Month: January 2005

Conduct Unbecoming P.C. Roberts may or may not be right in his opinion that the president, vice president, and secretary of defense have acted “unbecomingly.” He’s dead wrong in the sarcasm he fires off about the misguided punishment of the top Air Force (AF) lawyer for breaking “obsolete and quaint” rules against fraternization. I was … Continue reading “Backtalk, January 15, 2005”

In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares. The most frightening of these is the threat of an international terror network. But just as the dreams were not true, neither are these nightmares. – from the introduction to the BBC series The Power … Continue reading “The Power of Nightmares”

Panic is setting in at the Pentagon. Ever bolder and ever widening, the Iraqi insurgency grows in firepower and tactical sophistication, as well as in sheer numbers, while the architects of what appears to be a looming stalemate are scrambling to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with what is being called the “El … Continue reading “Iraq and the El Salvador ‘Option’”

Three dozen of the nation’s most prominent Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders Wednesday issued a special appeal to U.S. President George W. Bush to appoint a high-level special envoy to work full time on promoting peace talks between the governments of Israel and the Palestine Authority (PA). The leaders, who together represent 25 national … Continue reading “Religious Leaders Urge Bush Seize the Moment on Mideast Peace”

I‘m typing as mortars are blasting away in the nearby "Green Zone." Mortars are easy to tell – the higher pitched thunk of their launch, then a pause, then a loud boom that echoes through the still night. Blaring sirens wail in the distance, along with the random cracking of gunfire. Nightfall always seems to … Continue reading “What Calm Looks Like in Iraq”

Perhaps the most striking thing about the official acknowledgment that the two-year hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is over is the fact that it was greeted by most with a collective shrug of the shoulders and an almost cheerful defense of what many of us view as utterly indefensible. “Based on what … Continue reading “No Semblance of Accountability”

In the 18th century, Goethe’s romantic novel The Sorrows of Young Werther led than more than one “sensible” young gentleman to emulate the protagonist and kill himself. I hope a happier end awaits Old Werther, the northern Virginia defense analyst who writes under that nom de plume for Chuck Spinney’s DNI Web site. Just as … Continue reading “The Century of the Believers”

The only thing worse than seeing endless news stories about the torture of "detainees" at U.S. prison camps like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay is seeing the word "shocking" in relation to something that we all, in our heart of hearts, knew was happening from the start. That is, unless I’m the only person in … Continue reading “Let’s Not Pretend We Didn’t Know”

CANBERRA – The U.S. and Australian governments could face legal action for damages after the Pentagon announced that it would release Australian citizen Mamdouh Habib from the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba after three years in detention without charges. While Habib’s legal team was taken by surprise by the Pentagon’s decision, future legal moves … Continue reading “Aussie Gitmo Detainee Mulls Legal Action”

The authorities in Belgrade entered the new calendar year in the same state of mental disarray and logical confusion they’ve displayed since ascending to power in 2000. That PM Kostunica and President Tadic would continue to say opposing things has by now become accepted as normal, but so has the even more pronounced dissent between … Continue reading “Unprepared for Challenges Ahead”