Alexander Cockburn 294115 225319484 2008-07-13T02:00:07Z Xbvca 5232674 {{otheruses4|the journalist|the English jurist|Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet}} {{Infobox journalist | name = Alexander Cockburn | image = [[Image:Alexander cockburn 2.jpg|300px]] | birthname = Alexander Claud Cockburn | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1941|6|6|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Scotland]] | age = | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = | alias = | status = | title = | family = [[Claud Cockburn]] | spouse = | children = | relatives = [[Andrew Cockburn]], [[Patrick Cockburn]] | ethnic = | religion = | salary = | networth = | credits = [[CounterPunch (newsletter)|CounterPunch]], ''[[The Nation (U.S. periodical)|The Nation]]'', ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' | URL = | agent = }} '''Alexander Claud Cockburn''' ({{pronEng|ˈkoʊbɚn}} ''koh-burn),'' born [[June 6]], [[1941]], is an [[Irish-American]] political [[journalist]]. Cockburn was brought up in [[Ireland]] but has lived and worked in the [[United States]] since 1972. Together with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]], he edits the political newsletter ''[[CounterPunch (newsletter)|CounterPunch]]''. Cockburn also writes the "Beat the Devil" column for ''[[The Nation (U.S. periodical)|The Nation]]'' and a weekly syndicated column for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' as well as for ''[[The First Post]]''. ==Life and career== Born in [[Scotland]], Cockburn grew up in [[Youghal]], [[County Cork]], [[Ireland]], eldest son of the well-known sometime [[Communist]] author and journalist, [[Claud Cockburn]] by third wife Patricia Byron, [[née]] Arbuthnot (who also wrote an autobiography, ''Figure of Eight''). He has two younger brothers, [[Andrew Cockburn]] and [[Patrick Cockburn]], who are also journalists, and a half-sister, mystery writer [[Sarah Caudwell]]. In addition, journalists [[Laura Flanders]] and [[Stephanie Flanders]] are his half-nieces, daughters of his half-brother-in-law [[Michael Flanders]], and actress [[Olivia Wilde]] is his niece, daughter of his sister-in-law [[Leslie Cockburn]]. After studying at [[Glenalmond College]], an independent boy's boarding school in [[Perthshire]], Scotland, and at the [[Keble College, Oxford]], Cockburn worked in [[London]] as a reporter and commentator. After moving to the United States, Cockburn wrote extensively for numerous publications, including ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'', ''[[Esquire Magazine|Esquire]]'', and ''[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's]]''. Until 1983 he was a writer with ''[[The Village Voice]]'', originating its longstanding "Press Clips" column, but he was suspended, the ''Voice'' stated, "for accepting a $10,000 grant from an Arab studies organization in 1982."<ref>{{cite news | title = Village Voice Suspends Alexander Cockburn Over $10,000 Grant | work = [[Wall Street Journal]] | publisher = [[Dow Jones]] | page = 12|date = [[January 18]] [[1984]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/0543,50th1984,69230,31.html | title = "This Year in New York History: A ''Voice'' Timeline" | accessdate = 2006-08-22 | year = 2006 | work = The Village Voice 50th Anniversary Special | publisher = [[Village Voice]]}}</ref> Cockburn has said that he left the Voice upon being offered a regular column in ''The Nation'' called "Beat the Devil" (after the title of a novel by his father). Since leaving the ''Voice'' he has also written columns for the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', ''[[New York Press]]'' and the ''[[New Statesman]]''. Cockburn has also been a regular contributor to the ''[[Anderson Valley Advertiser]]''. ==Themes and opinions== There have been a number of consistent themes in Cockburn's political writing, among them: *Outspoken criticism of [[US foreign policy]], from its policies in [[Central America]] in the 1980s, including the [[Iran-Contra scandal]], to the [[First Gulf War]] in 1991, the [[Kosovo War]] in 1999, and the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|U.S. invasion of Afghanistan]] in 2001 and [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]. * Criticism