Robert Kagan Asks Why Bother Admitting Crime of the Century Was a “Mistake”

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, August 4, 2026

Robert Kagan, veteran warmonger extraordinaire, wants to know what the “utility” would be of admitting that the war on Iraq was “a mistake.” I’m glad he asked.

But, “mistake” is not exactly the word. This was a criminal action based on lies that killed over a million people, injured over 4 million people, made homeless over 4 million people, left behind permanent read more

VIDEO: War Is Still A Lie (w/David Swanson)

By the Zero Hour, August 3, 2026

The propaganda that never stopped—and how to stop it.

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of World BEYOND War, campaign coordinator of RootsAction.org, and host of Talk World Radio. His latest book is War is Still a Lie, the third iteration of a 2010 publication (then called War is a Lie). In it, he skillfully dismantles the deceptions and misconceptions that have been used for centuries to persuade people to fight and die.

The book is an important contribution read more

The Wars Are Still Based on Lies

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, July 28, 2026

Excerpted from War Is Still A Lie.

Since I wrote War Is A Lie in 2010 and updated it in 2015, the lies used to prop up wars have varied but continued. My summary remains true:

Not a single thing that we commonly believe about wars that helps keep them around is true. Wars cannot be good or glorious. Nor can they be justified as a means of achieving peace or anything else of value. The reasons given for wars, before, during, and after them (often read more

Have We Advanced Since Homer?

By David Swanson, Progressive Hub, July 27, 2026

I have no opinion on the casting or the acting or the straying from the original in the new Hollywood Odyssey. Here come some spoilers on what I do have an opinion on.

Christopher Nolan and whoever else had a role in this production obviously tried to improve on ancient morality in a particular way and not in another.

That is, Nolan de-glorified war. In this movie, we’re told that the Greeks were lied into the Trojan War for economic reasons. read more

New Publication: War Is Still A Lie


War Is Still A Lie
is an updated third edition of War Is A Lie and includes a new 90-page investigation of how lies about wars have changed.


War Is A Lie
is a thorough refutation of every major argument used to justify wars, drawing on evidence from numerous past wars, with a focus on those wars that have been most widely defended as just and good. This is a handbook of sorts, an engaging, always informative manual that can be used to debunk future lies before the wars they’re deployed to justify have any chance to begin. This 2026 edition updates and expands on the 2015 second edition, which built on the 2010 original.

The author, read more