Month: August 2004

Internal Pentagon documents show that the inspector general tasked with investigating what led to the Army’s abuse of prisoners in Iraq is at least planning to conduct a thorough and wide-ranging investigation. His bottom-up inquiry is not stuck at the bottom with military police, who so far have borne the brunt of the blame. Rather, … Continue reading “Pentagon Questions All Iraq Interrogators Under Oath”

PARIS – France and the United States have begun a new race to compete for favors with undemocratic regimes in Africa. The competition is growing particularly in the oil-rich North and West Africa. The French government announced last month that it is due to sign a military pact with former colony Algeria that would include … Continue reading “US and France Begin a Great Game in Africa”

U.S. tanks crept closer to one of the holiest sites in Shi’ite Islam on Monday as Marines and Army cavalry units backed by aircraft tightened their grip on the center of Najaf, reportedly shelling neighborhoods very heavily and using the main civilian hospital as a base of combat operations. But fighters loyal to rebel cleric … Continue reading “Mehdi Uprising Widens Amid Rumors of US War Crimes”

Our country’s military now declares preparations to attack the Shrine of Ali in the city of Najaf in Iraq. Our country stands on the precipice of declaring war on Islam. An attack on the Shrine of Ali is an attack on the heart of Islam and must be nonviolently resisted in our country. The U.S. … Continue reading “Hands Off Najaf”

After endorsing an appeal from the bipartisan 9/11 Commission to drastically overhaul the U.S. intelligence community, President George W. Bush on Tuesday nominated as his next director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) the longtime chair of a congressional panel that the commission called complacent in the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. … Continue reading “Bush’s CIA Pick: ‘Business as Usual’”

Just as the U.S.-led forces refused to release thousands of adult prisoners after the June 28 handover of partial sovereignty to Iraq, U.S. and UK authorities continue to incarcerate children. The Pentagon says around 60 teens, "primarily aged 16 and 17," are still being detained, though unnamed sources at the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command … Continue reading “US Silent on Torture of Children”

I am so preoccupied with reading Imperial Hubris, written by an “anonymous” current employee of the CIA, that I’ve suppressed my urge to write another one of those “I told you so” columns. I can’t say I’m happy John Kerry lived up (or down) to my worst expectations, but to all those Anybody But Bush … Continue reading “Dog Days”

CARACAS – For the past two and a half years, political polls in Venezuela showed that a majority of respondents were opposed to President Hugo Chávez. But that has now changed. Most of the latest polls have indicated that he is likely to win next Sunday’s recall referendum, when 14 million voters will decide whether … Continue reading “Venezuela: Polls Point to Likely Chávez Victory”

Can the Caucasus ever escape from the cycle of coups and violence that have beset the region since the collapse of the Soviet Union? Not if the rhetoric of Georgia’s new 36-year-old President Mikheil Saakashvili is anything to go by. Before setting out on a visit to the United States last week, Saakashvili announced that … Continue reading “US Blinded by Love for Saakashvili”

Amnesty International is calling on the Sudanese government to immediately release all those it has arrested or detained in Darfur for communicating their opinions with foreign visitors about their plight. In a communiqué released Monday night, the London-based group charged that scores of people have been arrested over the past six weeks for talking with … Continue reading “Amnesty Demands End to Free-Speech Abuses in Sudan”