of the government of [[Israel]] based on its treatment of the [[Palestinians]]. * Calls for political reform in the United States, mostly focused on criticizing the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] for failing to provide a [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] alternative to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], as well as strong support for [[Ralph Nader]]'s presidential candidacies in the [[U.S. presidential, 2000|2000]] and [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004 elections]]. * Contempt for the mainstream establishment, in particular for public figures who, in his view, garner mainstream respectability by criticizing those to their left; targets have included the ''[[New York Times]]'', Sen. [[Barack Obama]], Sen. [[Bernie Sanders]], the late academic [[Irving Howe]] and some of his colleagues at ''The Nation,'' including [[Marc Cooper]], [[David Corn]]<ref>''[http://www.CounterPunch.org/cockburn1114.html The Anti-War Movement and Its Critics]'', Alexander Cockburn, CounterPunch, [[November 14]] [[2002]], accessed [[April 29]] [[2006]]</ref> and [[Eric Alterman]]. Cockburn has also been highly critical (see [[Alexander Cockburn#Cockburn and Christopher Hitchens|below]]) of his former friend and colleague, [[Christopher Hitchens]].<ref>''[http://www.CounterPunch.org/snitch.html Hitch the Snitch]'', Editorial, CounterPunch, 1999, accessed [[April 29]] [[2006]]</ref> * Criticism of [[9/11 conspiracy theories]]<ref> [http://www.counterpunch.org/ninelevenconsp11252006.html Debunking the Myths of 9/11], by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, ''Counterpunch'', November 28, 2006 </ref><ref> *{{en icon}} [http://mondediplo.com/2006/12/02conspiracy Distractions from awful reality - US: the conspiracy that wasn’t], by Alexander Cockburn in ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]'', December 2006 *{{fr icon}}[http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2006/12/COCKBURN/14270 Scepticisme ou occultisme? Le complot du 11-Septembre n’aura pas lieu], by Alexander Cockburn in ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]'', December 2006 *[http://ir.mondediplo.com/article1024.html Iranian translation] *{{pt icon}} [http://diplo.uol.com.br/2006-12,a1465 PODERES IMAGINÁRIOS - A "conspiração" das Torres Gêmeas]</ref> Aside from the perspectives described above, Cockburn has others outside the U.S. mainstream. For example, he has criticized the [[German government]] for passing restrictive laws against the [[Church of Scientology]], invoking several comparisons with [[Nazi Germany]]. Although he stated that Scientology deserved scrutiny, he also maintained that the demonization of any particular unpopular group &mdash; even one officials consider a [[cult]] &mdash; presented a far more imminent danger than the activities of Scientologists, or the organization they belong to.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20000615133733/http://www.scientology.de/scnnews/press/eng/mar/97031301.htm About Scientologists Take Offensive In Reich Land Statement From The Church Of Scientology<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Cockburn's viewpoint on [[Iraq]], in particular during the rule of [[Saddam Hussein]], was one not often seen in mainstream U.S. publications. He denounced the economic and political [[sanctions]] imposed on the [[Iraqi government]] by the [[United Nations]], but Cockburn was more aggressive than most in his criticisms of American and British actions during the 12 years between the formal resolution of the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]] and the 2003 invasion. In a column published in 2000, Cockburn averred that the [[Iraq sanctions|economic embargo imposed upon Iraq]] was "demonically designed to prompt gnawing, endless suffering throughout Iraq's social economy." In the same column, Cockburn concluded that every major Republican or Democratic nominee running in the 2000 presidential election was supportive of Iraq sanctions, and was therefore complicit in [[mass murder]].