Month: December 2002

The buzzwords in Washington concerning Iraq these days are "regime change," which in a sense is surprisingly honest. It means the upcoming Gulf War II will not be about protecting Kuwait or stemming Iraqi aggression. The pretenses have been discarded, and now we’ve simply decided Saddam must go. We seem to have very little idea, … Continue reading “What Does Regime Change in Iraq Really Mean?”

Interesting. I got more nasty comments about last week’s piece about the un-American way the government has wanted to treat accused terrorists like Jose Padillla or whatever it is that he wants to call himself. I started to do a collective response, but it grew, so here’s more than you might want to digest on … Continue reading “Pacifist, Passive or Realistic?”

A group of pro-Israel political consultants, the Israel Project, is telling partisans of the Jewish state to kindly shut up about their fulsome support for Gulf War II – lest they give the show away. A memo entitled "Talking About Iraq," directed at American Jewish leaders, as well as Israelis, advises: "Let American politicians fight … Continue reading “ON THE DOWNLOW”

Hardly a day goes by in the southwestern corner of Europe without local authorities and their foreign minders repeating their worn platitudes about the importance of democracy and social engineering, and the need for more of both. Yet the lives of the people they are supposed to be serving and protecting continue to get progressively … Continue reading “Democratic Destruction”

After the Heritage Foundation gave Lady Thatcher their Clare Boothe Luce award – presented by Vice President Cheney – the Iron Lady defied doctor’s orders, and made a little speech. She warned us that we face the ‘twin headed monster’ of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, and moreover she praised her successor, as Prime … Continue reading “A Much Admired Country”

It is rare that we get anything even resembling good news on the ongoing effects on American liberties of the undeclared and amorphous but still useful (to some) war on terror. And in fact this is not unalloyed good news. Still, it’s worth noting and issuing a modest cheer or two. Last week U.S. District … Continue reading “A Slight Detour on the Road to a Police State”

The Israelis are riding high, these days – but not, perhaps, for long. Ever since 9/11, the Israeli government and its American amen corner have been making the point that Israel’s fight is now America’s fight, and this argument has met with some success. A recent article in Ha’aretz notes that Israel is winning the … Continue reading “BY WAY OF DECEPTION”

US officials recently announced the somewhat jarring news that Israeli security forces will be training American soldiers in the techniques of urban warfare. Apparently Israel’s illegal thirty-five year occupation of Palestine has enabled it to perfect tactics that our troops will need in a ‘possible’ war on Iraq. Most informed Americans will receive this news … Continue reading “The Israelization of America”

One of the useful things done by the late Michel Foucault was to remind us of what a looney Jeremy Bentham was. He did this by setting up Bentham’s screwball plans for a "panopticon" prison, as a central metaphor in his Birth of the Prison. This pretty much exhausts my interest in Foucault, and we … Continue reading “Masters of All They Survey”

Thoughts on the American empire … Is It an Empire? Whenever I say that America has become an empire, someone is sure to say I’m being ridiculous. But what do you call a government that has tried (usually successfully) to force "regime changes" in Panama, Grenada, South Vietnam, Cuba, Guatemala, Chile, Rhodesia, South Africa, Iraq … Continue reading “I Want My Country Back”