Month: May 2004

Adapted, with apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson Half a mile, half a mile, Half a mile onward, All in the desert of Death Rode the 200 thousand. ‘Forward, the Coalition Forces! Charge for the guns!’ he said: Into the desert of Death Rode the 200 thousand. ‘Forward, the Coalition Forces!’ Was there a man dismay’d? … Continue reading “The Charge of the Coalition Forces”

In a rebuke to the U.S. Justice Department, a federal judge in Miami has thrown out a criminal case against environmental group Greenpeace, a prosecution that was watched closely by other progressive organizations that say they are under threat from the Bush administration. U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan acquitted the group at the end of … Continue reading “Ashcroft Loses Controversial Prosecution Against NGO”

Pentagon officials apparently lied to reporters last Friday when they said that the top US general in Iraq had not permitted the use of banned interrogation techniques such as stripping prisoners, sleep deprivation, un-muzzled military dogs, and “environmental manipulation.” Speaking from the Pentagon briefing room on Friday, officials claimed that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez had … Continue reading “Pentagon Lied to Reporters About Interrogations”

Pictures of a dead Iraqi prisoner from Abu Ghraib, packed in ice and bound with duct tape have become infamous. Today, other photos came to light showing an additional victim of US Army interrogations at Abu Ghraib. The dead man has been tentatively identified. His name is Manadel al-Jamadi. Mr. Jamadi is the second dead … Continue reading “The Face of Torture”

Although it will take weeks, if not months, to sort out precisely who was responsible for what increasingly appears to have been the systemic abuse by U.S. soldiers of Iraqi detainees, it should be no surprise if Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith is found to have played an important role. Feith, who, according … Continue reading “Soon to Be Losing Feith?”

As the Iraqi occupation continues, with a heavy toll in lives and sanity, so does the desperate search for a solution. One was offered Tuesday by Ivan Eland: “…what can the United States do to dampen the insurgency and avoid a potential civil war? Something that the Bush administration and the Washington foreign policy establishment … Continue reading “Good Fences”

Rick Perlstein of the Village Voice acquired a damning memo (“you’re not supposed to have that”) demonstrating the hold the loony Christian far Right has on Bush Middle East policy. The gem in the article is the account of how Iran-Contra criminal mastermind and current National Security Adviser Elliot Abrams tried to reassure the Christian … Continue reading “Can Ethnic Cleansing Bring Back Jesus?”

Over two years after being freed from torture in a prison in Laos, Kay Danes is still haunted by the physical and psychological pain she endured for 10 months. While this Australian mother of two recalls being regularly pistol whipped, threatened with death, mocked and ridiculed by her jailers in 2000, her husband Kerry was … Continue reading “We Can Torture, but You Better Not”

The Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah bore the brunt of the large-scale operation the Israeli army launched Tuesday after suffering severe losses last week. Streets leading into the neighborhood were blocked by tanks and sand hills, local residents said. The incursion started after midnight with a missile strike on Block O in Rafah where Islamic … Continue reading “Militants Pay a Price – and Make All of Rafah Pay, Too”

Casualties in Iraq I discovered your site through MichaelMoore.com. I must say that I am impressed. I was looking for more facts and figures on the “true cost” of this war and was even about to suggest to MoveOn.org to post the numbers on their home page. I feel it would be worthwhile to also … Continue reading “”