Afghan people buried their children.

Libya followed the same script: bomb in the name of “humanitarianism,” topple the state, walk away. The people got slavery markets. Our weapons makers got contracts.

And now Gaza: a caged population, starved, bombed, slaughtered. Over forty thousand dead, half of them children. And we still write the checks. We still load the planes. We still call it defense.

The Lie of Freedom
The most poisonous myth we tell ourselves is that America fights for freedom, democracy, human dignity. It is the bedtime story of empire. But every war we wage, every bomb we drop, every body we bury testifies to the opposite. We don’t fight for people—we fight for corporations, for oil, for access, for dominance. For the balance sheets of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Halliburton. For the defense stocks that soar with every missile strike.

And here is the most shameful part: we celebrate it. We clap and wave the flag when the skies over Baghdad erupt in fire. We roar when presidents promise to “shock and awe.” We beam with pride when “mission accomplished” banners unfurl over mass graves. We congratulate ourselves for exporting democracy, even as we leave nations gutted and enslaved.

This is not defense. This is not freedom. It is blood-soaked theater, a grotesque spectacle we dress up in patriotism to mask our own complicity. We are not liberators—we are arsonists. And we cheer while the world burns.

Conclusion: War as Identity
Trump’s talk of a “Department of War” is not a gaffe—it is a confession. America is not about defense. It is about permanent war, war as profit, war as identity. We are an empire that feeds on destruction and calls it freedom.

The War Department has been here all along. Now it simply has a name.

America’s Migrant Birds

RT (2025)

Film Review

https://en.rtdoc.tv/films/2021-americas-migrant-birds

This documentary explores the current crisis in Tijuana Mexico, as the city attempts to cope with ten of thousands of refugees seeking admission to the US or recently deported by the Trump administration. Millions of foreigners are either chasing the illusory American dream (“that they can lively freely and make money from nothing”). Many, after Western destabilization activities have have made survival at home impossible, are prepared to die in their effort. Other are fleeing political violence and organized crime.

Meanwhile many recent deportees, after living and working in the US illegally for decades, are leaving wives and children behind.

Tijuana presently has 30 temporary shelters to help keep migrants off the street. Flamingos, the largest temporary shelter in Latin America, houses about 1,400 migrants. Sponsor by a local religious institution, it relies on the Mexican National guard for security and requires people who leave the shelter during the day be accompanied by a staff. The shelter provides three free meals a day, training and volunteer and job opportunities and arranges for children to attend school. Local churches provide medical exams and legal assistance.

The filmmakers interview former business owners from southern Mexico and Guatemala forced to leave when they couldn’t pay protection money demanded by local gangs. One of them, a woman and former restaurant owner, is waiting for the US political refugee amnesty program to reopen. Another (who lives in a tent on the street) approaches local businesses offering to clean, unload shipments and dispose of garbage. It pays enough to cover food.

They also interview a Russian orthodox priest about Ukrainians deported earlier this year after entering the US illegally. They’re now seeking repatriation to Russia. He also talks about migrants from Congo, Africa and Cuba flocking to Tijuana hoping to gain admission to the US

The Mexico-US border is currently guarded by 10,000 troops on either side. Yet many would-be immigrants can still pay a coyote $15,000-20,000 to find them secluded areas to cross the border. They make no guarantee of success.

Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi Qomi, acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov at the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan, Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. ©  Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna

By Farhad Ibragimov

In the post-American vacuum, Moscow doesn’t waste time

When Russia recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan last week, it didn’t just open a new embassy – it opened a new geopolitical front. For the first time since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, a major world player has gone beyond informal contacts and embraced Kabul’s de facto rulers as legitimate partners.

On July 1, Taliban envoy Gul Hassan presented copies of his credentials to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. Two days later, Moscow made it official: the Islamic Emirate was now recognized – diplomatically, politically, and symbolically.

The move followed a crucial domestic decision in April, when Russia removed the Taliban from its national list of terrorist organizations – a status that had persisted for more than twenty years. The Foreign Ministry framed the recognition as a pragmatic step toward security cooperation, economic dialogue, and regional stabilization.

