Month: August 2004

NEW DELHI – Credit must go to women if the insurgency-hit northeastern Indian state of Manipur, bordering Burma, finally gets rid of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA, imposed a quarter of a century ago. Already the women, protesting for more than a month now, have compelled the provincial government to lift … Continue reading “Women Press for End to Draconian Indian Law”

COLOMBO – Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia’s longest running autocratic leader, is under international pressure to stop the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Colombo-based diplomats, who declined to be named, said a high-powered European Union delegation from EU-member missions based in Colombo was expected to fly to the capital Male … Continue reading “Maldives Unrest Worries International Community”

A recently unearthed government memorandum prepared for the U.S. Congress addresses the power of the administration to postpone elections. But more notably, it reviews actions the executive branch might take that could preclude large numbers of Americans from casting a ballot in the coming presidential vote. The memorandum highlights that should such disenfranchisement occur, the … Continue reading “Memo: ‘Terror’ Election Barring Voters Could Stand”

Abu Ghraib I was shocked to see those sick photographs. When I enlisted in the U.S. Army I heard stories about atrocities committed by US soldiers in World War II and the Korean War, but we never saw any photos. Had I seen such pictures I would not have enlisted, underage, in 1959. I cannot … Continue reading “Backtalk, August 20, 2004”

MONTEVIDEO – The links put in place by Operation Condor, created by the military regimes ruling South America in the 1970s to cooperate in the elimination of dissidents, still exist, Chilean Senator Carmen Frei told IPS on a visit to the Uruguayan capital. Signs that the coordination was still active emerged in 1991 and 1992, … Continue reading “Operation Condor Still Alive in South America”

Unsure how to judge the Bush administration? Read former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr’s book on the Clinton administration. Bob Barr is an unusual person, a prosecutor who cares about civil liberty. Barr served four terms (1995-2003) as a Republican congressman from Georgia. He was one of the more intelligent members of the House. Barr is … Continue reading “The Sins of Clinton vs. Bush”

It is a painful and disturbing process, but America and everyone involved in the decision-making and oversight process (the Executive Branch and Congress) must learn from the errors and failures related to waging a war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and the aftermath of that war. The toll in American military casualties and those of civilians, … Continue reading “GOP Congressman: War Was a Mistake”

Excerpt from a statement Rep. Doug Bereuter made on the floor of the House of Representatives on Oct. 8, 2002: "As the House takes this extraordinarily important step, fully mindful that Congress in passing the resolution authorizes putting members of the U.S. Armed Services in harm’s way, and recognizing no citizen in this country is … Continue reading “Flashback: Rep. Bereuter’s Statement of October 2002”

BAGHDAD – What a difference a few months can make. The last time I was in Baghdad was late November. The city, the whole country for that matter, acutely felt under occupation. There were signs of it everywhere. Flying from Amman to Baghdad by the Royal Jordanian, the only available commercial – meaning not military … Continue reading “Appearance and Reality in the New Baghdad”

Journalism is often defined as an attempt to "catch history on the run." We historians, when writing history, most often have at hand a range of documents on an issue, and the luxury of being able to weigh them against one another. In trying to track contemporary affairs, the facts are often murky and often … Continue reading “The Outing of Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan”