Month: August 2006

A growing debate within Israel over whether United States President George W. Bush’s Middle East policies really serve the interests of the Jewish state has spread to Washington, where influential voices within the U.S. Jewish community are questioning the administration’s hard-line positions in the region. Coming in the wake of the month-long war between Israel … Continue reading “In Pro-Israel Circles, Doubts Grow Over US Policy”

Mustafa Barzani, the legendary Kurdish leader, was a KGB agent code-named "RAIS," and the Kurdish armed revolution he started Sept. 11, 1961, was in reality a KGB covert action to destabilize Western interests in the Middle East and put additional pressure on the Kassim government of Iraq. Whoever dares to mention these facts publicly in … Continue reading “The Kurds and the KGB”

Revelations in Kosovo, Bosnia As the long, hot summer in the Balkans draws to an end, political tensions are spiking along with temperatures. Kosovo Albanians and their foreign backers are anxious to force the issue of the occupied Serbian province’s final status in their favor, and are growing frustrated with Belgrade’s stubborn refusal to surrender … Continue reading “True Colors”

PARIS – Military experts are warning of dangers for the new peacekeeping force in the south of Lebanon, sandwiched as it will be between Israeli forces on one side and Hezbollah on the other. "We are going there only to take blows," a French general who wished not to be named told IPS. "I really … Continue reading “French Wary of a Lebanese Sandwich”

When the neocons launched the Bush administration’s invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and announced plans for invading Syria and Iran, I labeled Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Rice "the Five Morons." With the passage of time, I see that I overestimated their mental capabilities. The "cakewalk" war has now lasted longer than World War II … Continue reading “The Five Morons Revisited”

It’s funny how the "debate" over Israel’s role in the making of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is playing out, now that John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt have let the cat out of the bag. Their critics have yet to confront the cogent arguments laid out in their seminal paper "The Israel … Continue reading “Two Elephants in the Room”

Like many of her Democratic colleagues, Sen. Dianne Feinstein is calling for a timetable to exit Iraq. That is not enough. The longer we stay, the more Americans will be killed and the greater will be the burden on the American taxpayer and the U.S. military. As we have seen recently, with the recall of … Continue reading “Leaving Iraq Is Not Enough”

A few days after U.S. troops had entered Baghdad and Saddam Hussein’s statue was toppled, Condoleezza Rice (serving then as President George W. Bush’s national security adviser) told American reporters that U.S. policy toward Europe should be to "Encourage the Russians, ignore the Germans, and punish the French." The Bush administration, celebrating its military victory … Continue reading “Has the Hegemon Been Humbled in Lebanon?”

In late July and early August there was some buzz about Army readiness problems. A prominent group of U.S. defense experts (many former Clintonites), chaired by former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and including retired Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. John Shalikashvili, claimed that "two thirds of the Army’s operating force, active and … Continue reading “Backdoor Draft”

How Washington Goaded Israel Into War Mr. Zunes, in his effort to get Israel off the hook (it’s only a “proxy” now in its devastation of Lebanon) omits to mention just who “Washington” is and who the neocons are, and Zunes even has the gall to play the “anti-Semitism” card. Poor Israel; victim yet again. … Continue reading “Backtalk August 30, 2006”