Month: September 2008

Updated at 6:45 p.m. EDT, Sept. 30, 2008At least 9 Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded as Sunnis began observing the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Also, a U.S. soldier was killed in a small arms attack in Baghdad. In Baghdad, four people were killed and nine were wounded near the national theater in Karrada. … Continue reading “Tuesday: 1 US Soldier, 9 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded”

New evidence from former U.S. officials reveals that the George W. Bush administration failed to adopt any plan to block the retreat of Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders from Afghanistan to Pakistan in the first weeks after 9/11. That failure was directly related to the fact that top administration officials gave priority to … Continue reading “Bush Had No Plan to Catch Bin Laden After 9/11”

On Sept. 30, 1938, 70 years ago, Neville Chamberlain visited Adolf Hitler’s apartment in Munich, got his signature on a three-sentence declaration, and flew home to Heston Aerodrome. “I’ve got it,” he shouted to Lord Halifax. “Here is a paper which bears his name.” At the request of George VI, Chamberlain was driven to Buckingham … Continue reading “An Amicus Brief for Neville”

The German name Sternhell means "bright as the stars." The name fits: the positions of Professor Ze’ev Sternhell indeed stand out sharply against the darkness of the sky. He warns against Israeli fascism. This week, Israeli fascists laid a pipe bomb at the entrance of his apartment, and he was lightly injured. The choice of … Continue reading “It Can Happen Here!”

Updated at 4:40 p.m. EDT, Sept. 29, 2008At least eight Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded in the latest violence. Also, one U.S. soldier was killed during a small arms attack in Baghdad. Meanwhile, Iraq purchased 12 U.S. reconnaissance planes. Also, the government will now permit Iraqi doctors to carry weapons for self-defense. … Continue reading “Monday: 1 US Soldier, 8 Iraqis Killed; 15 Iraqis Wounded”

The U.S. is failing to rein in its primary target in the "global war on terror" – al-Qaeda – according to a new poll [.pdf] of 23 countries across the globe. Conducted for the BBC World Service by the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and Globescan, the poll reveals that in … Continue reading “US War on al-Qaeda Widely Viewed as a Bust”

While the American people are consumed with the news on the home front – economic implosion, job loss, a record number of foreclosures, failed banks – and a presidential election in which the usual amount of smoke is being blown, if you look behind the headlines the outline of an emerging crisis in – where … Continue reading “The Mischief-Makers”

If the presidential debate Friday night told us anything, it was that whichever of these candidates is elected, we can expect more wars, or at least more conflicts that put U.S. forces or citizens in danger for dubious reasons. Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama came close to questioning the "bipartisan" consensus on U.S. foreign … Continue reading “No Matter Who Wins,
Expect More Wars”

Let’s start with the money the Bush administration has already thrown at the war in Iraq. According to the June congressional testimony of William Beach, director of the Center for Data Analysis, the war has cost $646 billion so far. The new defense budget for 2009 tacks on another $68.6 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan … Continue reading “The Pentagon Bailout Fraud”

It could all have been so different. Between September 2002 and April 2003, the five defendants in the forthcoming 9/11 trial at Guantánamo – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali (aka Ammar al-Baluchi), and Walid bin Attash – were seized and transferred to secret CIA prisons, where they were … Continue reading “Is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Running the 9/11 Trials?”