Month: August 2005

You don’t suppose the principal reason President Bush named Bonkers Bolton to be our Ambassador to the United Nations – even though the Senate declined to confirm him – was so Bolton could claim "diplomatic immunity" when the Feds come to arrest him? For what crime? Well, perhaps Judith Miller of the New York Times … Continue reading “Embedded Jailbird’s Song?”

We now have, just as my Confederate forefathers predicted, an imperial government in Washington. We are the only country in the world that has military forces permanently stationed all over the Earth. All imperialism, even the American form, is ultimately based on social Darwinism, a belief not openly stated these days that we are a … Continue reading “Survival of the Fittest, Indeed”

As the blood of US soldiers continues to drain into the hot sands of Iraq over the last several days with at least 27 US soldiers killed and the approval rating for his handling of the debacle in Iraq dropping to an all-time low of 38%, Mr. Bush commented from the comforts of his ranch … Continue reading “‘What Have We Done?’”

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 60 years ago were stunning and sobering events. They brought World War II to an end, and everyone was thankful for that. Not too many of us stopped to think about the full implications of those bombs for our future. We were too busy celebrating the end of that … Continue reading “Lessons from Hiroshima, 60 Years Later”

The Iranian government’s threat to resume limited nuclear activities after the European Union (EU) missed a deadline on Sunday to offer new incentives is clearly part of a calculated attempt to mount pressure on the EU-3 (Britain, France, and Germany). The EU-3 has rebuffed Iran’s call and warned against "any unilateral move" on Tehran’s part … Continue reading “Europe Plays Nuclear Poker With Iran”

The other shoe has finally dropped in the case of the spy scandal involving the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In addition to five espionage-related charges filed against former Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin, two counts of conspiracy to communicate classified information to a foreign power have been lodged against former AIPAC foreign policy director … Continue reading “AIPAC Spy Nest Exposed”

It now appears likely that the Iraqis will come up with some sort of written constitution by the Aug. 15 deadline. Although President Bush has expressed aversion to strict deadlines for the United States, both Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq (what ever happened to John Negroponte, whose veteran savvy … Continue reading “Constitution: How’s Chances?”

Writing in The American Conservative‘s Aug. 1 issue, former military intelligence and CIA counterterrorism officer Philip Giraldi, now a partner in Cannistraro Associates, says that the vice president (who, according to the U.S. Constitution, has no authority but to break a tie vote in the U.S. Senate up to and until the day the president … Continue reading “Who’s Behind the Coming War With Iran?”

Pledge WeekOK, Justin, I’m doing the right thing and contributing money to Antiwar.com now. I check the site every day and routinely “talk up” Justin’s columns so much among my friends that my wife refers to him as my “buddy Justin.” As in, “So, what does your buddy Justin have to say today?” I’m sure … Continue reading “Backtalk, August 5, 2005”

On Tuesday, big alarm bells went off in the national media echo chamber, and major U.S. news outlets showed that they knew the drill. Iran’s nuclear activities were pernicious, most of all, because people in high places in Washington said so. It didn’t seem to matter much that just that morning the Washington Post reported: … Continue reading “Media Flagstones Along a Path to War on Iran”