Month: February 2005

NEW YORK – Civil libertarians are wondering if the new U.S. attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, will continue one of the trademarks of his predecessor, John Ashcroft: razzle-dazzle news conferences announcing the arrests of terrorists, followed by trials in which no one is charged or tried for any terror-related offenses. They point to the recent case … Continue reading “Sentence First, Verdict Afterwards?”

BEIJING – It was Japan and not the United States that bore China’s greatest ire after Tokyo and Washington took the unprecedented step over the weekend to declare that Taiwan would be a common security concern. The inclusion of Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province, in the list of joint security objectives of … Continue reading “China Blasts Japan for Taiwan Stance”

The situation for Iraqi women has gotten worse in many respects since the U.S.-led invasion two years back, says a report from Amnesty International. “The current lack of security has forced many women out of public life and constitutes a major obstacle to the advancement of their rights,” says the report, “Iraq: Decades of Suffering … Continue reading “In Iraq, It Could Be Getting Worse for Women”

“Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great empire and little minds go ill together,” Edmund Burke admonished the haughty rulers of the British Empire of his time. Our American empire is suffering from a similar want of wisdom and plenitude of the hubris that cost George III his 13 colonies. … Continue reading “Who Lost Russia?”

Update: In my nominations for the TomDispatch Political Comedy Awards of 2005, I suggested that the Bush administration, rejected by several top choices in its search for a director of national intelligence and evidently desperate, had “hit on what was clearly a brilliant scheme: Just look for someone who had a post already so nightmarish, … Continue reading “Rummy Dropped From the Loop?”

http://www.independent.org/tii/antiwar/e050222.html

"That all goes to show that wars are not won through newspaper articles, but rather with ideas, soldiers, weapons and munitions. A people wins when it has the prerequisites to victory, when it wants to win and when it must win. All that is true for us. This evening we look back along the path … Continue reading “Soulless Soldiers”

Suppose a traveling salesman came to your door. He said he was representing a foreign country that had a bad government. He would like for your son to volunteer to overthrow that government and possibly get killed in the process. What would you do? I’d slam the door in his face. There is no way … Continue reading “Just Say ‘No’ to Military Recruiters”

It is not very flattering to be paraded like a Rottweiler on a leash, whose master threatens to let him loose on his enemies. But this is our situation now. Vice President Dick Cheney threatened a few weeks ago that if Iran continues to develop its nuclear capabilities, Israel might attack her. This week, President … Continue reading “Beware of Dog!”

The best news in a long time has got to be Time magazine’s remarkable story about negotiations taking place between the U.S. and the Iraqi insurgency. Time reports: "Pentagon officials say the secret contacts with insurgent leaders are being conducted mainly by U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers. A Western observer close to the discussions says … Continue reading “Iraq: Bush Must Negotiate”