Month: September 2002

After a month-long hiatus, Slobodan Milosevic’s show trial before the Hague Inquisition reopened last week. As expected, no one looked back on the prosecution’s fiasco just before the recess, when their star witness turned around and exonerated Milosevic. Rade Markovic, former head of Serbian State Security, also accused the new Belgrade authorities of abuse and … Continue reading “Illusions of Truth and Justice”

As Congress reconvenes this week, the possibility of war with Iraq looms larger than ever. I believe the Constitution clearly requires a declaration of war by Congress before a military invasion of Iraq can take place. I also believe that Congress and the American people need to engage in a sober and thorough debate over … Continue reading “Important Questions About War in Iraq”

As America returns to offices and factories after the long Labor Day holiday, the realization that this may be the last summer before a long and horrendous war has focused the nation’s attention on the issue policy wonks and ideologues have been debating for months: do we take Iraq? It is either serendipity or divine … Continue reading “LET’S VOTE ON IT”

A year has passed since the first part of this article, in which I confronted a set of arguments justifying the Israeli occupation, eloquently formulated by an Israeli settler, David Moriah. Shortly afterwards came September 11th, and the agenda changed radically. A year later, readers’ letters seem to indicate we are almost back to where … Continue reading “Confronting Pro-Occupation Arguments”

Perhaps the most striking thing about the current discussion/ debate/ PR campaign about the possibility of the United States launching a pre-emptive strike against Iraq is the weakness of the arguments in favor of an attack – even if one accepts the premise that a pre-emptive strike is sometimes justified, necessary or desirable. Leaving open … Continue reading “Weak Arguments for Attack”

Justin Raimondo is on vacation. Today we present an appropriate classic from April, 1998, reprinted from the Ludwig von Mises Institute publication, The Free Market. Justin’s regular column will return on Wednesday. Among the conventional weapons in the arsenal of the modern Warfare State, none is crueler or more indiscriminate than economic sanctions. While a … Continue reading “THE EVIL OF SANCTIONS”

There were many good reasons for the successful "coalition" formed in 1990-91 to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait. None of these reasons are present in today’s argument presented by the United States to attack Iraq. The US administration seems unable or unwilling to understand how different the Middle East has become in the last ten … Continue reading “Why the War on Iraq is Just Not Working Out”

In response, no doubt, to my instruction in this place last week to shape up, the advocates of starting a war with Iraq have been busy. In Britain, the charge was led by Sir John Keegan, who (to the point of parody) perorated with the conclusion that, were Churchill alive, he’d strike. It’s the season … Continue reading “Let’s Go To War With Iraq”

According the numerous defenders of Total War, no means of breaking an enemy’s will can be forsworn under the conditions of modern warfare. The enemy includes every member of the “enemy society,” regardless of age, gender, occupation, etc. Any vestiges of 18th- or 19th-century practices which aimed at limiting the destructiveness of war and at … Continue reading “The Claims for Total War Revisited”