<ref>[http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/2/2000/617 The Free Press - Independent News Media - Alexander Cockburn<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Cockburn also joined the widespread criticism of the subsequent occupation of Iraq by American, British and other national military forces (the self-described "[[Coalition of the Willing]]"). In the wake of the [[capture of Saddam Hussein]], Cockburn penned a column entitled "How to kill Saddam," in which he argued that the ensuing [[Trial of Saddam Hussein|trial of Hussein]] would be a [[mock tribunal]], conducted by a "[[kangaroo court]]," and that Hussein's conviction and ultimate execution were foregone conclusions.<ref>[http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/2/2003/799 The Free Press - Independent News Media - Alexander Cockburn<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In contrast, Cockburn's position on [[global warming]] is consistent with views usually held on [[right-wing|the right]]. He believes the phenomenon has not been proven to be caused by humans,<ref>[http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn04282007.html Is Global Warming a Sin?]</ref> citing the statements of [[Martin Hertzberg|Dr. Martin Hertzberg]] that rising CO<sub>2</sub> levels are a symptom, not a cause, of global warming, which Hertzberg asserts is the result of natural, predictable changes in the earth's elliptic [[orbit]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zmag.org/debatesglobalwarming.html |title=ZNet presents a debate about Global Warming between Alexander Cockburn and George Monbiot |publisher=[[Znet]] |date=2007 }}</ref> In fact, Hertzberg is a semi-retired explosives expert who does not claim to be a [[climatology|climatologist]].<ref>[http://www.explosionexpert.com/pages/1/index.htm Martin Hertzberg, Ph D<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> This has prompted accusations that Cockburn is not consulting with and deferring to the appropriate experts, much as he complains that [[9/11 conspiracy theories|9/11 conspiracy theorists]] don't defer to the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology|NIST]].<ref>[http://www.counterpunch.org/ninelevenconsp11252006.html Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair: Debunking the Myths of 9/11<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Cockburn also has been critical of the author of the [[Green Revolution]]. In an article in ''the Nation'' on [[Al Gore]]'s 2007 [[Nobel Peace Prize]], Cockburn made the following statement on [[Norman Borlaug]]'s 1971 Nobel Prize: "Line up some of the more notorious Nobel Peace Prize recipients, such as [[Henry Kissinger|Kissinger]], and if you had to identify the biggest killer of all it was probably Norman Borlaug, one of the architects of the Green Revolution, which unleashed [[displacement]], [[malnutrition]] and death across the [[Third World]]." Cockburn has criticized Borlaug previously on this issue.<ref>[http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20071105&s=cockburn The Real Al Gore<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> At times acerbic, Cockburn can also be gently and humorously ironic, once declaring [[Gerald Ford]] America's greatest [[President of the United States|president]] for doing the least damage and praising the [[Lewinsky scandal]]'s entertainment value.<ref>[http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/sep1998/cbrn-s02.shtml Prostration before reaction], [[David Walsh]], World Socialist Web Site, 2 September 1998, accessed [[April 29]] [[2006]]</ref> In the same vein, he has also expressed his admiration for the beauty of both [[Tipper Gore]] and [[Laura Bush]]. His nudge-nudge, wink-wink brand of [[British humour|humor]] is demonstrated in his response to a question asking for a comparison between [[George W. Bush]] and [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. He replied that he wasn't sure about Bush as Napoleon, "though surely [[Joséphine de Beauharnais|Josephine's]] heart beats beneath Laura's delicious bosom."