Month: February 2006

The indefatigable Murray Waas has yet another Scooter Libby-related scoop, one that points to a developing split between the White House and Scooter’s lawyers – a conflict with the potential to rock this administration to its core. In court papers filed by special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald, a key aspect of Libby’s grand jury testimony … Continue reading “Scooter’s Choice”

The escalating crisis over Iran’s nuclear program appears to have persuaded the U.S. public that Tehran now poses a greater threat to the United States than any other country, or even al-Qaeda, according to recent surveys. And even though the public remains worried and unhappy about the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, a significant … Continue reading “Polls: Anti-Iran Propaganda Working”

Last week, the president of the United States gave his State of the Union address, where he spoke of America’s leadership in the world and called on all of us to "lead this world toward freedom." Again and again, he invoked the principle of freedom, and how it can transform nations and empower people around … Continue reading “Trust Busted”

Pledge Week I want to thank all those whose efforts go into this wonderful Web site. I especially enjoy Justin Raimondo’s articles and as I read them I feel that I have met a friend who shares my exact sentiments on many issues across the board. I donated $100 today and will keep my eye … Continue reading “Backtalk, February 10, 2006”

Every four years, the Pentagon releases its Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), more accurately the Quadrennial Defense Rubberstamp. Usually, it offers the same, more of the same or less of the same. That is true of this QDR as well, with one interesting exception. Perhaps uniquely in the annals of strategic planning, this QDR promises strategic … Continue reading “The Long War”

After three years of war in Iraq, reporting and debate continue to ignore the key fact: The U.S. invasion was a mistake. President Bush himself acknowledges this. He says the war was based on intelligence and the intelligence was wrong. So, then, what is right about the war? If we believe Bush, he would not … Continue reading “The Adulation of Ignorance”

In a new film, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, comedian Albert Brooks is dispatched to South Asia by humorless Bush administration officials to look for, well, comedy in the Muslim world. Trying to cope with the depressing reality of a post-Sept. 11 world in which Americans now occupy some parts of an angry … Continue reading “Democracy Not an Export Item”

Alfred McCoy, an expert on the CIA and its history of torture, has some actual news – the sort that’s been sitting unnoticed right in front of our collective, reportorial eyes. Last year’s clash between John McCain and the Bush administration over the senator’s successful attempt to attach a ban on torture and other abusive … Continue reading “How Not to Ban Torture in Congress”

Author’s note: The following is from a talk I gave at a Libertarian Party of California convention in Fresno on Jan. 28. Although it is 90-percent faithful to the talk, I rewrote it to reflect further thoughts I had after the speech. As well as being a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, I’m an … Continue reading “Why Libertarians Should be Critical of War”

The George W. Bush administration’s adoption of a policy of threatening to use military force against Iran disregarded a series of official intelligence estimates going back many years that consistently judged Iran’s fear of a U.S. attack to be a major motivating factor in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Two former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) … Continue reading “Analysts: Fear of US Drove Iran’s Nuclear Policy”