Month: March 2005

Left and Right vs. the PATRIOT Act

In a political environment more fractious than Washington has seen in over a decade, there are still signs that Left and Right can find common ground. A current example is a coalition of conservative interest groups that has joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and similar organizations to press for changes in … Continue reading “Left and Right vs. the PATRIOT Act”

US Grants $1 Million to Egyptian ‘Pro-Democracy’ Groups

President George W. Bush has taken a baby step toward fulfilling his pledge to spread democracy in the Middle East by giving grants totaling one million dollars to six civil society groups in Egypt, including perhaps the most controversial in the country – the organization whose leader spent a year behind bars on trumped-up charges. … Continue reading “US Grants $1 Million to Egyptian ‘Pro-Democracy’ Groups”

US Arms Industry Fishing in Troubled South Asian Waters

NEW DELHI – By offering nuclear-capable F-16 Falcon fighters to Pakistan and the even more advanced F-18 Hornets to India, Washington has shown a cynical readiness to profit from the long-standing rivalry between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors, say analysts. "This is a bit like the Aesop’s fable in which two cats fighting over a … Continue reading “US Arms Industry Fishing in Troubled South Asian Waters”

Cheney’s Other Trick NIE?

Hats off to journalist Dafna Linzer and Sunday’s Washington Post for exposing a familiar but fallacious syllogism favored by senior Bush administration officials: Iran has a lot of oil. Ergo, Iran does not need nuclear energy for civil purposes. Ergo, Iran’s nuclear development program must be for weapons. Linzer and her researcher, Robert Thomason, remind … Continue reading “Cheney’s Other Trick NIE?”

Draft Needed to Bail Out Neocons

One of the favorite fantasies of right-wing talk radio and Fox "News" is that only Bush-hating liberals oppose the Iraq war and additional U.S. military incursions into the Middle East or wherever. Yet, it is the March issue of the Washington Monthly, a magazine with a liberal Democratic audience, that makes a case for the … Continue reading “Draft Needed to Bail Out Neocons”

How the East Was Won

On the first day of Kyrgyzstan’s “daffodil revolution,” photogenic girls smilingly offered daffodils to police guarding the presidential palace, but in a few hours those same guards were being pushed back and beaten by drunken crowds, who surged into the seat of government and ransacked the place. They also ransacked the entire city. “Democracy, whiskey, … Continue reading “How the East Was Won”

Howard Dean Still Selling Out the Antiwar Movement

It was just over two years ago that I learned a little-known “antiwar” Democrat from Vermont was planning to run for president. At a rally on the eve of Bush’s Iraq invasion, a fellow protester handed me a leaflet touting the now infamous Howard Dean, hoping that the propaganda would entice me to support his … Continue reading “Howard Dean Still Selling Out the Antiwar Movement”