Month: June 2006

For several years I have argued that Washington should adopt a Realpolitik-type approach to dealing with Iran, including by opening a direct diplomatic dialogue with Tehran aimed at resolving some of the differences between the two governments. In particular, I’ve been critical of the Bush administration’s neocon-driven policy of promoting “regime change” in Iran and … Continue reading “US Stumbles Onto Road to Diplomacy With Iran”

C all me paranoid, but I don’t buy the changed face of the Bush administration. Smiling Condoleezza Rice saying “we understand that it may take a little time for Iran to assess the situation,” Bush saying of Iran’s reaction “sounds like a positive response to me,” unnamed American official saying that eventually “this Iranian regime … Continue reading “Trapping Iran with a Tripwire”

Terrorism is a tactic, not an entity, and it is a tactic used by people who have a political grievance. Therefore, if you want to eliminate terrorism, you have to address the political problems that gave it birth. President Bush has made no effort to do this. He has aggravated the situation and made it … Continue reading “Terrorism Is a Tactic”

With Alaa Hassan BAGHDAD – Iraqis seem divided over the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi officials said he was killed along with seven allies in an air raid overnight in Baquba, 50km northeast of Baghdad. The United States had put a $25 million bounty on … Continue reading “Iraqis: Zarqawi Killing Won’t End Violence”

In life, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi cast a giant shadow not only over Iraq, but across the entire Middle East – thanks, in large part, to the U.S. government’s propaganda apparatus, which kept up a constant barrage dedicated to identifying the Iraqi insurgency with the leader of the “Monotheism and Holy War” grouplet, often referred to … Continue reading “Zarqawi: The Man and the Myth”

Faced with mounting civilian carnage, both from war crimes committed by demoralized and broken U.S. troops and from the raging civil war unleashed by Bush’s ill-fated, illegal invasion of Iraq, the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee has decided to waste another $50 billion to continue the lost war for five more months. Our elected "representatives" are … Continue reading “War Criminal Nation”

When the mobs start gathering in the streets of a major city in some distant nation, U.S. officials usually start jabbering. When fighting erupts and local politicians begin wringing their hands, U.S. Marines usually start reporting. Yet another grand nation-building exercise is about to begin. Years later, when cold hatred has replaced bloody combat, American … Continue reading “For America, a Nation-Building Disaster Avoided”

Major stories on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi since 2004, from the archives of Antiwar.com: "Avoiding Attacking Suspected Terrorist Mastermind," Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News, March 2, 2004 The generals wanted to kill Zarqawi before the war. The administration said no. "Experts Dispute Bush Line on Zarqawi," Chris Shumway, Antiwar.com, July 16, 2004 Debunks the idea that Zarqawi … Continue reading “The Zarqawi Files”

A long-awaited report [.pdf] by the Council of Europe on European complicity in "extraordinary renditions" secretly carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against suspected terrorists was hailed here Wednesday by human rights groups, even as the U.S. State Department tried to cast doubt on its findings. "Amnesty International applauds today’s Council of Europe … Continue reading “Report Traces US/EU Covert Rendition Network”

With Isam Rashid BAGHDAD – Baghdad’s central morgue received more than a thousand bodies each month this year, a doctor has revealed. The body count here gives a more accurate picture of the story in Baghdad than any official statistics. Before the war, this morgue, located at Bab al-Mu’atham near the city center, received only … Continue reading “Baghdad Morgue Tells Story Statistics Can’t”