Month: June 2004

On Wednesday, June 23, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives, in an overwhelming bipartisan vote, endorsed right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s efforts to colonize and annex large sections of the Palestinian West Bank, seized by Israel in the June 1967 war. This was not just another “pro-Israel” (or, more accurately, “pro-Israeli right”) resolution, but … Continue reading “Congress to Sharon: Take All You Want”

You know, of course, that the alleged handover of Iraqi sovereignty on June 30 is a phony-baloney public-relations stunt. The armed forces will remain in the country. A U.S. embassy with 1,000 employees will open. In other words, it will be a continued occupation with an Iraqi face. What the White House hopes will happen … Continue reading “White House Counting on Public Apathy”

This column, the third in a series, concludes a discussion of the canon, the seven books which, read in the order given, will take the reader from the First Generation of modern war through the Fourth. As one Marine Corps captain, an instructor at The Basic School, said, “Unless the guy’s a rock, he can’t … Continue reading “The Canon, Continued”

TOKYO – Mariko Ishibashi, 26, a company receptionist, has already decided she will not cast her ballot next month in an election that could crucially determine Japan’s deployment of troops to join a multinational force in Iraq. “I am fed-up with Japanese politics,” Ishibashi, who holds a degree in American literature, tells IPS. Candidates in … Continue reading “Koizumi’s Iraq Policy Faces Test in Elections”

DAMASCUS – When he downloaded some material on Syria and emailed it to his friends, Abdel Rahman al-Shaghouri did not think he would end up in prison. Al-Shaghouri, 32, already in prison since February 2003 for his “offense,” was sentenced this week to two-and-a-half years imprisonment by the security court. He was held guilty of … Continue reading “Syrian Liberalization Hits Internet Wall”

NEW DELHI – Six years after they blasted their way into the world’s nuclear club, India and Pakistan have taken some welcome, if tentative, steps in recent days toward nuclear-risk reduction and confidence-building, which they say would “promote a stable environment of peace and security.” But the steps are small and may prove inadequate in … Continue reading “New Accord a Modest Step to Ease Nuke Danger”

Two weeks after compromising with its traditional allies on the wording of a key UN Security Council resolution on Iraq, U.S. foreign policy under George W. Bush appears to be moving further toward the more realist policies of his father in other areas as well. Few pretend to know whether the move is tactical for … Continue reading “Bush Gives Realism a Chance”

Some unfinished business from last week: In that column I discussed in some detail how the Bush administration’s story about Saddam and al-Qaeda differed from that of the 9/11 commission, and scanned some of the administration’s prewar statements. In general I conceded that the Bush administration had been fairly clever and cagey about the relationship … Continue reading “The Handover Just Might Work”

Asked about the implications of the President’s interview with Patrick J. "Bulldog" Fitzgerald, the special counsel appointed to look into the "outing" of a CIA agent by hawkish government officials, White House spokesman Scott McClellan wasn’t lying when he replied: "No one wants to get to the bottom of this matter more than the president … Continue reading “The Interrogation of George W. Bush”

COLOMBO – A Sri Lankan parliamentarian’s admission that he helped breakaway Tamil Tiger leader Karuna is the latest setback to the country’s fragmented peace process, already reeling under charges that the government is stoking unrest among the rebels The opposition United National Party (UNP), the main partner in the government ruling Sri Lanka prior to … Continue reading “Another Blow to Sri Lanka’s Battered Peace Process”