Month: May 2004

60 Ex-Diplomats Protest Bush’s Alignment with Sharon

Some 60 former U.S. diplomats and other government officials who served overseas have signed a letter to President George W Bush protesting his support for the Israeli government’s position in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The letter was inspired by a similar protest signed by 52 former British ambassadors and senior government officials and sent to Prime … Continue reading “60 Ex-Diplomats Protest Bush’s Alignment with Sharon”

Neoconservatives Are Anti-American

Is Bush correct when he reassures his war fans that torture is not indicative of American values? Or is the US government merely treating Iraqis the same way it treated Randy Weaver’s family at Ruby Ridge, the Branch Davidians at Waco, Texas, and Gordon Kahl’s family at Medina, ND? Why expect the US government to … Continue reading “Neoconservatives Are Anti-American”

Telltale Signs of Torture Lead Family to Demand Answers

Editor’s Note: Part of the following feature story was first reported by Baghdad correspondent Dahr Jamail back in January, when almost no one was paying attention to stories of the horrifying treatment dealt to Iraqi prisoners by their Western captors. Now that the world has deemed the topic newsworthy, Jamail has returned to the story … Continue reading “Telltale Signs of Torture Lead Family to Demand Answers”

A Lack of Alternative Perspectives?

What’s wrong with the mainstream media? “Conservatives” and “liberals” often squeal that the press is biased against their own side, but they’re both wrong. Oh, the press certainly is biased, but the direction of the slant is not left or right, but up, toward more government. Consciously or not, most journalism is statist, always pushing … Continue reading “A Lack of Alternative Perspectives?”

The Meaning of Fallujah

On some cable networks, they were comparing it to the Battle of Stalingrad, which is absurd. At Stalingrad, 500,000 Red Army soldiers died along with 147,000 Germans. Another 91,000 Germans surrendered, few of them ever to be seen again. No, Fallujah was no Stalingrad. It was not even first Bull Run in 1861, where society … Continue reading “The Meaning of Fallujah”

US Troops Marching In Saddam’s Footsteps

Dozens of followers of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr sing songs of martyrdom as they carry the coffins of two of their slain comrades into the shrine of the revered Imam Ali in the Iraqi holy city, Najaf. Every night, Sadr’s fighters engage in pitched battles with the US military which has placed its tanks and … Continue reading “US Troops Marching In Saddam’s Footsteps”

Officials Tight-Lipped on Torture Allegations

The temperature in Washington heated up today as more news about torture in Iraq surfaced. Perhaps seeking a respite, President Bush escaped Washington, heading for South Bend, Indiana, and a campaign event. Elsewhere, in response the growing world-wide dismay over the abuses at the Abu Ghraib military prison, U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo … Continue reading “Officials Tight-Lipped on Torture Allegations”

From Fallujah to Photos, One Fiasco After Another

When in 1970 Life magazine published photos taken by Senator Tom Harkin, then a lowly congressional aide, of the infamous “tiger cages” in which suspected Viet Cong men, women and even children were kept secretly – and crippled – by the U.S.-run South Vietnamese prison system, it was another nail in the coffin of a … Continue reading “From Fallujah to Photos, One Fiasco After Another”

Nostradamus, Bush Is Not

You didn’t have to be Nostradamus to predict the Iraq war would come to this. Heck, even I was able to predict it clearly. In a column for Antiwar.com as the Iraqi invasion began (March 2003), I wrote the following: “I’m not afraid of our troops conquering in Iraq. They’ll do that in short order. … Continue reading “Nostradamus, Bush Is Not”