Month: June 2006

In a major defeat for President George W. Bush with potentially far-reaching implications for his conduct of the "war on terror," the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday ruled that military tribunals established by the Pentagon to try suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, violated the U.S. Constitution. Writing for a 5-3 court majority, Justice John … Continue reading “‘Unlawful Combatants’ Do Have Rights, Court Rules”

One of the least noticed success stories of George Bush’s years in power has been his administration’s ability to focus the world’s attention so singularly first on Saddam Hussein ‘s “nuclear program” – remember that yellowcake brick road? – which had absolutely no basis in reality; then on a meager (though frightening) North Korean nuclear … Continue reading “Pentagon Fireworks”

The pretext under which the Israelis have re-invaded the Gaza Strip speaks volumes about the mentality of the settler state and those who hold it up as an exemplar of heroic virtue worthy of American support: one of their soldiers, Gilad Shalit, was kidnapped, and so, of course, this justified taking out half the Strip’s … Continue reading “The Gaza Beach Party Massacre”

Humanitarian groups trying to assess the number of innocent civilians killed in Iraq are demanding the Pentagon back up its claims that fewer Iraqis are being killed by accident at U.S. military checkpoints. Last week, Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli told reporters in Baghdad the number of Iraqi civilian deaths had dropped as a result of … Continue reading “Rights Groups Urge US to Release Statistics on Iraqi Casualties”

Last March, the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring Justice Department officials to give them reports by certain dates on how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is using the USA PATRIOT Act to search homes and secretly seize papers. But when President George W. Bush signed the measure into law, he added a "signing statement." … Continue reading “Is Bush Signing Away the Constitution?”

You know you are either getting somewhere or losing ground fast when the Democrats begin to exploit your slogans during an election year. Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee chair, last weekend plugged the necessity of pulling troops out of Iraq by year’s end. But his plea couldn’t carry less weight – for his party … Continue reading “The Democrats’
Election-Year Stunts”

Imagine your adult daughter is a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for five years. You notice lately that, when you go out to dinner with her she reads the restaurant’s wine list, when she walks past a liquor store her pace slows and she stares at the window, and you worry. Recently, she started … Continue reading “Nucleoholic, Hypocritical, and Dangerous”

Public attention is focused on Iraq, but a bitter war rages in Afghanistan as well. In mid-June, reported the Associated Press: “U.S. soldiers descended on a mountain ridge Sunday, quickly setting up fortified posts and mortar positions overlooking a key Taliban transport route as the coalition pressed a major offensive that has killed dozens of … Continue reading “Fiddling While Afghanistan Slides Away”

With the House International Relations Committee (HIRC) of the United States House of Representatives gaining overwhelming bipartisan support for a draft bill to allow resumption of civilian nuclear commerce between India and the U.S., the path is clearer for the controversial nuclear deal signed a year ago between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister … Continue reading “Indo-US Nuclear Deal Clears First Hurdle”

What explains the gullibility of Americans, a gullibility that has mired the U.S. in disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and that promises war with Iran, North Korea, and a variety of other targets if neoconservatives continue to have their way? Part of the explanation is that millions of conservatives are thrilled at the opportunity … Continue reading “The High Price of American Gullibility”