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...
Muddling Through
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...
Ever-Evolving Excuses for War
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...
We Must Hold the Scoundrels Accountable
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...
Shame on Congress
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...
Murtha Is Right
"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....
Can a Nuclear Strike on Iran Be Prevented?
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...
Without Discrimination
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)...
International Probe into Torture in Iraqi Prison Urgently Needed, Says UN
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...
Unforgivable
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...