It’s become apparent that questioning America’s disastrous empire-centric foreign policies will get you labeled a Russian asset.

Shortly before last Tuesday’s Democratic candidate debate the New York Times ran an article suggesting that Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard was an isolationist, was being promoted by Russia and was an apologist for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

Gabbard is being smeared as a Russian asset because she has the truth to inform the American people of the reality of US regime-change centric foreign policies. This isn’t a new thing. Gabbard has been attacked relentless by the Establishment since she announced that she would be running for the Democratic nomination.

It didn’t take long for Hillary Clinton to pile on. “I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” Clinton said in a transparent reference to Gabbard. “She’s the favorite of the Russians.

In reality, Gabbard is the only candidate willing to confront America’s warfare-national security state.

“Donald Trump has blood of the Kurds on his hands, but so do many of the politicians in our country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime-change war in Syria that started in 2011… along with many in the mainstream media who have been championing and cheer-leading this regime-change war,” said the 38-year-old military veteran who went on to denounce how the US has sponsored Al Qaeda terrorists for its objective of overthrowing the government in Damascus. It was a remarkably damning assessment of US policy in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. And it was by no means the first time that Gabbard has leveled with the American people on the brutality and criminality of Washington’s regime change wars.

Tulsi Gabbard stands alone in telling the American people the plain and awful truth. US militarism is the fundamental problem. Ending its regime-change war in Syria and elsewhere and ending its diabolical collusion with terror groups is the way to bring peace to the Middle East and to spare ordinary Americans from the economic disaster of spiraling war debts.

I hope that Gabbard is afforded more time in the upcoming debates so that American citizens might learn the truth about the horror their government, military, media and politicians have inflicted on countries in the Middle East. They also might learn about the horrendous costs of this endless militarism on the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Americans, including millions of veterans destroyed by injuries, trauma, suicide, and drug abuse.

A guy can dream. Meanwhile, as a critic of empire and decidedly unpartisan thinker, I have a sneaking feeling that I’m a Russian asset too.

Update: Cognitive dissonance.

“As November 2020 draws nearer the screams to shut up and stop pointing at the truth are going to get louder and louder for political dissidents in America, even louder than the “shut up and fall in line” admonishments that Bernie-or-Busters received constantly in 2016. This will only be the voice of the empire yelling “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”’