Month: June 2004

I thought it was terrible. I was wrong. It is far, far worse! These words sum up my feelings at that moment. I was standing on a hill overlooking the infamous Kalandia checkpoint. Below me was a narrow road, packed with Palestinians in the blazing sun, 30 degrees centigrade (86 F) in the shade (but … Continue reading “A Nightmare Come True”

From Dahr’s weblog: Several of us are sitting in the hotel room having lunch, watching the news trying to keep up with the violence daily engulfing Iraq. Let me give you a quick rundown from the last 24 hours. Late last night fighting continued in Sadr City between the Mehdi Army and occupation forces … … Continue reading “Violence Engulfing Iraq”

Even as authorities for the U.S.-run occupation cede a greater share of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, spokespeople for the Iraqi police and paramilitaries in many areas of the war-torn country say they lack the legitimacy and tools necessary to carry out their duties. With the transfer of official sovereignty to a U.S.-sanctioned governing body … Continue reading “Americans, Iraqis Vie for Control of Security Forces”

The Arab reform debacle is widening as Arab leaders fail to achieve either a unified or a comprehensible vision for their own countries. Under various guises and pretenses, the Arab Summit in Tunisia last May only deepened the impression that Arab leaders are incapable of devising their own reforms. My worst fear is now unfolding: … Continue reading “Reform as a Euphemism for Stagnation”

http://www.independent.org/tii/antiwar/e040611.html

Are we now torturing children? A chill went down my spine as I read an account of a recent talk given by Seymour Hersh at the University of Chicago (via blogger Brad Delong): “He said that after he broke Abu Ghraib people are coming out of the woodwork to tell him this stuff. He said … Continue reading “The Torturers”

Jose Padilla was arrested two years ago at O’Hare International Airport by the FBI on a “material witness” warrant. Padilla was alleged to have met with senior al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan and Pakistan, received training in the use of high explosives, and sent back to the United States “to reconnoiter potential sites” for detonating a … Continue reading “Dirty Bomb – Not”

From Dahr’s weblog: This became a very popular saying in Iraq after the U.S. ousted Saddam Hussein. The situation continues to degrade in occupied Iraq. I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record … but the need to describe life on the ground here continues, as I see it slipping from the news … Continue reading “‘The Student Is Gone; the Master Has Arrived’”

I‘ve always liked the restful quiet of an empty classroom. Maybe this is why the large room where we wait to start mealtime duties, here at Pekin Federal Prison, feels comfortably familiar. During breaks, in the dining area, I’ve spent many hours reading, writing, studying Arabic, and staring out the window. Today, looking out the … Continue reading “Requiem for a Son Killed in Iraq”

Would Ronald Reagan have invaded Iraq? Would he have declared a doctrine of preventive war to keep any rival nation from rising to where it might challenge us? Would he have crusaded for “world democratic revolution”? Was Reagan the first neoconservative? This claim has been entered in the wake of his death. Yet, it seems … Continue reading “Was Reagan the First Neoconservative?”