Mission Creep: Military Dispatches

As part of our special investigation <a href="/military-maps/">“Mission Creep: US Military Presence Worldwide,”</a> we asked a host of military thinkers to contribute their two cents on topics relating to global Pentagon strategy. Their responses will be archived below after publication on <i>motherjones.com</i>.

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Dispatch: Robert Kaplan
In Defense of the Pentagon’s Small, Small World

Dispatch: Katherine McCaffrey
Fighting for Freedom but Projecting Misery

Dispatch: Winslow Wheeler
It’s Not Just the Bases—or the Nukes

Dispatch: Steven Metz
America’s Global Military Footprint Is the Lesser Evil

Dispatch: C. Douglas Lummis
Pentagon Promise Breakers: Friday the 13th in Okinawa

Dispatch: Douglas Macgregor
Lessons from the Terror War, and Wrestling

Dispatch: John Nagl
How the US Can Win in Afghanistan; Lessons From Iraq

Dispatch: William Hartung
How Can We Reduce the US Military Footprint?

Dispatch: John Lindsay-Poland
Transforming Unaccountable Force

Dispatch: John Feffer
Surrounding China’s String of Pearls

Dispatch: Catherine Lutz
Welcome to Guam, USA

Dispatch: Peter Beck
Does South Korea Still Need GI Joe?

Dispatch: Nick Turse
The Pentagon’s Mad Scramble for Africa

Dispatch: John Pike
Regarding Bear DNA: Russia and Sarah Palin’s Geopolitics

Dispatch: Mark Selden
Guns Before Butter: Why America Is Losing Clout to Asia

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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