<ref>[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/031222/22john.htm The extreme sport of insult], Reported by John Leo, 22 December 2003, in US News and World Report online</ref> ==Cockburn and anti-Semitism== Cockburn has written a great deal on the use of [[anti-Semitism]] accusations in modern politics, particularly by the state of Israel and its supporters, and has co-edited a book on the subject, ''The Politics of Anti-Semitism''<ref>The Politics of Anti-Semitism (co-edited with Jeffrey St. Clair) AK Press, 2003, Oakland, CA, http://books.google.com/books?id=yW3DYzUHcLwC</ref>. Cockburn himself has also been accused of anti-Semitism, which he denies and considers an example of the use of that accusation to intimidate criticism of Israel and avert attention from Israel's policies. One of those making anti-Semitism charges against Cockburn is [[Harvard University|Harvard]] law professor [[Alan Dershowitz]]. In [[November 2005]], Dershowitz wrote to the ''[[National Catholic Reporter]]'' that Cockburn's ''Counterpunch'' web site was anti-Semitic<ref>{{cite web |url=http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2005d/111105/forum/forum3.htm |title=Letters |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan |date=11 November |year=2005 |accessmonthday=7 October |accessyear=2006}}</ref>. This was in response to a review of [[Norman Finkelstein]]'s book ''Beyond Chutzpah'' by ''Counterpunch'' contributor Neve Gordon. Cockburn had previously accused Dershowitz, in 2003, of [[plagiarism]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn09262003.html |title=Alan Dershowitz, Plagiarist? |last=Cockburn |first=Alexander |date=26 September |year=2003 |accessmonthday=23 November |accessyear=2006}}</ref> and, in [[October 2005]], of supporting [[torture]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn10222005.html |title=When Divas Collide: Maureen Dowd v. Judy Miller |last=Cockburn |first=Alexander |date=26 September |year=2003 |accessmonthday=23 November |accessyear=2006}}</ref> Cockburn and Dershowitz have each denied the other's charges. Dershowitz has also claimed that Cockburn has been one of three writers (along with [[Norman Finkelstein]] and [[Noam Chomsky]]) who are engaged in an attempt to discredit him, which Cockburn has also denied.<ref>''[http://www.jbooks.com/interviews/index/IP_Dershowitz.htm The Hazards of Making The Case for Israel]'', [[Alan Dershowitz]], JBooks.Com Promotional Interview, accessed [[April 29]] [[2006]]</ref><ref>''[http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=24 Nutty Professor Screams About "Plot" Against Him, Cites Troika of Evil]'', Alexander Cockburn, 28-30 May 2005, [[Norman Finkelstein]] website, accessed [[April 29]] [[2006]]</ref> A 2002 Cockburn article on anti-Semitic remarks by Reverend [[Billy Graham (evangelist)|Billy Graham]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://counterpunch.org/alexgraham.html |title=When Billy Graham Planned To Kill One Million People |last=Cockburn |first=Alexander |publisher=Counterpunch |date=12 March |year=2002 }}</ref> reprinted elsewhere,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nypress.com/15/11/news&columns/wildjustice.cfm |title=Billy Graham: War Criminal |last=Cockburn |first=Alexander |publisher=New York Press |year=2002 |date=13 March |accessmonthday=6 October |accessyear=2006}}</ref> discussed the furor over recently released tape recorded conversations between Graham and President [[Richard Nixon]]. Cockburn contrasted that response to the response to revelations in 1989 that Graham had advocated destroying [[Vietnam]]'s irrigation infrastructure, which by Nixon's estimate would kill a million civilians, if the [[Paris Peace Accords|Paris peace talks]] failed. The latter revelations, in Cockburn's view, received little press coverage, while the anti-Semitic remarks caused a media firestorm.<ref>{{cite web |url=? |title=Nixon, Billy Graham make derogatory comments about Jews on tapes |last=Warren |first=James |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=28 February |year=2002 |accessmonthday=6 October |accessyear=2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2002/03/02/news_pf/Worldandnation/Nixon__Billy_Graham_t.shtml |title=Nixon, Billy Graham target Jews on tape |publisher=St. Petersburg Times |date=2 March |year=2002 |accessmonthday=6 October |accessyear=2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2063030/ |title=Nixon and the Jews. Again. |last=Greenberg |first=David |publisher=Slate |date=12 March |year=2002 |accessmonthday=6 October |accessyear=2006}}</ref> Taking issue with what he argued was the media's selective shock, Cockburn wrote that Graham's anti-Semitic comments were <blockquote>consonant with the standard conversational bill of fare at 75 percent of the country clubs in America, not to mention many a [[Baptist]] soiree? But they [Nixon, Graham, and White House Chief of Staff [[H. R. Haldeman]] didn't say they wanted to kill a million Jews. That's what Graham said about the Vietnamese and no one raised a bleat.