Month: July 2006

Amid worsening violence between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli military in Gaza, calls are mounting here for the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to take a stronger role in ending the escalating conflict. Aside from calling for the unconditional release of an Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militants believed to be tied to … Continue reading “Growing Calls for US to Step Into Mideast Mess”

UNITED NATIONS – After famously telling reporters that they "don’t do body counts," Pentagon officials now say that they have in fact been keeping a record of civilian casualties in Iraq for one year. And while that number remains classified, independent estimates suggest that at least 50,000 people have died in the country since the … Continue reading “50,000 Dead, But Who’s Counting?”

On Jun. 28, IPS reporter Alaa Hassan was ambushed and shot six times as he drove to work in Baghdad, bringing to 75 the number of reporters who have been killed while working in the country since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. The figure quoted by the International Federation of Journalists is even higher: … Continue reading “Independence Carries a Heavy Price”

The media flap over North Korea’s test launches of missiles is another red herring tossed out by the Bush administration to distract the public from its disastrous policies, both foreign and economic. As I keep pointing out, the intercontinental missiles armed with nuclear warheads that should be our concern are operational and sitting in silos … Continue reading “North Korean Missile Test: Another Red Herring”

The Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) recognizes the “inalienable right” of all signatories to “the fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information” related to the “use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.” Furthermore, all NPT signatories are to “undertake” to “facilitate” that exchange. That means Iran has the “inalienable … Continue reading “Subverting IAEA-NSG Regime”

On September 11, 2001 the United States was attacked – assuming U.S. intelligence assessments and admissions/boastings by Osama bin Laden are correct – by an action arm of the kind of decentralized, stateless terror network that defines the most notable threat facing this country in the current era. It is a profound understatement to say … Continue reading “Reality-Based Recommendations”

According to recent opinion polls, most Iraqis don’t believe that we’re making things better or safer in their country. What does that say about the legitimacy of prolonged occupation, much less permanent American bases in Iraq? What does it mean for continued American armored patrols such as the one last November in Haditha, which, we … Continue reading “Say ‘No’ to War Candidates”

Here’s how a Washington Post piece soon after the Supreme Court’s smack-down of the Bush administration’s Guantanamo policies began: “Republicans yesterday looked to wrest a political victory from a legal defeat in the Supreme Court, serving notice to Democrats that they must back President Bush on how to try suspects at Guantanamo Bay or risk … Continue reading “Karl Rove’s Scheherazade Strategy”

A week before the Group of Eight (G8) summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, U.S. President George W. Bush finds his power and authority – both at home and abroad – at their lowest ebb. With his approval ratings falling back into the cellar after a brief bounce following last month’s death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, … Continue reading “Requiem for Bush’s Unipolar Dream?”

As of this writing, North Korea continues to fire test missiles in a barrage of defiance aimed at the U.S. and its regional allies, belligerently declaring its right to do so and threatening anyone who stands in its way with unspecified "physical" harm. What, one has to wonder, do the rulers of the Hermit Kingdom … Continue reading “What Does North Korea Want?”