A Distant Mirror of Holy War

The conflict in Iraq has become a holy war. In both directions. On the surface, the most prominent headline on the New York Times front page Nov. 10 was simply matter-of-fact: "In Taking Fallujah Mosque, Victory by the Inch." Yet it's not mere happenstance...

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Death and Democracy

With the purpose of "liberating" that city so January elections can be held there, the U.S. military began the third invasion of Fallujah on Monday. With the invasion now underway, it would be wise to stop and consider the fruits borne by U.S. "liberation" efforts....

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A Libertarian Explanation of Genocide

Often it is said that we should understand genocide to prevent it. This is wrong. Understanding is not the key. An explanation is: specifically, explaining genocide as due to unlimited power. Let's first consider the Holocaust, which is the paradigm case of genocide....

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Prayers for Vengeance

Today Abu Talat meets me, and he is in a somber mood. He's down because last night after the curfew began at 9:30 p.m., US military helicopters were circling his neighborhood until 3 a.m. "How can we live like this," he asks while holding up his hands,...

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How to Remember Arafat

Two, three, or four young Palestinians are killed by Israeli forces every day now (we call it "restraint"), but none of them could win even a fraction of the attention given to Yasser Arafat, the dying old leader. The endless stream of words occasioned by Arafat's...

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Just What Mr. Palestine Ruled Over

RAMALLAH - For almost four decades, Yasser Arafat was Mr. Palestine to many in this fractured homeland. Yasser Arafat represented the Palestinian people, wherever they are, as the head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which was accepted by the Arab...

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Bush Pick for Attorney General Bedevils Foes

Wednesday's appointment by U.S. President George W. Bush of his longtime friend, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, as the next attorney general puts Democrats and civil-rights activists in something of a quandary. Gonzales, who, if confirmed, will replace John...

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Pyrrhic Victory in Fallujah

BAGHDAD - A military victory for U.S. forces in Fallujah seems set to lead to a huge political loss for the U.S.-backed interim Iraqi government. Strong anti-government reactions have set in already as reports come in from Fallujah of bombed hospitals, high civilian...

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From Saving Lives to Taking Them

As the armor and artillery attack Fallujah, few observers of that conflict can doubt that the assault will cost hundreds if not thousands of civilian casualties. As the preparations mounted, public opinion was softened by an artillery bombardment of lies. The American...

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Groups Fear Canada Tilting to Israel

TORONTO - Fears are rising among groups that lobby for the Palestinian cause that Canada might be abandoning its traditional middle-of-the-road position on the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Ottawa could squander an opportunity to play a constructive role in resurrecting...

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