Month: December 2004

Hawks Plan ‘Peaceful’ Regime Change in Iran

A heavyweight group of mostly neoconservative hawks has published a new proposal for Iran policy that relies heavily on “peaceful” strategies to achieve regime change, such as those used by Washington since the 1980s in Central and Eastern Europe, most recently in Serbia and Ukraine. The group, the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), targets … Continue reading “Hawks Plan ‘Peaceful’ Regime Change in Iran”

Now They’re After Rummy

“For the first time,” a Washington Post-ABC News poll shows, “most say the Iraq war was a mistake.” Not to worry, however, because “a strong majority of Americans, 58 percent, support keeping military forces in Iraq until ‘civil order is restored,’ even in the face of continued U.S. casualties. By a slight margin, 48 percent … Continue reading “Now They’re After Rummy”

Scapegoating Rumsfeld

Last year, Midge Decter, wife of Norman Podhoretz, who has been howling for “World War IV” against the Arabs, published a mash note titled, Rumsfeld: A Personal Portrait. The University of Houston’s James D. Fairbanks began his review thus: “Neoconservative writer Midge Decter sets out to explain just what it is about Donald Rumsfeld that … Continue reading “Scapegoating Rumsfeld”

Uncertain Quiet Descends on Syrian Front

HIRI, Syria-Iraq border – There has not been any fighting lately near the desolate border village of Hiri, as there used to be after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, inhabitants here say. Nor have any cars or people crossed the border from Syria into Iraq at the official crossing. It was closed by the Iraqi … Continue reading “Uncertain Quiet Descends on Syrian Front”

Fallujah: Little Stalingrad

According to people who have been there, Fallujah is not a very big city. You can walk across it in half an hour. Yet when the history of this miserable war is written, I suspect it may loom large. Like Stalingrad, it will mark the point where the war turned against the invader.You may recall … Continue reading “Fallujah: Little Stalingrad”

FBI E-Mails Reveal More Abuses in Iraq, Cuba

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) e-mails released Monday by a civil liberties group provide new details of abuses committed by U.S. military personnel in Iraq and at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, including one note that alluded, possibly incorrectly, to a White House order permitting a number of contentious techniques. The e-mails make … Continue reading “FBI E-Mails Reveal More Abuses in Iraq, Cuba”

Hezbollah Threat Hovers Above Palestinian Poll

DAMASCUS – For the second time this year, the Syrian capital Damascus was shaken last week by a bomb attack against a leading figure of the fundamentalist Palestinian group Hamas. The target of the attack survived but it was another reminder of the role that Syria seems to be playing in Palestinian affairs. The country … Continue reading “Hezbollah Threat Hovers Above Palestinian Poll”

Iran Tries to Quell Internet Media Wave

Iran’s judiciary has threatened Internet journalists with torture and prison if they do not renounce accusations that authorities abused members of the electronic media and dissidents who were rounded up months ago. According to New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), the chief prosecutor of Tehran, Judge Saeed Mortazavi, threatened three recently released detainees with severe … Continue reading “Iran Tries to Quell Internet Media Wave”