Washington Is Burning

Corruption and Lies in the Age of Trump

A DEVASTATING ACCOUNT OF AMERICAN MILITARY FOLLY AND POLITICAL DYSFUNCTION BY THE WASHINGTON EDITOR OF HARPER'S MAGAZINE

Washington Is Burning reveals the inner workings of Trump's Washington—a grotesque carnival of corruption. Andrew Cockburn sets fire to US pieties, focusing on the spectacular greed at the heart of the nation's political system.

Graft and self-interest have long typified both Democratic and Republican administrations. Cockburn charts the connections between the American military bureaucracy and the defense industry, which have created a senseless drive for ever-greater spending on arms. After the failed adventures of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Pentagon now seeks fresh rewards through inflating the threat from China and Iran, deploying time-tested techniques to boost the budget, including the invocation of supposedly superior enemy weapons development.

The American empire has reached a watershed. With Trump back in the White House, Washington Is Burning is a must-listen account of unedifying practices in the US capital.

©2026 Andrew Cockburn (P)2026 Tantor Media