David Swanson’s New Book Decries War Lies Amid Critique of Iraq Conflict

Author and activist David Swanson released the latest edition of his book, now titled *War Is Still a Lie*. The work traces how propaganda has been used to justify wars for centuries and argues that no war has ever been launched without a foundation of falsehoods. Swanson emphasizes that “there has never been a single documented case of PTSD from lack of war” and calls for peace organizations to focus on preventing new conflicts rather than honoring past ones.

In a separate commentary, Swanson challenges former foreign‑policy scholar Robert Kagan’s recent interview in which Kagan described the Iraq war as a “mistake.” The piece argues the invasion was a criminal act that caused over a million deaths, millions of injuries and displacements, extensive environmental damage, and long‑term destabilization. It rejects the notion that admitting a mistake would have any restorative value, highlighting the scale of the humanitarian and legal catastrophes caused by the war.