Malicious and Loud

Serbia’s Hysterical Jacobins Last week, several charges against members of Slobodan Milosevic’s family were dropped by the Serbian judiciary, drawing howls of fury from the political and media opposition to the current government. "Milosevic is making a comeback!" was the common denominator of hysterical headlines. Within hours, the chorus was picked up by the Imperial … Continue reading “Malicious and Loud”

Military Families May Once Again Lead Us Out of War

On the April day in 2003 when American troops first entered Baghdad, historian Marilyn Young suggested that Operation Iraqi Freedom was “Vietnam on crack cocaine.” She wrote presciently at the time: “In less than two weeks, a 30-year-old vocabulary is back: credibility gap, seek and destroy, hard to tell friend from foe, civilian interference in … Continue reading “Military Families May Once Again Lead Us Out of War”

The Democrats and Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan is exactly what we needed. Following the 2004 elections, the antiwar movement was left in shambles, unable to recover from the malfunctions of the Democratic Party. MoveOn.org had capitulated its antiwar position by supporting John pro-war Kerry. United for Peace and Justice did not organize a single rally against the Iraq occupation. Indeed, … Continue reading “The Democrats and Cindy Sheehan”

The Democrats’ Dilemma

In June, I ventured a prediction: “A Eugene McCarthy will appear soon to pressure and challenge Hillary Clinton in 2008, if Hillary does not convert herself into an antiwar candidate….” Observing the Cindy Sheehan protest, I updated the prediction just last week: “September could see the coalescing of an antiwar movement that … divides [the] … Continue reading “The Democrats’ Dilemma”

George’s Lucky ‘Top 13’ Summer-of-Cindy Reading List

It’s been a month of momentous White House announcements. First, there was Laura’s gender-bending, glass-soufflé-dish breaking decision to choose Cristeta Comerford for the previously all-male post of White House head chef. Then came the issuing of the presidential vacation reading list. Besieged in Crawford’s Green Zone by Cindy Sheehan and her supporters, but also by … Continue reading “George’s Lucky ‘Top 13’ Summer-of-Cindy Reading List”

US Consul in Belfast Hears Iraq Contract Protest

The massive Iraq security contract awarded to British firm Aegis Defense Services came in for renewed criticism earlier this month, when the family of murdered Belfast man Peter McBride met with the U.S. consul-general in Belfast Howard Dean Pitman. Aegis chief executive Tim Spicer was commanding officer of the Scots Guards in Belfast in 1992, … Continue reading “US Consul in Belfast Hears Iraq Contract Protest”

Close the Door on Escalation

The Bush administration may ratchet up the Iraq war. That might seem unlikely, even farfetched. After all, the president is facing an upsurge of domestic opposition to the war. Under such circumstances, why would he escalate it? A big ongoing factor is that George W. Bush and his top aides seem to believe in red-white-and-blue … Continue reading “Close the Door on Escalation”