Month: August 2013

At least 29 people were killed and 63 more were wounded in ongoing violence. Some of the casualties occurred during protests against generous benefits to lawmakers. The demonstrations took place in Baghdad and several cities across southern Iraq.

The U.S. Government has released an "Assessment of the Syrian Government’s Use of Chemical Weapons," which argues that the Syrian regime was responsible for a devastating chemical weapons attack on civilians. The statement is presented as justification for U.S. military intervention in Syria, as punishment or deterrent against Syria for violating the international norm prohibiting … Continue reading “Syria Dossier: Another Failed Argument”

Attacking Syria has been the talk in Washington for years, all the way back to Bush II’s infamous "Axis of Evil" speech. The current (un)civil war started back in March 2011, out of the failed attempt to topple the government through another "Arab Spring" revolution, organized by the American Empire. As in Libya, the response … Continue reading “Yet Another Evil Little War”

A double bombing in a Kurdish neighborhood of Tuz Khormato left 13 dead and 18 wounded. The first blast drew spectators, many of them children, to a second bomb. In Mosul, two soldiers were killed in a small arms attack at a checkpoint. On a road south of town, a bomb wounded five policemen. Two … Continue reading “Attacks Against Kurds, Sahwa Leave 22 Dead in Iraq”

On August 31, Antiwar.com reprinted an article from Mint Press News: “Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack.” We originally linked to it, but then reprinted on our site at the request of Mint Press because traffic on their site was crashing their server. The validity of the story was primarily based on … Continue reading “Retraction and Apology to Our Readers for Mint Press Article on Syria Gas Attack”

The War Party’s Syria narrative is beginning to unravel – and, with it, support for yet another US military intervention in the region. Initially, we were told the US had incontrovertible proof the regime of Bashar al-Assad was responsible for attacking the rebel town of Ghouta with chemical weapons, and that the substance involved was … Continue reading “The Return of the Dodgy Dossier”

The next 72 hours will be decisive in the career of the speaker of the House. The alternatives he faces are these: John Boehner can, after “consultation,” give his blessing to Barack Obama’s decision to launch a war on Syria, a nation that has neither attacked nor threatened us. Or Boehner can instruct Obama that, … Continue reading “Will Boehner Stop Our Rogue President?”

At least 40 people were killed and 57 more were wounded in a string of uncoordinated attacks that, nevertheless, seemed to take advantage of shoppers.

Israel and its domestic U.S. lobby are already in the early stages of the next 10-year aid package, which would not go into effect until 2017 and will be the first since Congress passed the Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2008, which requires in part that US military aid to Israel ensure that Israel maintains … Continue reading “Israeli Lobby Looks to 2008 Law To Justify Request for More US Aid”

Discussions about coup vs. revolution, democracy vs. military rule, and regime change vs. insurgency dominate the discourse about Egypt and Syria in the media, but the tendency to explain developments using easily understandable bumper sticker style labels that are derived from western political science models obscures the reality of what is taking place. Prior to … Continue reading “Obama Flips and Flops”