Month: September 2005

He’s tall and thin, with a shock of white hair. A bombardier in the great war against fascism and an antiwar veteran of America’s wars ever since, he’s best known as the author of the pathbreaking A People’s History of the United States, and as an expert on the unexpected voices of resistance that have … Continue reading “The Outer Limits of Empire”

For President Bush, a classic political question – "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" – must be answered with a resounding "No." In 2001, within days of 9/11, mass media touted Bush as a walking FDR and hailed him as the nation’s visionary leader. The president settled into a jerky … Continue reading “‘Bush the Protector’ vs. ‘Bush the Menace’”

What’s Next, Mr. War President?“What will it take for Americans to reestablish accountability in their government? Bush has gotten away with lies and an illegal war of aggression, with outing CIA agents, with war crimes against Iraqi civilians, with the horrors of the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo torture centers, and now with the destruction of … Continue reading “Backtalk, September 9, 2005”

Of Omnipotent Government More than lives and property was drowned by the fetid waters that deluged New Orleans and the media-forsaken coastlines of Mississippi and Alabama in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Any credibility that the Imperial government may have had left also perished with the floods. Hundreds of thousands of people were told they … Continue reading “That Sinking Feeling”

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistani government has begun to appear apologetic about its plans to open diplomatic links with Israel, as criticism builds up against a budding liaison between two nations founded in the late 1940s in the name of religion. Waves of condemnation, from both liberal as well as fundamentalist groups, have followed the highly … Continue reading “Pakistan Apologetic but Firm on Israel Ties”

UNITED NATIONS – A beleaguered UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday stood his ground despite charges of corruption, inefficiency, and mismanagement of the $34 billion now-defunct Iraqi oil-for-food program run by the UN secretariat, which he administers. Asked if there would be any resignations from within the organization over the strictures, Annan told reporters: "I don’t … Continue reading “Despite Growing Scandal, UN Chief Refuses to Yield”

On Sept. 6-7, 2005, the New America Foundation hosted “Terrorism, Security & America’s Purpose,” a policy forum featuring scholars, elected officials, intelligence experts, and journalists. A full list of speakers is available here. Freelance journalist Nir Rosen has made quite a name for himself with his dispatches from Fallujah, Baghdad, Kabul, and other war zones. … Continue reading “The Symbolic Power of Fallujah”

On Sept. 6-7, 2005, the New America Foundation hosted “Terrorism, Security & America’s Purpose,” a policy forum featuring scholars, elected officials, intelligence experts, and journalists. A full list of speakers is available here. In his presentation, Professor Robert Pape of the University of Chicago outlined the thesis of his most recent book, Dying to Win: … Continue reading “The Terrorists’ Suicide Solution”

Pakistan has stunned the world – and its subcontinental neighbor and rival India – by making an overture to Israel, which it long shunned and condemned as a Zionist state. On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri met his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Istanbul, Turkey. Shalom described the meeting – held at the initiative … Continue reading “India Outfoxed as Pakistan Plays the Israel Card”

You have to give the neocons credit – through rain, through sleet, and through the stormiest of hurricanes, even so debilitating a one as Katrina, they keep their powder and their talking points dry. And their main talking point, in the wake of what David Brooks is calling “the anti-9/11,” is… Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Both … Continue reading “Katrina and the End of Illusions”