</blockquote> But it was the article's final paragraph, quoted in part below, that allowed his critics to accuse Cockburn of spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeswatch.org/articles/2003/0716.asp |title=Kristof’s Conspiratorial Sources |accessdate=2006-07-20 |last=Waters |first=Clay |authorlink=Clay Waters |date=[[16 July]] [[2003]] |work=[[TimesWatch]] |publisher=[[Media Research Center]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/fields062502.asp|title=The multiple faces of anti-Semitism |accessdate=2006-11-24 |last=Fields |first=Suzanne |date=[[25 June]] [[2002]] |publisher=[[Jewish World Review]]}}</ref> <blockquote>Certainly, there are a number of stories sloshing around the news now that have raised discussions of Israel and of the posture of American Jews to an acrid level. The purveyor of [[anthrax]] may have been a former government scientist, Jewish, with a record of baiting a colleague of [[Arab]] origins, and with the intent to blame the anthrax on [[Muslim]] [[terrorist]]s. Rocketing around the web and spilling into the press are many stories about Israeli spies in America at the time of [[9/11]]. On various accounts, they were trailing [[Mohammed Atta|(Mohammed) Atta]] and his associates, knew what was going to happen but did nothing about it, or were simply spying on US facilities.</blockquote> One of the Cockburn critics was [[Franklin Foer]] of ''[[The New Republic]]'', who first noted Cockburn's response: <blockquote>To be fair, Cockburn doesn't exactly endorse these theories. Rather, by noting that all of these Jewish conspiracy stories are "sloshing around the news," Cockburn seems merely to be pointing out that, hey, anti-Semitic ideas are still out there today--so why the shock that Graham endorsed them 30 years ago? Indeed, when I reached Cockburn to ask him about these conspiracies, he insisted he was just reporting what was already in circulation.</blockquote> Part of Cockburn's response to the Graham article controversy is his ironically entitled essay ''My Life as an "Anti-Semite"'', from the ''The Politics of Anti-Semitism.'' Cockburn writes: {{quote|Over the past 20 years I've learned there's a quick way of figuring out just how badly Israel is behaving. You see a brisk uptick in the number of articles here accusing the left of anti-Semitism. ... Back in the 1970s when muteness on the topic of how Israel was treating Palestinians was near-total in the United States, I'd get the anti-Semite slur hurled at me once in a while for writing about such no-no stuff as [[Menachem Begin|Begin]]'s [[fascist]] roots in [[Betar]], or the torture of Palestinians by Israel's security forces. I minded then, as I mind now, but overuse has drained the term of much clout.<ref>Alexander Cockburn, "My Life as an 'Anti-Semite'", The Politics of Anti-Semitism (co-edited with Jeffrey St. Clair) AK Press, 2003, Oakland, CA, pp. 21-22</ref>}} ==Cockburn and Christopher Hitchens== [[Christopher Hitchens]] is often mentioned in connection with Cockburn because of their similar origins (Cockburn from Ireland, Hitchens from England), similar educational background, both being columnists at ''[[The Nation]]'', and their one-time friendship. Hitchens' ideological differences on various issues has caused a bitter falling out between the two. Beyond issues such as the wars in the former [[Yugoslavia]], Afghanistan and Iraq, the split also involves ethical disputes involving writers such as [[Sidney Blumenthal]] and [[Edward Said]]. In a ''Counterpunch'' article in [[August 2005]], Cockburn attacked Hitchens as: "A guy who called Sid Blumenthal one of his best friends and then tried to have him thrown into prison for [[perjury]]; a guy who waited til his friend Edward Said was on his death bed before attacking him in the ''[[Atlantic Monthly]]''; a guy who knows perfectly well the role Israel plays in US policy but who does not scruple to flail [[Cindy Sheehan]] as a [[Lyndon LaRouche|LaRouchie]] and anti-Semite because, maybe, she dared mention the word Israel."