Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina – Just as the gray houses and snow-covered ground emerge from the thick late-winter fog, the airplane banks sharply up, its engines straining for altitude. The captain apologizes; he could not see the landing lights, and on the approach to the Sarajevo international airport, there can be no mistakes. Rocky slopes of the …
Continue reading “City on the Edge of Forever”
“If I must die, I will die,” Abdul Rahman told a human rights worker. Facing execution for converting to Christianity, Rahman had just been moved from a jail in Kabul, where his life was in imminent peril, to the notorious Policharki prison outside Kabul, where 2,000 are incarcerated, including 350 Taliban. Rahman is a man …
Continue reading “What Is ‘Democracy’?”
http://www.independent.org/tii/antiwar/e060328.html
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear what will almost certainly be one of the landmark cases of the past 50 years. Its decision will determine whether the Supreme Court will continue to assert its authority to review and check the executive’s power to detain and try individuals caught up in the "war on terror." …
Continue reading “High Court Hears Historic Case on Detainees”
Last week’s announcement that Iraq will now have to pay for its own reconstruction has left some observers wondering whether the yet-to-be-formed government there will be up to the task. Iraq’s deputy finance minister, Kamal Field al-Basri, said it was "reasonable" for the United States to sharply cut back its reconstruction efforts after spending about …
Continue reading “Iraq Left to Rebuild Itself”
You probably saw where Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ruled out applying for the job of NFL commissioner after Paul Tagliabue retires. "Unfortunately, it came open at the wrong time. "Obviously, I’m very busy as secretary of state, and I intend to continue to be secretary of state as long as the president of the …
Continue reading “Condi for NFL Commissioner”
Thank you, U.S. citizens and taxpayers, for your wise purchase of the latest, top-of-the-range Mark 99 Empire, the latest in a long line of highly expensive, unsuccessful, and impermanent empire products. If you take care of your empire, it will give you many months/years/decades/centuries of hegemony, and will be the envy of lesser imperialists. However, …
Continue reading “Your Deluxe Empire: An Owner’s Manual”
The U.S. is losing patience with the Iraqis, averred Sen. John McCain the other day in Baghdad, going into his favorite mode of self-righteous hectoring, warning them they had better get on with the business of forming a government. The senator cited polls showing declining support for the war, but the lack of a government …
Continue reading “America’s Reign of
Terror in Iraq”
Imagine you are in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, setting up tents and loudspeakers without a permit to occupy the park with a group of several thousand protesters, guzzling beer and vodka. How long do you think it would be before the Secret Service or other uniformed local and federal officers moved in …
Continue reading “How Lukashenko Won”
Every day that passes, Americans will be less welcomed in Iraq, and I wouldn’t take lightly the warning of an Iraqi cleric who said, “You should leave before we force you out.” An army that won’t fight is one thing. Twenty million people willing to stab you in the back, cut your throat or toss …
Continue reading “Told You So” 
