Month: June 2006

The news last month that the government has been goggling over the private phone records of millions of Americans for the last four years was not even half a day old when the boundaries of debate were marked off. Nobody issued any edict. Nobody made any announcement. But, unmistakably, as if by an invisible hand, … Continue reading “It’s More Than a ‘Legal Matter’”

I‘ve been thinking about Tariq Aziz a lot since the New York Times printed a front-page story on the former Iraqi deputy prime minister in late May. A color photograph showed him decked out in what the article described as "an open-necked hospital gown, with a patient’s plastic identification tag on his wrist." He looked … Continue reading “The Urbanity of Evil”

The Bush administration is congratulating itself on finally agreeing to direct talks with Iran about Iran’s nuclear program. This smugness shows just how out of touch with reality the administration has become. The United States and the Europeans joining together to negotiate with Iran merely mirrors the multilateral approach already taken many years ago with … Continue reading “Iranian Nukes: US Denies Reality”

AMMAN – These days, Ramadi is nearly impossible to enter. Against the backdrop of the Haditha massacre, IPS has received reports of civilians killed by snipers, and homes occupied with American snipers on the roof while families were detained downstairs. One man, who wishes to be known simply as "an Iraqi friend," met with IPS … Continue reading “Ramadi Becomes Another Fallujah”

Secretary of State Condi Rice issued an ultimatum to Iran, last week, to give up "the pursuit of nuclear weapons." Meanwhile, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the China-Arab Cooperation Forum all called for a "nuke-free" Middle East. All three organizations also expressed strong support for the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons … Continue reading “The Iranian Crisis Resolved”

We expected Bill Kristol and the usual neocon suspects to dismiss the atrocities committed by U.S. troops at Haditha as nothing to get too excited about. After all, these guys don’t believe in any morality but that which comes out of the barrel of a gun. So what else is new? Yet there are, perhaps, … Continue reading “Our Terrorism, and Theirs”

“Two things are infinite – the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” – attributed to Albert Einstein Time moves at a less frenetic pace on C-SPAN than elsewhere on television. Last week, they showed four law professors testifying before the House Judiciary Committee about the FBI raid on Capitol Hill. … Continue reading “The Dujail Principle”

Various commentators on the network political shows on Sunday, May 28 reminded us to take some time to remember, on Memorial Day, those who had died in our current and past wars. Some even suggested that we do so at a particular time: editor Dan Henninger of the Wall Street Journal, for example, suggested 3:00 … Continue reading “Reflections on Memorial Day, 2006”

The Meaning of Haditha This needs to be published on the front page of every newspaper in the U.S., read from the pulpit of every church and synagogue and in every school classroom in the land for the duration until it is as well known as the Gettysburg Address. This is the most frank and … Continue reading “Backtalk, June 5, 2006”

I‘m getting tired of hearing politicians and generals talk about Americans dying for peace and freedom. The main breaker of the peace in recent years has been the United States. Since 1945, no nation on Earth has either declared war against us or attacked us. We intervened in a Korean civil war, a Vietnamese civil … Continue reading “Dying for Peace and Freedom?”