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn08202005.html |title=Can Cindy Sheehan Stop the War? |date=[[August 20]] [[2005]] |publisher=[[Counterpunch]] }}</ref> Hitchens responded by withdrawing his criticism of Sheehan, but he defended his deposition to [[U.S. House of Representatives|House]] prosecutors regarding Blumenthal during the [[Clinton impeachment]] and his critical review of Said’s book, ''[[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]]'' (Hitchens stating that the review was determined by the 25th anniversary of the book’s original publication and not the state of Said’s health).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn08252005.html |title=Hitchens Backs Down |date=[[August 24]] [[2005]] |publisher=[[Counterpunch]] }}</ref> ==Bibliography== * ''Incompatibles'' (1967) (co-edited with [[Robin Blackburn]]) * ''Student Power'' (1970) (co-edited with [[Robin Blackburn]]) * ''Idle Passion: Chess and the Dance of Death'' (1975) * ''Smoke: Another Jimmy Carter Adventure'' (1978) (with [[James Ridgeway]]) * ''Political Ecology'' (1979) (co-edited with [[James Ridgeway]]) * ''Corruptions of Empire'' (1988) ISBN 0-86091-940-4 * ''The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers and Defenders of the Amazon'' (1989) (with [[Susanna Hecht]]) ISBN 0-06-097322-6 * ''The Golden Age Is in Us: Journeys and Encounters'' (1995) ISBN 0-86091-664-2 * ''Washington Babylon'' (1995) (with [[Ken Silverstein]]) ISBN 1-85984-092-2 * ''Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press'' (1998) (with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]]) ISBN 1-85984-258-5 * ''5 Days That Shook The World: The Battle for Seattle and Beyond'' (2000) (co-edited with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]]) ISBN 1-85984-779-X * ''Al Gore: A User's Manual'' (2000) (with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]]) ISBN 1-85984-803-6 * ''CounterPunch: The Journalism That Rediscovers America'' (2002) (co-edited with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]]) ISBN 1-85984-455-3 * ''The Politics of Anti-Semitism'' (2003) (co-edited with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]]) ISBN 1-902593-77-4 * ''Serpents in the Garden'' (2004) (co-edited with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]]) ISBN 1-902593-94-4 * ''Imperial Crusades'' (2004) (co-edited with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]]) ISBN 1-84467-506-8 * ''Dime's Worth of Difference'' (2004) (co-edited with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]]) ISBN 1-904859-03-8 * ''End Times: Death of the Fourth Estate'' (2006) (with [[Jeffrey St. Clair]] ==Compact disc== * ''Beating the Devil: The Incendiary Rants of Alexander Cockburn'' ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.CounterPunch.org CounterPunch website] *[http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/alexander_cockburn Alexander Cockburn bio] at ''The Nation''. * [http://www.outloudopinion.com Podcasts of Cockburn's recent articles] *[http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=7879&SectionName=In%20Depth&PlayMedia=Yes C-SPAN Interview] Archived three hour C-SPAN, InDepth interview, [[April 1]] [[2007]]. {{BD|1941||Cockburn, Alexander}} {{Persondata |NAME=Cockburn, Alexander Claud |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION=author and historian |DATE OF BIRTH=[[June 6]], [[1941]] |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Scotland]] |DATE OF DEATH=living |PLACE OF DEATH= }} [[Category:Alternative journalists]] [[Category:American columnists]] [[Category:American political writers]] [[Category:Global warming skeptics]] [[Category:Irish-American writers]] [[Category:The Nation (U.S. periodical) people]] [[Category:New York Press people]] [[Category:American anti-war activists]] [[Category:Alumni of Keble College, Oxford]] [[de:Alexander Cockburn]] [[uk:Коберн Александр]]