Month: November 2004

Undersecretary John Bolton has pushed – unsuccessfully – for nearly two years to get the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors to refer to the UN Security Council what he alleges are violations by Iran of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Unsuccessfully, because the IAEA has concluded after an exhaustive special inspection that … Continue reading “Is an Attack on Iran ‘Inconceivable’?”

Karl von Clausewitz, the stern old Prussian philosopher of war, had it right. War is politics carried on by other means. He didn’t see fit to expand upon the apparent corollary, that politics – which most modern thinkers want to sell us as the alternative to war – is simply war carried on by other … Continue reading “Fallujah: Force First, Yet Again”

In a flurry of weekend press releases, the Department of Defense named another 26 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. These deaths bring the total killed since Nov. 8 to 61. Such facts may conflict with “official numbers” released to the unquestioning media. However, in an apparent response to this article, the DoD is now reporting … Continue reading “61 US Soldiers Killed This Week”

President Bush’s reelection mandate has apparently resulted in a radical change in our policy toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Quoting some unnamed U.S. official, the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun said that the U.S. has just established a "red line" the DPRK is not to cross. Ten years ago, the DPRK was operating … Continue reading “A Radical Change in North Korea Policy”

TEHRAN – It is said that the only time Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s Islamic revolution, smiled was when he sat next to Yasser Arafat in the Iranian capital in 1979. Arafat was the first foreign dignitary to pay tribute to the revolution and was greeted as a hero by the mullahs, after Iranians … Continue reading “From Loving Arafat to Calling Him ‘Traitor’”

Leaving the hotel is always an adventure. Last night, Abu Talat whisked me, with a full beard and a keffiyeh draped around my shoulders,out into the chaotic streets of occupied Baghdad. As we traveled around the capital, we took side roads, winding, varying routes toward our destination, never daring to take the direct, most obvious … Continue reading “Wrath, Anger, and Sadness”

The death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will test whether U.S. President George W. Bush intends to maintain his staunch support for Israel’s right-wing government at the risk of further alienating the U.S.’ European allies and Muslim public opinion. It will also provide an early insight into whether the hardline coalition that has dominated U.S. … Continue reading “Arafat’s Passing Poses Major Test for Bush”

UNITED NATIONS – No country can justify torture, the humiliation of prisoners, or violation of international conventions in the guise of fighting terrorism, says a UN report released here. The 19-page study, which is likely to go before the current session of the UN General Assembly in December, does not identify the United States by … Continue reading “UN Report Slams Use of Torture to Beat Terror”

The death of Yasser Arafat overshadows the re-arrest of Mordechai Vanunu, and it was, as they say, no accident: Arafat had barely breathed his last gasp when 20 to 30 heavily armed Israeli police commandos stormed the Anglican cathedral of St. George in Jerusalem, seized Vanunu, and confiscated his computer, while their superiors absurdly yelped … Continue reading “Arafat and Vanunu: Two Prisoners of War”

Dept. of No Comment (Extreme Wing) “‘The Marines that I have had wounded over the past five months have been attacked by a faceless enemy,’ said Colonel Brandl. ‘But the enemy has got a face. He’s called Satan. He lives in Fallujah. And we’re going to destroy him.’” – Lt. Col. Gareth Brandl, on his … Continue reading “Four Times Fallujah Equals?”