Month: November 2004

“‘We had to stop some operations until the [U.S.] elections were over,’ said a senior Iraqi Defense Ministry official who requested anonymity because he’s not an authorized spokesman. ‘The Iraqi government requested support from the American side in the past, but the Americans were reluctant to launch military operations because they were worried about American … Continue reading “Blinkered Bush Set to Blunder Again”

KABUL – Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, gave an exclusive interview to Pajhwok News Agency. He discussed his role in the reconstruction effort and the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan’s future. Pajhwok: How do you feel about being Afghan and representing the U.S.? What kind of conflicts do you face with this duality, and … Continue reading “US Ambassador to Afghanistan: ‘I Didn’t Come Here to Be a Flower Pot’”

One result of Bush’s reelection will be an attempt next month by Undersecretary of State John Bolton to deny Mohamed ElBaradei another term as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA was originally set up in 1957 to promote the international, safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear energy. But, in … Continue reading “Bye-Bye, ElBaradei”

MONTREAL – The withdrawal from Iraq of aid agency Doctors Without Borders will further isolate the nation at a time when it should be reestablishing links with the international community, says a doctor with vast experience in the war-torn country. The organization, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said Thursday it was leaving the … Continue reading “Aid Agency Exit Leaves Iraq Further Isolated”

An influential foreign-policy neoconservative with long-standing ties to top hawks in the administration of President George W. Bush has laid out what he calls "a checklist of the work the world will demand of this president and his subordinates in a second term." The list, which begins with the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq and … Continue reading “Neocon Agenda: Iran, China, Russia, Latin America…”

“The Marines that have been killed over the last five months have been killed by a faceless enemy. The enemy there has a face, and it’s called Satan, and it lives in Fallujah.” These are the words of U.S. Marine Colonel Gary Brandl as he speaks of the imminent attack on Fallujah. Who says this … Continue reading “Carnage and Martial Law”

RAMALLAH – Ramallah moves to the slow and heavy rhythm of any Muslim town in the Middle East during the fasting month of Ramadan. The only sign of anything amiss with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is the permanent vigil that the world press holds outside his ruined headquarters, the Muqata, where he was effectively kept … Continue reading “There Is Life After Arafat”

The intensity of air raids on the central Iraq city of Fallujah continued to crescendo overnight as some 10,000 U.S. Marines prepared for what is expected to be a massive urban assault on the city that has been most resistant to foreign occupation. But as American troops, accompanied by hundreds of Iraqi personnel, get ready … Continue reading “Fallujah Invasion Nears”

Bravo Company Mourns Its FallenThank-you for the link to "Bravo Company Mourns Its Fallen" (Christian Science Monitor, November 4). My nephew is currently assigned to Bravo Company, and was slightly injured in the attack. He recently told his fiancee that he wanted us to vote for Kerry "so he could come home." He doesn’t yet … Continue reading “Backtalk, November 7, 2004”

No longer will Dick Cheney have to pay visits to Langley, Virginia and lean on CIA analysts to produce the kind of intelligence a Veep might need; not now that the President has his man, Republican loyalist Porter J. Goss, heading up the Agency, and a second term in hand. Of course, the CIA was … Continue reading “Abolish the CIA!”