Month: May 2004

These documents, obtained by The Washington Post, are the offical English translations of previously secret sworn statements by detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Some of the names have been withheld from these statements because they are alleged victims of sexual assault. These files are in PDF format. Some of the descriptions in … Continue reading “Sworn Statements by Abu Ghraib Detainees”

Two pictures put up in an internet café in Baghdad make for a vivid statement of how Iraqis have come to see U.S. occupiers. One shows a woman in the United States hugging her dog. A second shows a hooded Iraqi prisoner sitting on the ground, hands tied behind his back. A soldier holds a … Continue reading “The Picture Gets Worse”

Doctors from the General Hospital of Fallujah, as well as others involved with clinics throughout the city, are reporting that U.S. Marines obstructed their services during the fighting that engulfed this city in April. They also said U.S. snipers intentionally targeted their clinics and ambulances in the city during the siege. “The Marines have said … Continue reading “Doctors: US Obstructed Care in Fallujah”

The United Nations Committee Against Torture has demanded that the United States and Britain present reports about the incidents in the prisons in Iraq controlled by the armed forces of the occupying countries, as more photographs and videos of mistreatment were made public Friday. The Committee said the incidents of torture, humiliation and mistreatment of … Continue reading “UN Demands US, Britain Give Reports on Prison Torture”

Can anything more be said about the debacle of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, beyond the fact that it demonstrates the immense moral leveling power of war? There are two observations I have not seen elsewhere. First, the apparent breakdown in discipline among the MPs at Abu Ghraib may relate to the presence of women, … Continue reading “The Power of Weakness”

When someone asked me recently what movies I had seen, I had to reply honestly: Looney Tunes, Home on the Range, Shrek, Brother Bear, and Peter Pan. One of my grandsons has just reached the age where he enjoys movies, and I love to take him. Hearing him laugh is one of the great pleasures … Continue reading “A Sense of Wonder”

In the heat of Iraq the neoconservatives are seeing their visions of Pax Americana turn into nightmares and headaches. But they are not alone. Liberal hawks like Ivo Daalder, Robert Kerrey, and Will Marshall also find themselves discredited as the quagmire in Iraq swallows up all their arguments supporting the invasion and occupation. Without the … Continue reading “Liberal Hawks: Flying in Neocon Circles”

Amid global outrage over the abuse by U.S. soldiers of Iraqi detainees, the Bush administration has asked the United Nations Security Council to exempt its troops serving in UN-approved peace-keeping operations from prosecution for war crimes before the new International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague in the Netherlands for another year. The request, expected … Continue reading “Rights Groups: No War Crimes Exemption for US”

The networks and other custodians of consensus sicced the dogs of war on anyone who dared question Pat Tillman’s post-Sept. 11 epiphany. Tillman, may he rest in peace, abandoned his NFL career and a $3.6-million contract to become an Army Ranger. As Len Pasquarelli of ESPN put it, "His conscience would not allow him to … Continue reading “Pat Tillman and the Culture of Death”

Well I fully expected this movie to be amateurish and a bit sappy, but I wasn’t prepared for this. Terrible editing paired with lame scripted lines by quintessential American liberal upper-middle-class twenty-somethings and scruffy middle-aged Berkeley-looking professor-types made this a messy affair to watch. Fortunately, the images speak for themselves. The utter devastation wrought by … Continue reading “Rafah: The Movie”