Month: August 2005

ASUNCION – Despite the government’s continued denials, analysts and activists have raised the alarm over the possible installation of a U.S. military base in Paraguay, especially after Congress granted permission for U.S. armed forces contingents to remain in the country for 18 months at a time. The joint military exercises authorized by Congress as of … Continue reading “US Military Presence in Paraguay Stirs Speculation”

The George W. Bush administration may soon resume production of antipersonnel land mines in a move that is at odds with both the international community and previous U.S. policy on the weapons, says a leading human rights organization. In December of this year, the Pentagon will decide whether or not to begin producing a new … Continue reading “After 10-Year Hiatus, Pentagon Eyes New Landmine”

It is just about the oldest plot cliché there is. As you eagerly anticipate the climax, the villain appears to have subdued everyone who ever thought of standing in his way and is on the precipice of triumph, when suddenly, from out of nowhere, his first victim who everyone forgot about ends up turning the … Continue reading “Labor Takes Its Stand Against Empire”

The “world’s democratic movement” is not another one of the transnational citizens’ movements, like the anti-globalization or antiwar movements, that prides itself on having no central structure, no dogma, or even an office. This movement is highly organized, better funded, and even has its own “secretariat.” Unlike other leaderless but world-shaking transnational citizens’ networks that … Continue reading “World Movement for Democracy: Made in the USA”

Whatever plans Dick Cheney and his neoconservatives may have had to conjure up a nuclear threat from Iran as “justification” for military action have been sharply undercut by some timely leaks to the Washington Post. In a redux of President George W. Bush’s spin on the “grave and growing” danger from Iraq, Cheney protégé and … Continue reading “Preempting Cheney”

Anniversary of a Victorious Crime In the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 1995, on the heels of an incessant artillery and air bombardment, some 200,000 Croatian troops moved in to “liberate” Krajina, a stretch of mountains inhabited by Serbs who had rejected Croatia’s secession from Yugoslavia four years prior. Overrunning the token UN observation … Continue reading “Remembering the Storm”

As the U.S. Congress left town for its August vacation, the George W. Bush administration was congratulating itself on its legislative victories. But when Congress returns in September – aside from the confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts to be the next associate justice of the Supreme Court – it will be facing multiple political … Continue reading “It’s That Pesky Prisoner Abuse Scandal Again…”

As chaos continues across much of Iraq, the governing authority is coming to yet another crossroads. Inside the Green Zone – the location of the U.S. Embassy and major Iraqi government offices – officials are struggling to forge an acceptable constitution by the August deadline. Outside the relative safety of that enclave, the insurgency continues … Continue reading “The Selling of Brand Kurdistan”

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was due for a visit to Washington last week, but failed to show: the excuse given was another uptick in violence on the West Bank, but Israeli sources indicated the real reason: Mofaz is miffed that the U.S. is now demanding a written apology for Israeli arms sales to China. … Continue reading “With Friends Like This…”

I spent last week in Pittsfield, Maine, at a symposium on modern war called by Colonel Mike Wyly, USMC retired. Col. Wyly was one of the heroes of the maneuver warfare movement in the Marine Corps in the 1970s and ’80s, and when he suggests it’s time for a new effort, people listen. My hope … Continue reading “National Defense for a Republic”