An underlying conceit of the new spin about benchmarks and timetables for Afghanistan is the notion that pivotal events there can be choreographed from Washington. So, a day ahead of the president’s Tuesday night speech, the New York Times quoted an unnamed top administration official saying: "He wants to give a clear sense of both …
Continue reading “The Hollow Politics of Escalation”
Iran’s announced intention to build 10 new nuclear enrichment plants has been deemed "unacceptable" by the administration of President Barack Obama, which warned Monday of increased pressure on Tehran if it does not soon accept Western proposals to curb its nuclear program. The contretemps, which came amid reports that Tehran had arrested five British nationals …
Continue reading “US, Iran Moving Again Toward Confrontation”
Updated at 6:59 p.m. EST, Nov. 30 2009
The Health Ministry reported the lowest casualty figures since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. According to their figures, less than 100 Iraqis were killed in November; howver, at least four Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded, many after the release of those results. The Eid al-Adha winds down today, so reports should normalize in the next day or so.
Although we already know what President Obama is going to be selling this Tuesday – a radical escalation of the Afghan war involving 30,000 or more troops – we don’t yet know what his sales pitch will be like. Can the peerless rhetorician apply his skills to the task of mobilizing a war-weary nation around …
Continue reading “The Galula Doctrine”
President Obama will announce his big decision about Afghanistan on Tuesday. The sanctioned leaks about what he’ll say are coming fast and furious. According to various reports, he’ll commit somewhere between 30,000 and 34,000 extra U.S. troops to the region. When he announces that, NATO nations will maybe send 6,000 extra troops. That adds up …
Continue reading “Obama’s Big Speech”
Introduction My local chapter of Libertarians for Peace, co-founded by local libertarian activist Lawrence Samuels and me in 2005, joined the Peace Coalition of Monterey County (PCMC) about three years ago. I think we are the only non-Left group in the 20-plus member coalition. The PCMC includes two religious organizations (Unitarians and Quakers), a labor …
Continue reading “A Coalition’s Progress: Monterey’s Anti-Afghan War Demonstration”
Updated at 7:49 p.m. EST, Nov. 29, 2009
The Eid al-Adha holiday continued without any major incidents; nonetheless, at least four Iraqis were killed and nine more were wounded across the country. Also, a U.S. soldier died of non-combat injuries south of Baghdad.
Contrary to the official portrayal of the Afghan National Army (ANA) as ethnically balanced, the latest data from U.S. sources reveal that the Tajik minority now accounts for far more of its troops than the Pashtuns, the country’s largest ethnic group. The massive shift in the ethnic composition of ANA troops in recent years is …
Continue reading “Tajik Grip on Afghan Army Signals New Ethnic War”
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging a law that critics say treats human rights advocates as criminal terrorists, and threatens them with 15 years in prison for advocating nonviolent means to resolve disputes. The case is known as Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, and is the first case to challenge …
Continue reading “High Court to Hear PATRIOT Act Challenge”
The continuing Eid al-Adha holiday may be limiting reporting from Iraq, but it has not stopped acrimonious reflection on the political process in the country. A compromise on the elections law debate is awaiting Kurdish approval. At least 11 Iraqis were wounded in attacks across central and northern Iraq.
