Patrick Oliver Cockburn is an Irish journalist who has been a Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent. He has written four books on Iraq 's recent history. He won the Martha Gellhorn Prize in 2005, the James Cameron Prize in 2006 and the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 2009.
Afganistanin sotaa kaunistellaan valheilla, 4.3.2014 (Patrick Cockburn)
Trump was brought down by his own vicious rhetoric – but the damage he's done to America will be hard to undo, Independent, 19 January 2021
Government mistakes provided the breeding ground for the mutant virus, which it is now using as an alibi for its failures, Independent, 15 January 2021
A calamitous week for Trump has ended his hopes of controlling the Republican Party, Independent, 8 January 2021
Julian Assange has won a significant victory. We should consider what it really means, Independent, 5 January 2021
The UK is Out of the EU, But the Balance of Power in Europe has Tipped Permanently Against It, CounterPunch, 5 January 2021
English exceptionalism is, in fact, unexceptional – our government is making the same errors as other nationalist movements, Independent, 1 January 2021
Covid-19 learns from experience – unlike Boris Johnson and his crew. We are paying for their mistakes, Independent, 25 December 2020
There is more to fake news than Trump's lies. Real journalists are needed more than ever, Independent, 22 December 2020
Boris Johnson is as incompetent as General Haig at the Somme – the price is 50,000 unnecessary deaths this year, Independent, 18 December 2020
Johnson and his government are too incompetent and ignorant to deliver radical change post Brexit by Patrick Cockburn, Independent, 17 December 2020
Booming defiance towards Brussels hides the grim reality – English power is ebbing inside the British Isles, Independent, 12 December 2020
State sponsored assassinations in foreign countries are becoming the new norm – it is simply a form of gangsterism, Independent, 4 December 2020
Trump's worst crime must not be forgotten - ensuring the ethnic cleansing of Kurdish allies in Syria, Independent, 27 November 2020
America and Britain are the big losers on the world stage as they fail to control Covid, Independent, 20 November 2020
Robert Fisk had true independence of mind – which is why he angered governments and parts of the media, Independent, 14 November 2020
Trump's cult of personality will be badly damaged by defeat – even if his toxic politics march on, Independent, 6 November 2020
Trump's bid to stop the count risks turning America into an ‘illiberal democracy' like Turkey, Independent, 4 November 2020
Robert Fisk wasn't only a magnificent journalist, but a ‘historian of the present' who illuminated the world, Independent, 3 November 2020
America faces a ‘Gettysburg moment' – but even if defeated Trumpism will not vanish, Independent, 30 October 2020
Lockdown restrictions do not work because so many people secretly ignore them – and with good reason, Indcependent, 23 October 2020
When does incompetence turn into a crime? This is the question we should be asking as government fails again, Independent, 17 October 2020
Wars and pandemics produce the same sort of lethal government bungling, Independent, 10 October 2020
The next Gaza Strip? Daily battle of survival for those left in Idlib, Independent, 7 October 2020
The Assange extradition case is an unprecedented attack on press freedom – so why's the media largely ignoring it?, Independent, 3 October 2020
Britain will seek coronavirus ‘herd immunity' covertly or by default - thanks to the failure of lockdown, Independent, 25 September 2020
Boris Johnson is failing so badly because he still thinks like a newspaper columnist – a disastrous weakness during this crisis, Independent, 18 September 2020
America's war on terror that folThe Assange extradition case is an unprecedented attack on press freedom – so why's the media largely ignoring it? by Patrick Cockburn, Independent, 3 October 2020
Americas war on terror that followed 9/11 has displaced 37 million people – this is the true cause of Europe's refugee crisis, Independent, 11 September 2020
Trump’s opponents need to take his patriotic card away and portray him as the true enemy of the nation – it can be done, Independent, 4 September 2020
Trump's performance at the Republican convention reminds me of Saddam Hussein – nationalism at its worst, Independent, 29 AUgust 2020
Inside Syria's coronavirus crisis: Damascus patient describes outbreak ‘10 times worse' than regime claims, Independent, 25 August 2020
A choice between bread and masks’: Syrians face calamity as Trump’s new sanctions combine with surging coronavirus, Independent, 21 August 2020
