IPS Wallace Fellow Julian Castañon Villa writes in The Nation that Fulbright's central warning — that militarism eventually becomes ordinary — deserves renewed attention as the U.S. pursues an unauthorized war and a record-breaking defense budget.
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The Nation publishes a piece by Julian Castañon Villa, a 2026 Henry A. Wallace Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, arguing that Senator J. William Fulbright’s prescient warnings about militarism and the “imperial presidency” — written decades before the era of forever wars — apply with striking urgency to today’s $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget and the unauthorized war on Iran.
Al Jazeera English interviews Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, on the surge in Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, where settlers burned homes and a mosque in the villages of Tel and Kusra. “There is no accountability for Israeli settlers,” Bennis says, adding that the distinction between settlers and the Israeli military is a false one — settlers are armed, trained, and fully supported by the Israeli state using US-provided weapons.
Fortune cites a July 2025 IPS report on the Giving Pledge finding that just one couple among the original 57 signatories has actually given away half their wealth, and that the 32 original U.S. pledgers who are still billionaires have grown roughly 283% richer since signing — labeling the pledge “unfulfilled, unfulfillable, and not our ticket to a fairer, better future.”
Raw Story quotes Sanho Tree, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, responding to Trump’s claim that four soldiers killed in the Iran war died saying they didn’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon — arguing Trump was effectively “using dead soldiers as sock puppets.”
In These Times publishes a piece by Chris Mills Rodrigo, managing editor of Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies, arguing that the federal indictment of 95-year-old former Cuban president Raúl Castro is the latest in a string of escalations — from fuel blockades to aircraft carrier deployments — aimed at building pretext for a U.S. military invasion of Cuba.
Common Dreams cites a recent IPS report finding that the US military’s economic benefits to Hawaiʻi have been significantly overstated, with military demand for housing driving Oʻahu rents up 7.1% in 2024 alone and PFAS cleanup costs at just three military installations potentially reaching into the billions — in an opinion piece examining how RIMPAC 2026, the world’s largest naval war games, is deepening militarization of the Pacific at the expense of local communities.
The Travel cites IPS research in a piece on growing passenger frustration over fare evasion on Amtrak, noting that in most U.S. cities, public transit riders can be charged with a misdemeanor for failure to pay the full fare — a punishment on par with property theft, driving under the influence, or assault.
The Hill quotes Hanna Homestead, research analyst for the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, in a report on how Trump’s faltering Iran peace deal is threatening to derail Congress’s defense spending agenda. “Congress should not greenlight this war by continuing to fund it,” Homestead says. “They should listen to the American people, who want taxpayer dollars to be supporting families at home and not bombing them abroad.”
Fortune cites a 2025 IPS report on the Giving Pledge in a profile of billionaire philanthropists John and Laura Arnold, noting they are the only Giving Pledge signers technically in compliance with the promise to give away at least half of one’s wealth — a finding drawn directly from IPS’s research.
Mongabay covers a new IPS report finding that solar projects in southern Honduras have destroyed old-growth trees, contaminated waterways, and raised electricity prices for nearby communities — while doing little to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, which still account for over 40% of national electricity generation. “The impact so far is eerily similar to the prevailing development model in Honduras, which concentrates benefits on the rich and externalizes impacts on the poor,” the report states.
IPS Wallace Fellow Julian Castañon Villa writes in The Nation that Fulbright's central warning — that militarism eventually becomes ordinary — deserves renewed attention as the U.S. pursues an unauthorized war and a record-breaking defense budget.
Phyllis Bennis tells Al Jazeera English that Israeli settler violence in the West Bank constitutes deliberate war crimes, and that only cutting US weapons and money — not words — will stop them.
Fortune cites a July 2025 IPS report on the Giving Pledge finding that just one couple among the original 57 signatories has actually given away half their wealth, and that the 32 original U.S. pledgers who are still billionaires have grown roughly 283% richer since signing — labeling the pledge "unfulfilled, unfulfillable, and not our ticket to a fairer, better future."
IPS fellow Sanho Tree is quoted in Raw Story pushing back on Trump's exploitation of fallen soldiers' deaths to justify the Iran war, calling it "using dead soldiers as sock puppets."
IPS's Chris Mills Rodrigo writes in In These Times that the indictment of Raúl Castro follows a familiar script — from Iraq to Libya to Venezuela — of manufacturing pretexts for U.S. military aggression, warning that Americans need to push back before the invasion narrative takes hold.
Common Dreams cites IPS research on the hidden costs of US military presence in Hawaiʻi in a piece arguing that RIMPAC 2026 prioritizes war preparations over the climate disasters and housing crises already devastating Pacific communities.
The Travel cites IPS research on fare evasion penalties in a viral piece about an Amtrak passenger who rode the Acela 100 miles without a ticket, sparking debate over whether U.S. transit systems need harsher consequences for fare dodgers.
Hanna Homestead of IPS's National Priorities Project is quoted in The Hill warning that Congress should not fund an unauthorized war with Iran, citing polls showing Americans have opposed the conflict from the start.
Fortune cites IPS's 2025 Giving Pledge report in a profile of John and Laura Arnold, identifying them as the only billionaire signers in compliance with the pledge's promise to give away at least half their wealth.
Mongabay covers a new IPS report finding that solar development in southern Honduras has harmed local communities through environmental damage and broken promises, while failing to transition the country away from fossil fuels.
WVUA23 covers a new IPS and Alabama Arise report showing a modest $25 million state investment in public transit could create over 2,500 jobs and generate $207 million in new GDP in Alabama.
The co-director of IPS's New Internationalism Project, warns in Salon that the US-Iran conflict could become another open-ended forever war, drawing on two decades of low-boil military operations in the Middle East as a precedent.
CBS News cites IPS data finding that the nation’s 905 billionaires are now worth a combined $7.8 trillion — an increase of more than 25% in a single year —…
Kate Hess Pace, executive director of Hoosier Action and IPS Wallace Rural Organizing Fellow, speaks with The New Republic about the growing grassroots backlash against data centers in rural communities.…
IPS's research exposes how corporate profiteers exploit the investor state settlement dispute (ISDS) model to stack the odds against communities in Guatemala and elsewhere.
CNBC cites IPS's research that found that most billionaire signers of the Giving Pledge have yet to fulfill their promise to give away most of their wealth.
The New York Times cites IPS's research on how many billionaire Giving Pledge signers have yet to live up to their promise to give away most of their wealth.
