Month: October 2008

Updated at 9:35 p.m. EDT, Oct. 31, 2008At least three Iraqi was killed and another 12 were wounded on a fairly quiet prayer day. The only casualties reported so far were in Mosul. No Coalition casualties were reported. Meanwhile, one al-Qaeda suspect killed in a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan was reported to be an … Continue reading “Friday: 3 Iraqis Killed, 12 Wounded”

*with Zainab Mineeia An estimated 17,000 Iraqis detained in their own country by occupying US forces may soon face transfer into an Iraqi government detention system where reports of abuse and torture are commonplace, says a leading human rights advocacy group. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) statement Wednesday focuses on the potential for detainee transfers … Continue reading “Iraqi Detainees May Go From Frying Pan to Fire”

With one deadly strike, the Bush administration has offered a fitting epitaph to its "might makes right" policy towards Syria – and the rest of the Middle East. On October 26, nine days before the election, American Special Operations forces, allegedly pursuing a "top operative" of al-Qaeda in Iraq, carried out a helicopter attack on … Continue reading “Strange Strike”

Every time I write about Barack Obama I get a lot of letters, and the most typical goes something like this: Dear Justin, I read your column regularly, and generally agree with what you have to say, but I think you’ve got Barack Obama all wrong. Yes, I know, he went before AIPAC and kowtowed; … Continue reading “Making Excuses for Obama”

Even as the Bush presidency wears down, the Global War on Terror only expands. Perhaps the word should be “metastasizes.” Just this week, the US military, using SOFA-less Iraq as its launching pad, sent four helicopters with US special forces soldiers across the Syrian border in an operation in which a number of people were … Continue reading “Expanding War, Contracting Meaning”

In a conflict that has produced more than its share of suffering and tragedy, the name of Kafr Qassem lives on in infamy more than half a century after Israeli police gunned down 47 Palestinian civilians, including women and children, in the village. This week Kafr Qassem’s inhabitants, joined by a handful of Israeli Jewish … Continue reading “Palestinian Kristallnacht”

Over the last eight years the Bush administration has sacrificed American lives, resources, and influence at every turn. President George W. Bush, with the avid support of Sen. John McCain and most of the Republican Party, took the US into an unnecessary war in Iraq, increased the number of America’s enemies and the threat of … Continue reading “Conservative Fantasies: A World Never More Dangerous”

Updated at 6:50 p.m. EDT, Oct. 30, 2008As the northern commander of U.S. troops complained about the security situation in Mosul, attacks there continued. Overall, at least seven Iraqis were killed and another 20 were wounded across the country. No Coalition deaths were reported, but the remains of an American civilian missing three years were … Continue reading “Thursday: 1 American Civilian, 7 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded”

The threat by the George W. Bush administration last week to withdraw all economic and military support from the Iraqi government if it does not accept the US-Iraq status of forces agreement has raised the stakes in the political-diplomatic struggle over the issue. However, most Iraqi politicians are now so averse to any formal legitimization … Continue reading “US Cutoff Threat Unlikely to Save Iraq Troop Pact”

By this time next week, it should be known who will become the 44th President of the United States. Once a "chief magistrate of a confederated republic," the holder of that office is now a "global tyrant…part secular pope, part military despot, part pseudo-philosopher-king and full-time overbearing global gangster." Both John Sidney and Barack Hussein … Continue reading “Elected Affliction”