A matter of life and death: What war and the pandemic have in common, MR Online, 17 August 2020
There is a historic change taking place in the Middle East – the decline in power of the oil states, Independent, 14 August 2020
The rise of nationalism has led to increased oppression of minorities around the world – but the Uighur and Kashmir are reported differently, Independent, 7 August 2020
Tomgram: Patrick Cockburn, My Pandemics, TomDispatch.com, 6 August 2020
The government's failed centralised track and trace system is a disaster for England, Independent, 31 July 2020
Trump is not just running against Biden but the spectre of coronavirus – and his media manipulation skills may not save him, Independent, 24 July 2020
The UK and US are starting a new Cold War with Russia and China – so what are these governments trying to hide?, Independent, 17 July 2020
Boris Johnson should not be making new global enemies when the country is in such a shambles, Independent, 10 July 2020
Trump’s racism may be blatant but the culture he defends comes out of the civil war and goes well beyond racial division, Independent, 3 July 2020
The blundering British political class has shown the same incompetence in both fighting wars and coronavirus, Independent, 26 June 2020
The multiple fiascos presided over by Boris Johnson’s government have made people cynical about its plans, Independent, 19 June 2020
The jokes in parliament prove British leaders have no idea how bad slavery was – and why people are protesting, Independent, 12 June 2020
The Brexit crisis led to totally incompetent leadership at a time of unprecedented calamity. Now we are paying for it, Independent, 5 June 2020
Donald Trump's withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is an unavoidable recognition of failure, Independent, 29 May 2020
Authoritarian governments are using coronavirus as an excuse to crush freedom of expression, Independent, 22 May 2020
Donald Trump's megalomania and Boris Johnson's incompetence have increased the coronavirus death toll, Independent, 15 May 2020
Iraq will be hit harder by the oil price drop than by coronavirus or Isis, Independent, 8 May 2020
Donald Trump is igniting a cold war with China to win the election, Independent, 1 May 2020
Boris Johnson's cheery ‘wounded in action' persona may save him, despite his mistakes leading to thousands of deaths, Independent, 24 April 2020
Trump, Erdogan, Modi, Orban, Bolsonaro – populist nationalists have met their match in the coronavirus, Independent, 18 April 2020
A pandemic like coronavirus may be reported like a war but it is very different, Independent, 10 April 2020
The chaotic government response to coronavirus is closer to the failures of 1914 than the determination of 1940, Independent, 3 Aptil 2020
The US is losing its world superpower status due to its failure to lead on the Covid-19 crisis - and this time, it might not recover, Independent, 27 March 2020
Society can come together to deal with coronavirus - but the government is lagging behind, Independent, 20 March 2020
The battle for the Saudi crown is raging even if it is overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic, Independent, 13 March 2020
Let's stop pretending people with serious psychosis can be fully independent, and give them the support they need, Independent, 6 March 2020
While Muslims are being murdered in India, the rest of the world is too slow to condemn, Independent, 28 February 2020
With WikiLeaks, Julian Assange did what all journalists should aspire to do, Independent, 21 February 2020
Sinn Fein's election victory is Ireland's 'Brexit moment' when left-out voters turn on the elite, Independent, 15 February 2020
People are more frightened of coronavirus than they need to be, but the culprit is not who you think, Independent, 7 February 2020
We live in a disintegrating world - and that only makes it a more dangerous place, Independent, 31 January 2020
China’s coronavirus outbreak reminds me of the Irish polio epidemic I survived, Independent, 24 January 2020
The US and Iran’s perpetual almost-war is unsustainable – and will end badly, Independent, 17 January 2020
The west i s still buying into nonsense claims about Iran's regional influence, Independent, 10 January 2020
'Dead-heat' for US and Iran as both sides step back from the brink after Soleimani killing, Independent, 9 January 2020
Iran will make huge political gains from this crisis – as long as it doesn’t overplay its hand, Independent, 8 January 2020
Trump’s actions in Iraq could plunge the country into crisis once again, with Iran as strong as ever, Independent, 6 January 2020
Iraq’s worst fears have come true – they are now at the centre of a proxy war between the US and Iran, Independent, 4 January 2020