Month: October 2005

The early vote totals from Nineveh province, which suggested an overwhelming majority in favor of Iraq’s draft constitution that assured its passage by national referendum, now appear to have been highly misleading. The final official figures for the province, obtained by IPS from a U.S. official in Mosul, actually have the constitution being rejected by … Continue reading “Vote Figures for Crucial Province Don’t Add Up”

The call came late at night. My youngest child called from college, her trademark perky voice suddenly tense, halting. "I haven’t heard from D. since last Tuesday. When I talked to him, he said he couldn’t say much over the phone anymore, or on e-mail. He sounded strange, like something was wrong, but he wouldn’t … Continue reading “‘Do You Think He’s Dead, Mom?’”

Some years ago I talked with a young Israeli writer. I was struck by the fact that in spite of being very successful and acclaimed by the critics, and that at a relatively early age, she somehow exuded an air of insecurity. When I asked her about it, she broke down. "I never told this … Continue reading “Peace Is Not Impossible”

NEW DELHI – Even as the death toll from the Oct. 8 earthquake mounts in India and more so in Pakistan, the two governments are injecting shrewd calculations of self-interest into their relief programs. Rather than efficiently helping survivors in divided Kashmir, the two governments are squandering a valuable opportunity to cooperate with each other … Continue reading “Playing Politics as Quake Toll Rises”

Good News, or Urban Legends?Stan, Congratulations on an excellent article. Did you know the U.S. is spending $23,000 per Iraqi citizen on the occupation ($60 billion divided by 26 million population)? Why don’t we just withdraw all troops and all reconstruction efforts and pay each Iraqi (man, woman, and child) $23,000 per year to be … Continue reading “Backtalk, October 20, 2005”

Amid all the brouhaha over whether I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Karl Rove, or any number of Bush administration insiders had a hand in leaking the name of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame, the essential crime at the core of the investigation – and its probable starting point – often gets lost in the shuffle. The … Continue reading “Niger Uranium Forgery
Mystery Solved?”

One of the conclusions that Harry Truman reached after spending several decades in the U.S. capital, first as a lawmaker and then as a vice-president who inherited the White House following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was: "If you want to have a friend in Washington, buy a dog." Even during Mr. Truman’s time, … Continue reading “A Town Without Pity”

U.S. Envoy’s Unwitting Revelations It did not take Washington long to take the first step towards "finishing the job" in the Balkans; it came in the form of Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, who visited Belgrade, Pristina, and Sarajevo toward the end of last week. At every step, he presented his hosts … Continue reading “Exposed Agendas”

“This is a very positive day … for world peace,” said President Bush, following the referendum on a new Iraqi constitution. “Democracies are peaceful countries.” Considering that Iraq is perhaps the least peaceful country on earth, the statement seemed jarring. It should not be. For it reflects a quasi-religious transformation in George W. Bush – … Continue reading “Faith-Based War”

Wrapping up a two-year investigation that a growing number of legal analysts expect to yield indictments of at least one, and possibly two, of the George W. Bush administration’s most powerful men as early as this week, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has Washington on pins and needles. As the witness list and accounts of recent … Continue reading “Washington on Tenterhooks Over Leak Case”