The weapon of the advocate is the sword of the soldier, not the dagger of the assassin.

He became a permanent resident of the United States in 1973. After moving to the United States Cockburn wrote for many publications including The New York Review of Books Esquire and Harper's. One of those making anti-Semitism charges against Cockburn was Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.

Cockburn was brought up in Ireland but had lived and worked in the United States since 1972. Cockburn also wrote the "Beat the Devil" column for The Nation as well as one for The Week in London syndicated by Creators Syndicate. Together with Jeffrey St.