Month: December 2006

Updated at 12:30 a.m EST, Jan. 1, 2006 A day after Saddam Hussein’s execution, Iraq remains eerily quiet. So far 24 Iraqis have been killed and 16 wounded in violent attacks. The U.S. military reported that one American soldier was killed and two more injured when a roadside bomb blasted them in southeastern Baghdad. Another … Continue reading “Sunday: 24 Iraqis, 2 GIs Killed; 16 Iraqis, 2 GIs Wounded”

SAN FRANCISCO, California (IPS) – Iraqi-Americans reacted with sadness to the execution of Saddam Hussein Saturday, calling the former Iraqi president’s death by hanging early this morning Baghdad time a missed opportunity for justice. An Iraqi tribunal set up by the U.S. government had convicted Hussein of murder in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims … Continue reading “Saddam’s Death Leaves Unanswered Questions”

Updated at 6:05 p.m. EST, Dec. 30, 2006 Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn. He joins the 110 other Iraqis who were killed or found dead today; another 172 Iraqis were wounded in violent attacks throughout the country. Also, the death of another American soldier brought the total number of GIs killed in Iraq to … Continue reading “Saturday: 110 Iraqis, 1 GI Killed; 167 Wounded”

I happened to hear an old country classic today that somehow got me thinking about the New Year: Charlie Daniels’ "The Devil went down to Georgia." Here are the lyrics: The devil went down to Georgia He was looking for a soul to steal And he was in a bind ‘Cause he was way behind … Continue reading “Ends and Means in the New Year”

On hearing of the death of former President Gerald Ford, syndicated columnist Robert Novak – who infamously “outed” a CIA covert agent in what appears to have been a White House conspiracy, involving Vice President Dick Cheney, to discredit the CIA operative’s husband, who had joined the international chorus of those claiming that President Bush … Continue reading “Preserve, Protect and Defend”

NEW DELHI – If prospects for nuclear weapons reduction took a turn for the worse in 2006, the New Year holds out little hope for containing proliferation. In October 2006, eight years after India and Pakistan crossed the nuclear threshold, the world witnessed yet another breakout, when North Korea exploded an atomic bomb and demanded … Continue reading “Nuclear Disarmament Gets Critical”

Updated at 12:25 a.m. EST, Dec. 30, 2006 Arab media is reporting that Saddam Hussein has been executed. At least five American servicemembers were killed, and the death of a sixth soldier was reported. In Baghdad, a soldier was killed and another two were wounded when a roadside bomb blasted their vehicle in the capital … Continue reading “Friday: Saddam Hussein Executed; 66 Iraqis, 6 GIs, UK Soldier Killed”

In her historical mystery, The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey (a pen name of Elizabeth MacKintosh), has Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant, while confined to his hospital bed, solve the 15th century murder of the two York princes in the Tower of London. The princes were murdered by Henry VII, and the crime was blamed … Continue reading “The Disrespect for Truth has Brought a New Dark Age”

Author’s note: I had originally planned on writing a New Year’s column, but some computer problems cropped up and weren’t resolved in time for our deadline. Heck, I could use a break anyway. So, to all my readers, Happy New Year, and have a safe one. I’ll be back on Wednesday – and keep watching … Continue reading “Somalia: US Foreign Policy and Gangsterism”

with Ali Al-FadhilyBAGHDAD – More US troops are expected to be deployed in Iraq in the New Year. Despite obvious rethinking, there is no decision on withdrawal of occupation forces. The presence of troops may be raised just for their own protection. According to a Pentagon report, US and Iraqi forces are facing close to … Continue reading “More Troops but Less Control in Iraq”