Month: June 2005

Catering to Kazakhstan’s Kleptocracy

It has plenty of oil, mucho corruption, longtime connections to Washington deal-makers, and an ex-commie dictator with delusions of grandeur: in short, Kazakhstan has all the earmarks of a typical U.S. ally in Central Asia. Now that Uzbekistan is on the outs with an increasingly embarrassed Washington on account of the recent massacre at Andijan, … Continue reading “Catering to Kazakhstan’s Kleptocracy”

If Pinochet Is Guilty, so Is Bush

General Augusto Pinochet, approaching his 90th year, has survived many years of legal harassments resulting from alleged human rights violations during the period of the Chilean military government’s war on terrorism. On the basis of a U.S. Senate staff report, Pinochet is now going to be investigated for stashing $13 million in U.S. banks. What … Continue reading “If Pinochet Is Guilty, so Is Bush”

Rights Group Calls Uzbek Deaths a ‘Massacre’

Last month’s violence in Andijan, Uzbekistan, amounted to a “massacre” by government forces against mostly unarmed civilians, according to a new report released here Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report, which declined to estimate the total number of dead, rejected charges by the authoritarian government of President Islam Karimov that radical Islamists bent … Continue reading “Rights Group Calls Uzbek Deaths a ‘Massacre’”

Who Cares About Iraqis?

Suicide bombers unleashed another day of hell across Iraq today, killing at least 18 and wounding over 67. Four of them struck Iraqi security forces, along with U.S. military convoys around Baghdad. Despite the huge, U.S.-backed Iraqi security operation throughout the capital city, attacks there continue unabated. The small city of Rawa (near al-Qa’im) was … Continue reading “Who Cares About Iraqis?”

Desperate for Work, Blind to Dangers

AMMAN – Ahlam Najam just needed a job. At 25, she had a university degree in education but could not find work as teacher. When Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), a subsidiary of the U.S. firm Halliburton, offered her a job as a security guard at a U.S. base in Iraq, she took it. On … Continue reading “Desperate for Work, Blind to Dangers”

Grandpa’s Battered Radio

"Ramzy, I must admit it, it’s so hard being a Palestinian these days.” That’s how a friend of mine, a dedicated individual who is spending her days and years advocating justice for the Palestinian people, ended a distressing message to me a few months back. I recall her words often, and as often I recall … Continue reading “Grandpa’s Battered Radio”

9/11 Commission for Prisoner Abuse?

On the heels of the dustup over the nomination of John Bolton to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, President George W. Bush’s next congressional tsunami may well be a provision tucked away in a proposed anti-terrorist bill. That legislation would establish an independent 9/11-type commission to investigate U.S. abuse of prisoners throughout … Continue reading “9/11 Commission for Prisoner Abuse?”

Desperate for Terror Arrests, FBI Turns to Entrapment

The U.S. has a vast and very expensive Homeland Security bureaucracy with nothing to do. There hasn’t been a terrorist attack in America since 2001. There has been a vast quantity of terror alerts, the purpose of which was to scare Americans into supporting an unnecessary and illegal aggressive attack on Iraq. As very few, … Continue reading “Desperate for Terror Arrests, FBI Turns to Entrapment”