Month: August 2006

Bush vs. Condi

A fascinating piece in Insight, a conservative magazine published by the Washington Times, gives us a glimpse of some pretty interesting inside baseball: the usually sub rosa struggle between pro-Israel and pro-American factions over U.S. policy in the Middle East. The protagonists: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice versus an aspect of what John J. Mearsheimer … Continue reading “Bush vs. Condi”

Veteran Policy-Makers Fear Disaster in US Course

WASHINGTON – Alarms are definitely on the rise here. And it’s not just because the British police arrested 21 people who were allegedly plotting to bomb up to 10 jetliners between London and the United States in mid-flight over the Atlantic Ocean. Although that probably didn’t help. It’s more the sense that the growing number … Continue reading “Veteran Policy-Makers Fear Disaster in US Course”

AIPAC Espionage Case Dismissal Gambit Fails

An Aug. 9, 2006, opinion by presiding Judge T.S. Ellis III [.pdf] has dealt a decisive blow to forces supporting full dismissal of the AIPAC espionage case. Defendants Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, formerly employed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington, D.C., are charged with “cultivating relationships” with government officials cleared … Continue reading “AIPAC Espionage Case Dismissal Gambit Fails”

Extraordinary Precision

A Sky News newscaster, interviewing British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Sunday July 30, demanded an answer to this paraphrased question: if indeed Israel had precise intelligence that a Hezbollah operative was present in the village of Qana, in southern Lebanon, how could it possibly fail to realize that the area was also crowded with … Continue reading “Extraordinary Precision”

Chaos Theory and the Middle East

Yesterday, the Israeli security cabinet authorized an expansion of the ground war in Lebanon (while its military suffered 15 dead and 25 wounded, the highest battlefield casualty rate thus far); Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to “transform our land in the south [of Lebanon] to a graveyard for Zionist invaders” and called on Haifa’s Arab … Continue reading “Chaos Theory and the Middle East”

Collapse of the Flanks

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the “Coalition’s” defeats continue slowly to unroll. In Lebanon, it appears Hezbollah may win not only at the moral and mental, strategic and operational levels, but, astonishingly, at the physical and tactical levels as well. That outcome remains uncertain, but the fact that it is possible portends a revolutionary reassessment of … Continue reading “Collapse of the Flanks”

Paying a Political
Price for Empire

Until now, virtually no one has paid a political price for the debacle in Iraq. President George W. Bush was reelected, and congressional Republicans increased their majorities in 2004. Leading administration officials have been lavished with praise, promoted to better jobs, and rewarded with medals. Never mind the growing death toll: Washington’s ivory tower warriors … Continue reading “Paying a Political
Price for Empire”

Neoconservatives’ ‘Favorite Democrat’ Falls

Tuesday’s defeat in Connecticut’s primary election of President George W. Bush’s "favorite Democrat," Sen. Joe Lieberman, by a little-known antiwar candidate marks a major setback to neoconservative hopes of maintaining bipartisan support for the administration’s aggressive foreign policies, particularly in the Middle East. Lieberman, the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate in the 2000 campaign, received strong … Continue reading “Neoconservatives’ ‘Favorite Democrat’ Falls”

Hypocrisy About Hezbollah

A reader recently e-mailed to ask if anyone else was suggesting, as I have done, that Hezbollah’s rocket fire may not be quite as indiscriminate or maliciously targeted at Israeli civilians as is commonly assumed. I had to admit that I have been plowing a lonely furrow on this one. Still, that is no reason … Continue reading “Hypocrisy About Hezbollah”