Month: March 2006

“Government is not reason,” George Washington reputedly said, “it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” The fear factor works both ways: the present administration has spent a great deal of time and energy on scaring us half to death with tales of imminent terrorist … Continue reading “A Fearful Master”

As the Dubai Ports World plan continues to simmer, most congressional leaders twittering about security have ignored the potential monetary consequences of nixing the deal. By telling DP World, a United Arab Emirates corporation with willing investment dollars, to “go stuff it,” we can stop worrying about the so-called threat to dollar hegemony posed by … Continue reading “The Golden Caliphate”

Editor’s note: Harry Browne, libertarian author and activist, died Wednesday, March 1, 2006. The following piece originally appeared on Antiwar.com Nov. 20, 2001. We reprint it in memory of this great friend of peace and liberty. I love America. I love every concept the Statue of Liberty stands for – that individual liberty is held … Continue reading “I Love America. Do You?”

Note: Ray McGovern and 15 others took action Thursday in the halls of Congress. The 16 donned orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by detainees at Guantánamo Bay. They wore gags over their mouths decorated with one word – torture. Not another word needed to be said as they walked the halls of Congress. McGovern, … Continue reading “I Do Not Wish to Be Associated With Torture”

Look at the polls. When Gallup’s pollsters go out to ask Americans about the Bush administration and Iraq, they frame their questions this way: “Do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?”; “Do you favor or oppose the U.S. war with Iraq?”; “Who do you think is … Continue reading “Dubya’s Inferno, and Other Images From a No-Name War”

The Brutal Christ of the Armageddonites The article makes out all Christian churches that believe the Bible to be vengeful, hateful people, with pastors preaching about a God-inspired war. This is FAR from the reality, as I attend several churches and have several pastors’ kids as friends, whose churches I do not attend. Every Christian … Continue reading “Backtalk, March 2, 2006”

When the Bush administration first took office, its intention was to transform the U.S. military to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In February 2001, President Bush said to troops and personnel at Norfolk Naval Air Station: "We’re witnessing a revolution in the technology of war, powers increasingly defined not by size, but by … Continue reading “Defense Transformation at the Crossroads”

Legal, diplomatic, religious, and human rights authorities are struggling to be heard on what many consider to be the "Son of Guantánamo" – a secret prison in Afghanistan where the U.S. military is said to have been holding some 500 "enemy combatants" for as long as three or four years without access to lawyers. The … Continue reading “Bagram: Son of Guantánamo”

As Iraq descends into chaos and the nascent Iraqi state implodes even before it is born, support for a continued U.S. military presence in the region is plummeting: a new poll shows a whopping 62 percent of Americans think the war is going badly, up from 54 percent just last month. The really shocking news … Continue reading “On the Road to Empire”

Triumph of the Imaginary Balkans Last week’s media flurry over the alleged arrest of Gen. Ratko Mladic – reported by certain Serbian media as fact, then denied by officials both in Belgrade and The Hague – coincided with the start of "negotiations" in Vienna between the representatives of Serbia and the separatist Albanians, determined to … Continue reading “Insult to Injury”