Month: November 2005

This week began with the New York Times noting that “all of Washington is consumed with debate over the direction of the war in Iraq.” The debate – long overdue – is a serious blow to the war makers in Washington, but the U.S. war effort will go on for years more unless the antiwar … Continue reading “Peace Too Important to Be Left to Pols and Pundits”

As U.S. President George W. Bush concludes his visit to China, it’s important to restate the obvious: Washington, under the Bush administration, doesn’t have a “China Policy.” Instead, when it comes to dealing with the emerging East Asian giant, the White House has adopted a policy of “muddling through,” by responding to conflicting pressures at … Continue reading “Muddling Through”

In the now-confirmed absence of any of the key reasons the administration took America to war in Iraq, officials are scrambling to come up with new ones after the fact, and some of them are quite amusing. On Sunday, a desperate Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld grasped for excuses in a tough interview with CNN’s Wolf … Continue reading “Ever-Evolving Excuses for War”

The BBC reports that two former British government employees have been charged with violating the Official Secrets Act. The Official Secrets Act is useful for protecting the British government from accountability. Anyone who reveals wrongdoing by government officials can be charged under the act. The two men are charged with leaking a harmless memo, "Iraq … Continue reading “We Must Hold the Scoundrels Accountable”

What’s wrong with our Congress? Two and a half years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, they still refuse to vote against the war. They may carp and complain that the Bush administration lied about weapons of mass destruction, or that too many Americans soldiers have died, but when it comes time to vote to … Continue reading “Shame on Congress”

“The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering. The future of our … Continue reading “Murtha Is Right”

The Bush administration has put together all the elements it needs to justify the impending military action against Iran. Unlike in the case of Iraq, it will happen without warning, and most of the justifications will be issued after the fact. We will wake up one day to learn that facilities in Iran have been … Continue reading “Can a Nuclear Strike on Iran Be Prevented?”

In March, shortly before retiring as Deputy Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Pierre Goldschmidt provided the IAEA Board an update on Iran’s compliance with a) its Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Safeguards agreement [.pdf], b) its voluntary adherence to an Additional Protocol [.pdf], and c) its voluntary suspension – as a confidence-building … Continue reading “Without Discrimination”

The United Nations has called for an urgent international investigation into the conditions of detainees in Iraq, after the discovery last weekend of a Baghdad prison where detainees were tortured. The kind of investigation called for by Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, matches the demands of Sunni Muslim leaders in Iraq, … Continue reading “International Probe into Torture in Iraqi Prison Urgently Needed, Says UN”

All of the Bush administration’s junkyard dogs are out on the attack, feigning righteous indignation that anyone would suggest that they manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people. Of course, that is exactly what they did, and a majority of Americans are finally catching on. That doesn’t absolve Congress from lazily going along and … Continue reading “Unforgivable”