Month: August 2004

Robert Fisk is a reporter for the British newspaper The Independent. He has spent decades in the Middle East, and I know of no reporter who is his equal in that area of the world. After five weeks in Iraq, he recently reported a very pessimistic assessment of the situation. Keep in mind that Fisk … Continue reading “Iraq on the Verge of Implosion”

Nearly 130 influential U.S. jurists, including twelve former federal judges and a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have signed a statement denouncing Bush administration memoranda regarding the treatment of Iraqi and other detainees and accusing their authors of unprofessional conduct. The statement, in the form of an open letter sent Wednesday … Continue reading “130 Jurists Condemn White House Torture Memos”

August 6-9 marks the 59th anniversary of the atomic bombs that obliterated the Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the instant slaughter of over 100,000 individuals, with tens of thousands of others dying in the days that followed. People who were outside at the time of the blast simply disappeared, leaving only a shadow on … Continue reading “Remembering Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the Dark Cloud Over Civilization”

A couple of weeks ago, the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack delivered its final report to Congress. The Commission was asked to assess – among other things – “the nature and magnitude of potential high-altitude EMP threats to the United States from all potentially hostile states or … Continue reading “Non-Lethal Nukes?”

Tomorrow’s Asia Cup Final football match between China and Japan promises to be an extremely tense event. Throughout the Asia Cup, the Chinese team has played in Beijing. Sold out crowds in the capital are thirsty for a victory after China’s ignominious World Cup appearance and they have brought a flag for every second fan … Continue reading “Sino-Japanese Grudge Match”

RAMALLAH – Another significant handshake in the history of Palestinians, not at the White House but before what remains of the Mukata’ah, the government center of the Palestinian Administration in Ramallah. The handshake at the Mukata’ah known also as ‘Arafat’s compound’ came not between Yasser Arafat and an Israeli Prime Minister but between Arafat and … Continue reading “A Handshake May Not Be Enough”

MONTREAL – When U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge stood in Washington last Sunday to warn that some of the country’s largest banks were being targeted by al-Qaeda terrorists, the mass media splashed the news on front pages and television screens – despite recent well-known intelligence failures in the "war on terrorism." And then it … Continue reading “Won’t Get Fooled Again?”

UNITED NATIONS – Iraq’s U.S.-installed interim government, which is planning to spend some two billion dollars on its military this year, has declared it is too poor to pay 14.6 million dollars it owes the United Nations. “Iraq was not in a position to pay what it owed to the United Nations, although it hopes … Continue reading “UN Bureaucrats Angry Over Iraq’s Refusal to Pay Dues”

In the world of international terrorism, both privatized and state-sponsored, passports and other identity papers are the coin of the realm. Terrorists targeting America are particularly eager to get their hot little hands on Canadian and New Zealand passports, for a number of reasons, most especially because the holders don’t need visas across a wide … Continue reading “Passport to Terror”

In an earlier column, "Two Marine Corps," I alluded to the increasing corruption I see at Quantico and in Headquarters Marine Corps. A number of Marines have asked me what I meant by that. Are Marines taking envelopes of money under the table? Are defense contractors flying them to Vegas for free weekends of poker, … Continue reading “Corruption in the Corps?”