Spencer Ackerman

Author of REIGN OF TERROR: HOW THE 9/11 ERA DESTABILIZED AMERICA & PRODUCED TRUMP. Pulitzer/National Magazine Award/IRE/ScrippsHoward/etc winning journalist. Recent comic-book author.

The War at Home

Now The Students Are "Terrorists"

Politicians and administrators are playing the 9/11 Era hits against students protesting a genocide—and want so badly to kill them

U.S. Foreign Policy & The 2024 Election, f/ Van Jackson, Amel Ahmed & Omar Dahi

Here's a video of a symposium I was part of at Hampshire College recently. It's very riff-heavy

The War at Home

The Silicon Valley/Venture Capital Pentagon

Here's an exclusive first look at new research from the Costs of War Project about a tectonic shift in the political economy of American warfare. Move fast and break things

The War Abroad

It's Either A Ceasefire Or Iran's Next Response Will Be Worse

Two things are true at the same time: Iran's attack on Israel was unprecedented, and Iran showed restraint. We won't like the sequel. PLUS! Introducing Mehdi Hasan's Zeteo, where I'll be contributing!

The War at Home

My New York Times Op-Ed on Gaza and the "Rules-Based International Order"

The Times asked me to write about the U.N. Security Council's DOA ceasefire resolution. There wasn't a way to do so without writing about the U.S.' global order

The War Abroad

Time To Seize An Iranian Ceasefire Opportunity

Iran seems to be floating a plausible way to stop both the genocide in Gaza and the slow-burning regional war. This week could be a Moment—or it could slip away

The War Abroad

Kill Lists In The Age of Artificial Intelligence

Israel's "Lavender" AI, the lethal end result of mass surveillance, debuted in Gaza six months ago. It threatens to be the future of war.

The War Abroad

That Ceasefire Resolution Is Absolutely Binding on Israel

After declining to veto it at the Security Council, Biden's officials insist the resolution is "nonbinding." That's "hopelessly thin," says a leading international-law expert

Paid-members only

The Nation

Negotiate With Iran or the Whole of the Middle East Could Burn (Director's Cut)

If the US is going to avoid a regional war, Biden has no choice but to talk with Washington’s regional adversary

And Now, A Message About Gaza From Montana

Via the Jewish Labor Bund's local chapter, here are two statements for a ceasefire from Jewish and Indigenous leaders in Big Sky Country, co-signed by candidates for Congress.

The War at Home

The TikTok Ban Is Security State Protectionism

U.S. intelligence agencies and data giants aren't about to let someone who isn't them invade your privacy. PLUS: So much for those Niger bases!

Paid-members only

The Nation

Requiem for the Biden of the Afghanistan Withdrawal (Director's Cut)

The brightest moment in the president’s foreign policy feels like light from a dead star. The Biden of that moment would stop aiding Israeli war crimes.

Paid-members only

The War Abroad

An Iraqi 'Terrorist' Leader on The Future of 'Resistance' To U.S. Forces

Longtime U.S. enemy Qais Khazali gave a speech about the future of the U.S. presence in Iraq. Could it contain a diplomatic message?

The War at Home

My Robotic Doppelganger Is The Grim Face of Journalism's Future!

As journalism endures catastrophic financial collapse, I watch software seize my long-lost archives, erase my name—or attribute my work to a fake person. PLUS: Evan and I sign on Friday!

The War Abroad

All Kamala Harris Has To Tell Benny Gantz Is No

But Gantz is in Washington to give Team Biden an Israeli to say yes to who isn't Netanyahu. PLUS: Evan and I sign on Friday!

The War at Home

The Anti-Palestinian Origins of The War on Terror

A new report exposes the groundwork for the 9/11 era. Author Darryl Li talks to FOREVER WARS. PLUS: 101,000 Michiganders say Israel's assault must stop.

The War at Home

'This Is What Our Ruling Class Has Decided Will Be Normal'

U.S. Airman Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire rather than "be complicit in genocide." His last words were a challenge we must find the courage to heed

The War Abroad

American Delusions at The International Court of Justice

The U.S. "Rules-Based International Order" continues to eat international law alive. PLUS: Come get your comics signed by me and Evan Narcisse!

Newsletter

The U.S. And Israel Actually Did Retaliate Against Iran

They just did it through cyberattacks and pipeline bombings. That'll make Iran surrender, right? PLUS: Can we get a congratulations going for Sam in the chat?

Newsletter

The Children of Gaza Were Not Killed For Democracy

Absolutely nothing about Israel's U.S.-sponsored genocide has to do with democracy. Biden needs to stop staining democracy with the blood of children

Newsletter

So How Much of The Yemen War Is Jim Mattis’ Fault?

The legendary Marine turned Pentagon chief was secretly working for the UAE as far back as 2015, the dawn of the devastating Yemen war. Wish I’d known that when I wrote my Rolling Stone profile!

Newsletter

Two Varieties of Media Dehumanization

Conservative and liberal Islamophobias, and what they say about the persistence of the War on Terror. PLUS: Biden invokes the 2001 AUMF against…Iran's coalition

Newsletter

The Eighteenth Brumaire of The War on Terror

A lethal drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan has created massive pressure to attack Iran. Biden is running out of time to avert all-out war—and learn from very recent history.

Newsletter

My Second Book—More Ambitious Than REIGN OF TERROR

Introducing THE TORTURE AND DELIVERANCE OF MAJID KHAN, and what writing it will mean for this newsletter. PLUS: U.S. troop deaths become a rallying cry for war with Iran

The War Abroad

That International Court of Justice Ruling Might Still Have Consequences

The court didn't order a ceasefire in Gaza. But it could still have material impacts on Israel's European allies. PLUS! An Iraqi framework for (slow) U.S. military "disengagement."