Month: January 2003

Two important delegations arrived in Beijing this week – both hoping that China can help defuse a crisis. First, US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly is looking to the Chinese to exert pressure on North Korea and relieve the tension that threatens to result in chaos and death on the peninsula. After the DPRK … Continue reading “China: Straddling the Fence Just Right”

The evidence that something is causing people to go slightly bonkers – is it something in the water? the air? the stars? – continues to pile up. For starters, check out the "logic" of Rep. Charles Rangel’s bright idea to bring back the draft in order to stop the war: "I believe that if those … Continue reading “Going Crazy”

Burying Caesar, Graham Stewart, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £25.00, pp. 533. Mindful of recent admonitions in the TLS about this sort of thing, I should immediately state an interest: namely friendship with the author. That said this is a splendid, splendid book. And as for the author himself, only Robert Brown\’s description of Ward Hadlow will … Continue reading “Burying Caesar”

Two Democratic Congressman introduced legislation last week to revive the military draft, taking a race-baiting shot at the President and his war plans. Their idea is not new, however, as similar proposals were introduced by Republicans in the months following September 11th. Although the administration is not calling for a draft at this time, last … Continue reading “Conscription Is Slavery”

I‘ve been working on pieces on the history of Iraq for the Orange County Register, and had occasion to speak with Robert Rabil, project manager of the Iraq Research and Documentation Project at the Iraq Foundation and author of the new book (I haven’t read it yet) Embattled Neighbors: Syria, Israel, and Lebanon. He had … Continue reading “Slouching into Iraq?”

I have received a lot of curses in my lifetime, and here and there some compliments, too. But I have never received a compliment like this one: an important party, represented in the Knesset, has mentioned my name in its official election platform. Under the heading "Legislation and strict supervision of organizations and activists of … Continue reading “What Are Friends For?”

My previous column – "Ethnic Cleansing: Past, Present and Future" – attracted more reactions than any other. Some of them were supportive and encouraging, for which I am grateful. Many were outraged and even offensive, for which I am even more grateful: not just for enriching my English vocabulary in certain semantic fields (I have … Continue reading “Ethnic Cleansing: Some Common Reactions”

Antiwar sentiment is on the rise, but is the antiwar movement? A steadily increasing number of Americans oppose invading Iraq, and a full two-thirds want to see a "smoking gun" before we set a course for empire. Around the world, opposition is overwhelming, not only in the Middle East (except Israel), but throughout Europe. The … Continue reading “Turning Point”

Of late, sundry elevated Neo-Conservatives have been facing up to the implications of their demands on History’s Muse. In passing, I note that for a movement said, "not to exist," they have been all over the place with their latest cogitations. Have their recent cogitations led them to draw back from their program of world … Continue reading “War and Its Discontents”

Bush keeps hoping either China or Russia will step in and persuade North Korea to calm down, put away the nukes and let the US go about its business in the Middle East. But in recent meetings the two nations made it clear that they believed it was Bush’s big mouth that started the problem … Continue reading “Don’t Count on China”