Month: October 2004

Who was searching for the vast cache of explosives recently revealed to be missing from al-Qaqaa? Not the U.S. military: "The first U.S. military unit to reach the Al-Qaqaa military installation after the invasion of Iraq did not have orders to search for the nearly 400 tons of explosives that Iraqi officials say were stolen … Continue reading “The Weapons No One Looked For”

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations, which was on the verge of adopting a new international convention against nuclear terrorism, has been forced to shelve the proposed treaty because of opposition from Islamic states. "After six years of protracted negotiations, the final draft was ready for adoption by the UN Legal Committee last week," a … Continue reading “UN Terrorism Treaty Deadlocked”

The tragicomedy of errors currently playing in Iraq took an ominous turn the other day when the ambush of 49 Iraqi National Guards by insurgents was blamed on … the U.S. And, no, the accuser wasn’t Michael Moore, or Noam Chomsky, or any of the other demonized figures in the Bush-neocon gallery of hate: it … Continue reading “No Exit From Iraq?”

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s first run-in with the military ended up giving a boost to the movement to gain access to the secret archives dating back to Brazil‘s 1964-1985 military dictatorship. The Torture Never Again Group (GTNM) of Rio de Janeiro is demanding the immediate opening of what … Continue reading “The Struggle to Pry Open Brazil’s Military Archives”

The Cato Institute and the Objectivist Center on Friday offered a full-scale inter-libertarian debate on war. Topics included "Principles Guiding Military Intervention," "Has the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq Advanced America’s Interests in the Middle East?," and "Reflections on the Iraq War." Luncheon speaker was Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason magazine, on "Why Libertarians Should … Continue reading “Libertarians Face Off on Intervention”

BANGKOK – A clash at the start of this week between hundreds of Muslim protesters and heavily armed Thai troops in the country’s south – which left over 80 dead – has delivered a blow to Bangkok’s view that it has the local communities on its side. The showdown on Monday that initially resulted in … Continue reading “Deaths in Custody Could Inflame Thailand’s Muslim South”

Americans who oppose the war in Iraq find it easy to hold President Bush in contempt – as they should, considering his deceptive and disastrous wars that have killed thousands. What’s harder is finding much to like in John Kerry. Most antiwar American voters will probably pull the lever for Kerry – or, more accurately, … Continue reading “Kerry’s Entangling Alliances”

Everybody in Israel is talking about the Next War. The most popular TV channel is running a whole series about it. Not another war with the Arabs. Not the nuclear threat from Iran. Not the ongoing bloody confrontation with the Palestinians. The talk is about the coming civil war. Only a few months ago, that … Continue reading “Israel’s Coming Civil War”

Lieutenant Julian Goodrum is the picture of an American soldier: a young man with quintessentially good looks and a friendly smile, despite the hell he has been through for the last two years. Goodrum served honorably in the first Gulf War, and on his return joined the U.S. Army Reserve. A 13-year Army veteran, he … Continue reading “The Trials of Julian Goodrum”

The best-selling military historian John Keegan has recently published a book entitled Intelligence in War. Although it only discusses the so-called War on Terror in passing, it does, I think, contain a couple of important historical lessons that are of immediate applicability to the current world situation. Keegan describes the attempts by resistance movements during … Continue reading “A Wildly Exaggerated Threat”