An ‘Alliance’ of Violence

A disturbing trend noticeable in Iraq for quite some time now is that each aggressive Israeli military operation in the occupied territories results in a corresponding increase in the number of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. One of the first instances of this was the assassination of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin in March … Continue reading “An ‘Alliance’ of Violence”

‘Democratizing’ Iran:
A Case of Déjà Vu

In the 1993 movie comedy Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a weatherman who is reluctantly sent to cover a story about the rodent whose internal clock is believed to be affected by annual changes in the amount of daylight and who is supposed to start ending its hibernation on the second of February (marking the … Continue reading “‘Democratizing’ Iran:
A Case of Déjà Vu”

The Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly

Three years into Operation Iraqi Freedom one thing should be apparent: Iraq was not a cakewalk. Maybe the fight against the Iraqi military on the open battlefield was a cakewalk, but everything since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations on May 1, 2003 – taking a victory lap by landing aboard the … Continue reading “The Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly”

Courts Scrutinize Post-9/11 Powers

More than six months ago, a federal district judge ordered former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and other senior officials to testify in a lawsuit brought by an Egyptian who claims he was beaten and starved after being arrested following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He charged that he was violated with a flashlight while … Continue reading “Courts Scrutinize Post-9/11 Powers”

Neocons Blocked 2003 Nuclear Talks With Iran

The George W. Bush administration failed to enter into negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program in May 2003 because neoconservative zealots who advocated destabilization and regime change were able to block any serious diplomatic engagement with Tehran, according to former administration officials. The same neoconservative veto power also prevented the administration from adopting any … Continue reading “Neocons Blocked 2003 Nuclear Talks With Iran”

A War in Search of a Justification

On March 20, the twits at FrontPageMag.com interviewed Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, who stated without a doubt that Saddam shipped WMD off to Syria on the eve of the Iraq invasion. McInerney was referring to documents he believes prove that Saddam was hiding his horrible weapons. Of the 600 … Continue reading “A War in Search of a Justification”

After Iraq, Arabs Wary of ‘Western’ Democracy

DUBAI – In the evolving debate on reforms, Arab intellectuals and common people continue to emphasize the need for culture- and region-specific democratic reforms in the Middle East, and strongly oppose the imposition of Western models. Highlighting the difficulty of implementing a Western tailor-made process without heeding local and regional circumstances, Omro Hamzawi, senior fellow … Continue reading “After Iraq, Arabs Wary of ‘Western’ Democracy”

The Politics of PTSD

Recent news articles have reported that nearly 216,000 veterans diagnosed with PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder – receive benefits from the Veterans Administration (VA). Most of these veterans are from the Vietnam period, and many, including myself, were granted their disability ratings only during the last decade. Since 1999, the VA’s PTSD benefit payments have … Continue reading “The Politics of PTSD”

Bush Is No Conservative

President Bush passes himself off as a conservative Republican and a born-again Christian. These are disguises behind which Bush hides. Would a Christian invade another country on false pretenses, kill tens of thousands of innocent civilians, and show no remorse or inclination to cease the aggression? Longtime Republican policy wonk Bruce Bartlett recently published a … Continue reading “Bush Is No Conservative”