Month: January 2004

Can the Great Satan find common ground with a charter member of the Axis of Evil, the Iran of the ayatollahs? Stranger things have happened in our own lifetimes. In 1972, Nixon, who built a career on anti-communism, was walking on the Great Wall of China, the honored guest of a Maoist regime responsible for … Continue reading “Coming Thaw with Tehran?”

The problem with political novels is that pedantry all too often overcomes poetry. Readers of William F. Buckley, Jr.’s Getting It Right are made all too painfully aware of this long before the last page of this polemic disguised as a novel is turned. In Buckley’s little morality play, teeming with often obscure figures in … Continue reading “Buckley Gets It Wrong”

I have enjoyed scribbling here over the past year, jabbing my foil at the bulging gut of the war machine, but it has been tiring. Chronicling the loss of life and liberty week after week can definitely cramp one’s pursuit of happiness. So, I spent the last week of 2003 hounding cheer, swilling spirits, and … Continue reading “Staying Sane by Nixing the News”

The earthquake that leveled Bam last week appears to have provided an opening for pro-détente forces in both Washington and Teheran. Washington’s sympathy, expressed dramatically in the dispatch of relief workers and a dozen planeloads of emergency aid, elicited warm words from reformist President Mohammed Khatami and from conservative leaders and media in Teheran. Up … Continue reading “Iran: One After Effect Could Be Détente”

We can argue about George Will’s political views. But there’s no need to debate his professional ethics. Late December brought to light a pair of self-inflicted wounds to the famous columnist’s ethical pretensions. He broke an elementary rule of journalism – and then, when the New York Times called him on it, proclaimed the transgression … Continue reading “George Will’s Ethics: None of Our Business?”

Is There Hope? – Where to Look for It This article clearly sees that the fault is not just with the Palestinians "missing the window" of opportunity. The delaying tactics are classic and have been used over and over. I must agree that the Israeli grass roots isn’t buying the regimes stories, but they are … Continue reading “”

Palestinian resistance factions must stop targeting Israeli civilians, with or without an officially bargained cease-fire and regardless of what Israel and its reckless government do in response. This is imperative if the Palestinian struggle is to safeguard its historic values and maintain its morality. For some, such reasoning may seem inconsistent, one-sided even; after all, … Continue reading “Palestinian Resistance Must Spare Civilians”

Because the southern Iraqi city of Basra (1.3 million) is under British military occupation rather than American, it is little covered in the US press (does anybody else think this is odd?) There have been several British and Arab reports about the situation there recently. They indicate that although security has improved, property values are … Continue reading “Christians the Target in Southern Iraq”

It’s been years, it seems, since I’ve had anything positive to say about US foreign policy. Whether it’s the jackass mathematicians and careful parsers of phrase in the Pentagon, or the mannequin posing as Secretary of State, the whole operation has proven to be all-too-effective fodder for the socialists protesting US wars overseas. It’s almost … Continue reading “James Baker: The Last Hope for America”

General Anthony Zinni, formerly chief of Central Command, who voted for George W. Bush in the last election and describes himself as a “Hagel-Lugar-Powell Republican,” has been among the most vocal and visible of the military critics of the Iraq war. Last year, he spoke for many top military personnel when he warned that an … Continue reading “Smearing General Zinni”