Month: June 2008

Updated at 6:40 p.m. EDT, June 30, 2008An intimidation campaign against Iraqi judges resumed today when a series of bombs targeted a number of them at their homes in eastern Baghdad. Across Iraq, at least 20 Iraqis were killed and 25 more were injured during the latest round of violence. The handover of security to … Continue reading “Monday: 20 Iraqis Killed, 25 Wounded”

GAZA CITY – Mohammed Omer, Gaza correspondent for Inter Press Service (IPS) and joint winner of the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, was strip-searched at gunpoint, assaulted and abused by Israeli security officials at the Allenby border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank on Thursday as he tried to return home to Gaza. … Continue reading “Israelis Assault Award-Winning Journalist”

Editor’s note: Justin Raimondo’s column will return Friday. The drumbeat for war with Iran is getting louder. Determined to ensure their success, by hook or by crook, the neoconservatives inside the administration, and their supporters in Israel, have launched a three-front campaign to provoke a confrontation with Tehran. 1. The Blackmail Option: Israeli Prime Minister … Continue reading “Don’t Wait for World War III”

[Note for TomDispatch readers: The following piece offers a picture of the Bush administration’s 18-month “surge” in Iraq that, I believe, you’ll find nowhere else. Something similar could be said of all the pieces collected in the new book, The World According to TomDispatch: America in the New Age of Empire. Collectively, they offer a … Continue reading “The Urge to Surge”

It may be that the phrases "Middle East peace" and "Israeli-Palestinian peace" are classic oxymorons, along the lines of the late George Carlin’s example, "military intelligence." Certainly the history of the last several decades, perhaps the last 50 years, suggests that the safest attitude toward whatever is the latest manifestation of hope for peace among … Continue reading “Making Progress, Without Uncle Sam”

Updated at 6:09 p.m. EDT, June 29, 2008A mass grave gave up 20 more bodies a day after its discovery near Lake Tharthar. Overall, at least 39 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 20 more were wounded in attacks. No Coalition deaths were reported. Twenty more bodies were recovered from a mass grave discovered … Continue reading “Sunday: 39 Iraqis Killed, 20 Wounded”

Updated at 6:30 p.m. EDT, June 28, 2008Azerbaijan lost its first servicemember to the Iraqi war. Meanwhile, 41 Iraqis were killed and two more were injured. A mass grave was the only significant violence on a quiet day marked mostly by detentions. An Azeri soldier died near Haditha. The cause of death was not disclosed. … Continue reading “Saturday: 1 Azeri Soldier, 41 Iraqis Killed; 2 Iraqis Wounded”

While, in his dreams, US President George W. Bush might have seen a "Mission Accomplished" banner unfurled as the cooling tower at North Korea’s plutonium-producing plant was blown up, Friday’s internationally televised fireworks at Yongbyon offered merely a glimmer of possible success in a foreign policy legacy that seems to be getting darker by the … Continue reading “Even the Rare Bush Success Leaves a Sour Taste”

One gets the impression that there are some people in Washington who believe that Israel or the U.S. can bomb Iran’s nuclear reactors, fly home, and it will be mission complete. It makes you wonder if perhaps there is a virus going around that is gradually making people stupid. If we or Israel attack Iran, … Continue reading “America Is the Rogue Nation”

President George W. Bush says it will be about fifty years before historians can properly evaluate his legacy. Of course, that’s not true; some historians already know what Bush’s legacy will likely be: the deliberate destruction of the existing international nuclear-weapons proliferation-prevention regime. But it is slightly comforting, isn’t it, knowing that God apparently hasn’t … Continue reading “A Legacy to Die For”