Month: May 2004

In October 2001 a Yemeni student by the name of Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed, who was suspected of involvement in the bombing of the USS Cole, was captured and turned over to the United States by Pakistan. U.S. authorities then flew him to Jordan for interrogation. Other “high-value” prisoners in our “Global War on Terrorism” … Continue reading “Outsourcing Torture and the Problems of ‘Quality Control’”

Many politicians have claimed that the atrocities committed by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq were a result of improper training. The mothers of these soldiers would vouch for the fact that their youngsters were properly trained to eat from, and then with, a spoon, and sometime later with other, more complex … Continue reading “Abu Ghraib Soldiers Were Properly Trained”

Attorney General John Ashcroft, the Department of Justice, and the FBI have been engaged in covering up my reports and investigations into my allegations for over two years now: They have blocked the release of all documents related to my case that were requested under FOIA for over two years. They have asserted the rarely … Continue reading “Gagging Congress”

The United States is pushing for a new U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at exempting its troops from prosecution for war crimes when they serve in any U.N. peacekeeping operations. If granted, the request would renew an exemption first permitted in 2000 and grudgingly repeated by the world body in 2003. It comes as the … Continue reading “US Wants One-Year Extension of UN Exemption from War Crimes Law”

It’s still early in the process, and it is important to acknowledge that in the cabal of neoconservative writers and policy wonks we face a generally intelligent, determined, opportunistic and persistent group who are not likely to change their ambitions for the rest of us just because of setbacks that might cause some people to … Continue reading “Seeking Silver Linings”

A new report from the Army War College is garnering headlines and will likely become a hot topic of discussion. The report, “Iraq and Vietnam: Differences, Similarities, and Insights,” is written by two scholars at the Army’s Strategic Studies Institute. Dr. Jeffrey Record and Dr. W. Andrew Terrill argue that while the two conflicts share … Continue reading “War College Report Compares Iraq and Vietnam”

It was just last January that Ahmed Chalabi occupied the coveted balcony seat next to First Lady Laura Bush and gazed out at Washington’s glittering elite who had gathered to hear President George W. Bush deliver his State of the Union Address from the Capitol’s imposing rostrum. The darling of the neo-conservative hawks around Vice … Continue reading “Chalabi – From White House to Dog House in Just Five Months”

Isn’t it funny how politicians have to wait until just before going into retirement to say what they really think about Israel and its influence over Washington policymakers? Congressman Lee Hamilton (D-Indiana), formerly the senior Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, waited until after announcing his departure from Congress to attend a symposium on … Continue reading “Senator Hollings Is Right”

Though the ill-conceived Millennium Challenge Act has already become law and therefore we are only talking about its implementation, it is nevertheless important to again address some very fundamental problems with this new foreign aid program. I believe that the Millennium Challenge Act (MCA) may be one of the worst foreign policy blunders yet – … Continue reading “New Millennium, Same Old Foreign Aid”

Arms dealer Viktor Bout was the merchant of death wanted for feeding conflicts in Africa – until Iraq happened. Today the United States and Britain are using his extensive mercenary services in Iraq. The condemnation of his role in the diamond wars and other conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa over the past ten years is being … Continue reading “Friends in High Places: Fugitive Mercenary Makes Good in Iraq”