Month: April 2005

Rights watchdogs have seized on this week’s anniversary of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal to protest what they termed a lack of accountability for the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody, and to warn that problems which came to light at the prison in Iraq merely were “the tip of the iceberg.” The U.S. … Continue reading “One Year Later, Abu Ghraib Scandal Seen as ‘Tip of Iceberg’”

Cherif Bassiouni, the top U.N. human rights investigator in Afghanistan until his job was eliminated at Washington’s behest, has caused a stir by accusing the United States of obstructing, then ousting him in a bid to cover up abuses by its personnel. Even so, he delivered a grim report on the Asian country. The Egyptian-born … Continue reading “UN Afghanistan Envoy’s Sacking Highlights Abuses, Secrecy”

Robert E. Lee advised his children to avoid fiction and read biography and history so that they might know the world "as it really is." Only recently I came upon a new paperback edition of a book originally published in 1956. If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend it. It’s called Zero," by … Continue reading “The Zero”

The "legality" of the Bush-Blair invasion and occupation of Iraq hasn’t presented – so far – much of a problem for President Bush. However, it seems to be presenting quite a problem for Prime Minister Tony Blair. In making the case for the Bush-Blair war against Iraq, Blair evidently failed to disclose to Parliament and … Continue reading “Oh, What a Lovely War”

"Bush views new report on spy lapses with favor," was the headline on the New York Times story previewing the latest commission that reported several weeks ago on the manifest and manifold U.S. government intelligence failures in detecting "illicit" weapons and weapons programs abroad. As well he might. The 600-plus-page report not only placed almost … Continue reading “A Useful Whitewash”

NEW YORK – A Muslim scholar who was issued and then denied a visa to teach in the United States because of alleged ties to terrorists has called for an immediate moratorium on corporal and capital punishment and dialogue aimed at creating less repressive Muslim societies. Other scholars of Islam gave the idea a mixed … Continue reading “Muslim Scholar Urges Halt to Extreme Punishments”

This Saturday is the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war, and in marking it one cannot help but note the parallels with the present intervention. Naturally, there are many differences: the nature of the enemy, the terrain, and the origins of the current conflict. There are, however, many similarities, and what is … Continue reading “The Thirty Years War”

A story in the April 26 Washington Times, “Drug Smugglers, Rebels Join Hands,” by Carmen Gentile, offered an interesting illustration of the argument I made in my last column, that Fourth Generation entities may do everything they want to do within the framework of hollowed-out states. The article reports, “Brazilian drug traffickers have teamed up … Continue reading “More on Gangs and Guerrillas vs. the State”

The new Robb-Silberman report on U.S. intelligence capabilities should, but won’t, enrage Americans. Too long at 600-plus pages for most to read, the report completes the destruction of the intelligence community – especially the CIA – begun by Congress’ Goss-Graham inquiry and the wrong-headed, dissembling Kean-Hamilton Commission. Like a French farce’s final act, Robb and … Continue reading “Put the Marx Brothers in Charge”

JERUSALEM – More than four years of violence between Israelis and Palestinians may have abated at least temporarily, but its effect is still being felt on relations between Jews and Arabs inside Israel. A string of recent polls, events and policy issues shows that both popular and official attitudes toward the country’s Arab minority remain … Continue reading “Israelis Resist the Arabs in Their Midst”