Month: October 2004

I oppose HR 163 in the strongest possible terms. The draft, whether for military purposes or some form of "national service," violates the basic moral principles of individual liberty upon which this country was founded. Furthermore, the military neither wants nor needs a draft. The Department of Defense, in response to calls to reinstate the … Continue reading “Reject Draft Slavery”

BANGKOK – The showdown between Burma‘s military regime and the European Union (EU) at this weekend’s meeting of Asian and European leaders has propelled into one that could damage the EU’s stature if Rangoon does not blink. As it is, the stakes have never been higher. The Europeans are threatening the junta with plans to … Continue reading “EU Threatens Burma With More Sanctions”

How to understand the sudden outbreak of candor among Bush administration officials (or former officials) about Iraq in the past couple of days? In the vice presidential debate on Tuesday evening, Dick Cheney said, "I have not suggested there’s a connection between Iraq and 9/11." Well, maybe not in so many words, but Cheney hinted … Continue reading “Bush Aides Backtracking on Iraq”

Antiwar.com Bridging the Gap After going through this website, I noticed that I have perceived Americans in a false way. I have wronged Americans with my false perceptions. Now, I am an Egyptian youth who lives in Qatar, and what I hear in the news and see just makes me more frustrated, angry and start … Continue reading “Backtalk, October 7, 2004”

Britain’s Channel 4 News has broadcast a 30-second video clip of a U.S. pilot killing a group of what appear to be civilians on a Fallujah street. The video includes an audio track of the pilot’s conversation with mission controllers. As the UK Independent notes, “At no point during the exchange between the pilot and … Continue reading “Video: US Pilots Kill Civilians”

NEW DELHI – Four years ago, they exuberantly declared they were "natural allies," being two of the world’s biggest democracies. Last year, they vowed to pursue their "strategic partnership" and their campaigns against "terror" with full gusto. And now, the United States and India have re-designated their relationship as an "evolving partnership, based on mutual … Continue reading “US and India: Unequal Allies, Uneasy Partners”

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – "We are trying our level best to educate Afghan women on the election process. But their men seem determined to prevent them from voting on election day," says electoral officer Shahla Ghaffar Khan. "Many women are also reluctant to register as voters because they are forbidden by their husbands or male elders … Continue reading “Afghan Women Discouraged From Voting”

The idea that John Kerry is some kind of peacenik, who will get us out of Iraq and drive the neocons out of the Temple of Democracy, is a myth that will die a hard death, but die it must. I realize that a lot of my readers have invested their hopes and dreams in … Continue reading “Kerry, the Hawk”

One can only imagine the utter outrage that would engulf world leaders and the media if a series of Palestinian bombings rocked an Israeli town and in less than four days killed 60 people and wounded hundreds, mostly innocent civilians. Not even the most open-minded of media pundits would dare justify the crime; not even … Continue reading “Gaza Through the Looking Glass”

UNITED NATIONS – The UN’s annual arms register, created about 12 years ago to ensure military transparency among member states, continues to be shunned by some of the world’s biggest arms buyers in the Middle East and by key arms exporters such as China. Of the 191 member states only 60 countries have consistently participated … Continue reading “Mideast Arms Buyers Shun UN Register”