In Kabul, the reaction was swift. The Taliban welcomed the Russian gesture as a possible catalyst for wider international engagement. They had reason to – despite harsh rhetoric, even the West has kept indirect channels open. But no one had dared take the leap. Until now.

This isn’t Russia’s first chapter in Afghan affairs. Back in 2021, it kept its embassy running while Western diplomats fled. And long before that, in 1989, Soviet troops withdrew from a decade-long war against the mujahideen, many of whom would go on to form the core of the modern Taliban. In that light, Moscow’s latest decision seems less like a departure and more like continuity by other means.

Security through realism

For Moscow, recognition is not just about diplomacy – it’s about security. With formal ties in place, Russia now has a channel for demanding real cooperation from the Taliban on issues that matter most: containing radical groups and protecting Central Asia’s fragile stability.

The urgency is not theoretical. In March 2024, a deadly terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall shook the Russian capital. According to official reports, the perpetrators were linked to Khurasan Wilayah – a branch of ISIS that considers the Taliban too moderate and Russia an enemy.

This incident shifted the calculus in the Kremlin. If the Taliban control the ground, then working with them – however distasteful to some – becomes a strategic necessity. In 2024, Vladimir Putin publicly referred to the Taliban as a partner in the fight against terrorism – a signal that Moscow views them not as a problem, but as part of the solution.

Recognition is a way to formalize that logic – to move from ad-hoc contacts to structured expectations. Russia is not simply offering legitimacy; it is also asking for responsibility.

Trade follows diplomacy

With recognition comes access – and Afghanistan has plenty to offer. Rich in lithium, rare earth elements, and untapped mineral wealth, the country has become a target for global economic interests. Now that formal ties are in place, Russian companies can enter the market with legal cover and diplomatic support.

But this isn’t just about minerals. It’s also about momentum. Russian exports are already flowing into Afghan markets, while Afghan agricultural products – from dried fruits to herbs – are showing up on store shelves in Russian regions. According to the Financial Times, Moscow is quietly building a trade corridor while others hesitate.

Geography does the rest. Afghanistan sits at a crossroads – a land bridge between Central and South Asia, offering future access to Pakistan, India, and the Indian Ocean. For Russia, this is about more than strategy. It’s about logistics. In an era of sanctions and shifting trade routes, every new corridor matters.

Recognition is Moscow’s ticket in – and it wants to be first at the table.

While the West hesitates, Russia builds

In Washington and Brussels, Afghanistan is still viewed through the lens of defeat – a retreat, a failure, and a lingering embarrassment. Officially, the Taliban remain pariahs. Unofficially, backchannels are open. Diplomats talk, intelligence agencies coordinate. But no Western country has dared take the next step.

Russia just did.

Could this provoke new sanctions from the US or EU? Perhaps. But with Russia already under one of the harshest sanction regimes in modern history, the cost of further penalties is marginal. The ceiling has already been reached.

Instead, recognition gives Moscow first-mover advantage – both in Kabul and across the region. While others worry about headlines, Russia is shaping realities on the ground. It is doing so not just with gas and guns, but with memory: in Central Asia, Russia still carries weight as a former security guarantor and post-Soviet stabilizer. That credibility now returns to the table.

From war broker to regional architect

Russia has done this before. In 1997, it helped end a brutal civil war in Tajikistan by brokering a deal between warring factions. Those efforts are still remembered in Dushanbe – and they echo today.

Tensions between the Taliban and Tajik authorities remain high. But Russia, trusted by both sides and embedded in regional security structures, is uniquely positioned to mediate. The same applies to Afghanistan’s rocky relations with Turkmenistan, where border disputes and political distrust linger.

This is where recognition becomes more than a headline – it becomes leverage. Moscow can now convene, propose, and shape talks that others can’t. While Western powers watch from afar, Russia is turning Afghanistan from a global problem into a regional process.

The ultimate play? Energy. With its early commercial footprint in Kabul and longstanding vision of an Eurasian energy corridor, Moscow sees Afghanistan not just as a risk to manage – but as a bridge to build.

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Via https://www.rt.com/news/621200-russia-took-afghanistan-without-firing/