Month: February 2005

KIRKUK – Two members of Kurdish parties are touring a soccer stadium turned refugee camp on the southern outskirts of Iraq’s northern oil-rich city Kirkuk on a sunny morning. They are carrying a petition asking Kurds whether they want ethnic federalism in Iraq or Kurdish independence. The politics of freedom is very much in the … Continue reading “Kurds Serious About Independence; Arabs Worry About Expulsion”

“Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.” ~ Donald Rumsfeld In times of war, particularly when that war is starting to look meaningless and futile, its promoters must keep one highly influential group under control: the families and friends of fallen soldiers. Whether by enemy or friendly fire, on the battlefield … Continue reading “‘Good’ Military Families vs. ‘Bad’ Military Families”

The State of the Union was, in many ways, a reiteration of the president’s second inaugural address: the look on that chimpy little face as he repeated “the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world” was at once self-satisfied and defiant, as if he were telling Peggy Noonan, Mark Helprin, and all the other … Continue reading “We’ve Been Warned
The state of our union:
perpetual war”

A Diplomatic and Propaganda Assault Last week’s report by the International Crisis Group advocating the “independence” of Kosovo seems to have been the first shot in an all-out propaganda war to decide the future of that occupied Serbian province. The report has received tremendous attention in the media, from wire services to official U.S. propaganda … Continue reading “The New Kosovo War”

He writhes in pain, moaning with every other breath. The Iraqi police colonel’s chest is covered in bandages, his legs from the knees down nearly completely hidden from view due to thick bandages holding what is left of his shins together. "We gave him first aid and requested a transfer because we don’t have any … Continue reading “Casualties of Polling”

NEW YORK – The Justice Department has again asserted "state-secrets privilege" in seeking to dismiss a lawsuit by Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who was detained in the United States in 2002 and sent against his will to Syria, where he says he was tortured until his release a year later. The privilege was … Continue reading “US Invokes Secrets Privilege in Torture Lawsuit”

One of the least reported aspects of the U.S. occupation of Iraq is the oftentimes indiscriminate use of air power by the American military. The Western mainstream media has generally failed to attend to the F-16 warplanes dropping their payloads of 500-, 1,000-, and 2,000-pound bombs on Iraqi cities – or to the results of … Continue reading “Living Under the Bombs”

“The story today is going to be very discouraging to the American people. I understand that. We value life. And we weep and mourn when soldiers lose their life. And – but it is the long-term objective that is vital….” – George Bush, Jan. 26, 2005, referring to the deaths of 36 U.S. soldiers in … Continue reading “Nothing Accidental About This Disaster”

Liberal columnist Mark Brown, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, is a typical liberal: he opposed the war – but "not to the point of joining any peace protests," heaven forfend. Content to wave from the nearest Starbucks, where he was nursing his double-Frappuccino nonfat latte, nevertheless he let people know where he stood. But let … Continue reading “Liberal Wimps for War”

Amid rising concern about the over-extension of U.S. military forces and the growing budget deficit, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a neoconservative group whose past foreign policy recommendations have often been followed by President George W. Bush, is urging Congress to add 25,000 new soldiers to U.S. ground forces each year over … Continue reading “Neocons: More Cannon Fodder, Please”