Month: October 2015

At least 3,071 killed were killed in Iraq during October. This figure included militant deaths, as well as those of civilians and security personnel.

As the first Democratic presidential debate drew to a close, moderator Anderson Cooper posed a question to Hillary Clinton: How might her presidency differ from Barack Obama’s? Clinton smiled. “Well, I think it’s pretty obvious,” she replied to rapturous applause. “Being the first woman president would be quite a change from the presidents we’ve had.” … Continue reading “Hillary Clinton Hasn’t Learned a Thing from Iraq”

It is not very pleasant when serious people around the world – historians, psychiatrists, diplomats – ask themselves if my prime minister is completely sane. But this is happening now. And not only abroad. More and more people in Israel are asking themselves the same question. All this is the result of one event. But … Continue reading “Adolf, Amin, and Bibi”

Saeb Erekat is an enigmatic character. Despite minimal popularity among Palestinians, he is omnipresent, appears regularly on television and speaks with the moral authority of an accomplished leader whose legacy is rife with accolades and an astute, unwavering vision. When Palestinians were polled by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC) in August, just prior … Continue reading “Confronting the Obvious Truth: Palestinian Authority vs. the People”

It appears that Washington, ever a seething cauldron of bright ideas, is looking for a shooting war with China, or perhaps trying to make the Chinese kowtow and back down, the pretext being some rocks in the Pacific in which the United States cannot possibly have a vital national interest. Or, really, any interest. And … Continue reading “China Sea Blues: A Thing Not To Do”

A Shi’ite militia, the al-Mukhtar Army, claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack on Camp Liberty. During the rocket attack, at least 26 members of the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (M.E.K.) group were killed. That number is higher by three dead than was reported yesterday. Including those three, at least 136 were killed and nine were wounded in the latest … Continue reading “136 Killed in Iraq as Fighting in Sinjar Heats Up”

America and its allies make modern war in a way that assures “mistakes” destroy hospitals, and civilian lives are taken by drones. These horrors are all too often strategic decisions, or the result of the profligate use of needlessly destructive weapons. They are typically far from accidents. The destruction of a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, … Continue reading “America’s Civilian Killings Are No Accident”

The Internet’s infatuation with Wednesday’s story of the runaway blimp lasted about as long as the blimp did before being taken down in Pennsylvania. The (wretched) third Republican debate soon took over the news cycle, leaving the blimp a brief trending twitter hashtag. The blimp didn’t injure or kill anyone, though it did destroy power … Continue reading “Say, What’s Hovering Over American Cities?”

It’s election time in the US, and people are talking about subjects generally ignored in the woof and warp of everyday life. The role of government, trade policy, immigration, foreign policy – but none of these subjects dominated the stage in the latest installment of the seemingly endless GOP debates. Instead, the assembled candidates were … Continue reading “The Revolt Against ‘Democracy’”

At least 118 were killed in the latest violence, but figures are expected to rise from an attack on the MEK near Baghdad.