Month: September 2005

Backtalk, September 21, 2005

Why This Soldier Can’t Support This WarJustin Gordon: I have a lot of respect for your position. I served in the Navy during the war against Vietnam. Returning to Charleston, S.C., our home port at the time, I informed my captain that I would no longer be able to support the mission due to issues … Continue reading “Backtalk, September 21, 2005”

Will Neocon Fanaticism Destroy America?

The “cakewalk war” is now two and one-half years old. U.S. casualties (dead and wounded) number 20,000. As 20,000 is the number of Iraqi insurgents according to U.S. military commanders, each insurgent is responsible for one U.S. casualty. U.S. troops in Iraq number about 150,000. Obviously, U.S. troops have not inflicted 150,000 casualties on the … Continue reading “Will Neocon Fanaticism Destroy America?”

Hunger Strike Spreads at Guantanamo Camp

A hunger strike started in June by terror suspects imprisoned by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo) – and reportedly settled – has been restarted and is growing, with 15 detainees hospitalized and 13 being fed through tubes. The number of hunger strikers varies. The military has said at various times the number … Continue reading “Hunger Strike Spreads at Guantanamo Camp”

The Tragedy of a Complicit Media

Standing before a German cameraman in Biloxi, Miss., Christine Adelhardt, spoke to her countrymen: “Two minutes ago, the president drove past in his convoy. But what has happened in Biloxi all day long is truly unbelievable. Suddenly recovery units appeared, suddenly bulldozers were there, those hadn’t been seen here all the days before, and this … Continue reading “The Tragedy of a Complicit Media”

Confronting the Warfare State

The New York Times began this week with an editorial that typifies the media mindset of the warfare state. Monday’s editorial warns of dire consequences from a growing deficit that has been boosted by tax cuts – in combination with "the pre-Katrina priorities laid down by Mr. Bush." Those priorities include a U.S. military budget … Continue reading “Confronting the Warfare State”

Weapons of Mass Murder

In announcing his preemptive invasion of Iraq, President Bush had this to say: "Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly – yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder." … Continue reading “Weapons of Mass Murder”

Covering the Tracks of the Anthrax Attacks

Four years ago today, letters containing anthrax were postmarked from Trenton, N.J., to five major American media outlets, including ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, the New York Post, and AMI Media, a publisher of supermarket tabloids. Thus began a series of attacks over several weeks that terrorized the nation, infected 22 people, killed five … Continue reading “Covering the Tracks of the Anthrax Attacks”

Today, the Antiwar Movement Goes on Trial

"If you fall on the side that is pro-George, and pro-war, you get your ass over to Iraq and take the place of somebody who wants to come home. And if you fall on the side that is against this war and against George Bush, stand up and speak out." – Cindy Sheehan, mother of … Continue reading “Today, the Antiwar Movement Goes on Trial”

The Rights of Detainees: Who Is Protecting Whom From What?

Detaining suspects indefinitely without charging them is not easily reconciled with democracy. Worry about such methods seems to be migrating across political and religious lines. The public has reason to suspect that many detainees held at U.S. detention facilities in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and elsewhere – some for several years – have nothing to … Continue reading “The Rights of Detainees: Who Is Protecting Whom From What?”