Month: September 2006

Rare is it to find a president whose foreign policy has imploded as dramatically and catastrophically as has that of George W. Bush. Little more than a year after taking office, the candidate who espoused humility turned into the chief executive who embraced empire. Four years later, the administration’s drive for global primacy irrespective of … Continue reading “A Foreign Policy of Failure”

If you’re feeling increasingly confused about whether the administration of President George W. Bush is determined to go to war with Iran or whether it is instead truly committed to a diplomatic process with its European allies to reach some kind of modus vivendi, you’re not alone. On the one hand, a growing number of … Continue reading “Iran War, Diplomacy on Parallel Tracks”

For many months, the George W. Bush administration has been complaining that Iranian meddling in Iraq is a threat to the country’s stability and to U.S. troops. The irony of this publicity campaign over Tehran’s alleged bid to undermine the occupation is that Iran may well be the main factor holding up a showdown between … Continue reading “Iraq Occupation Depends on Sadr – and Iran”

With Ali al-Fadhily BAGHDAD – Renewed raids at Iraqi homes by joint U.S.-Iraqi security forces are angering Iraqis – while failing to improve the worsening security situation. “Operation Forward Together should be called ‘To Hell Together,’” 53-year-old Hamid Fassal, an estate broker from the Dora region of Baghdad, told IPS, referring to the major U.S.-Iraqi … Continue reading “Home Raids Provoke
Increased Unrest in Iraq”

First they said it was a war against al-Qaeda. Then, when they failed to find Osama bin Laden and his henchmen, they said it was a war to topple the Taliban and liberate women from the burqa. Now, as Western troops continue to dig themselves into Afghanistan more than five years after 9/11, they’re calling … Continue reading “Hooked on a Failing”

While his handlers worked assiduously Tuesday to ensure that U.S. President George W. Bush did not run into his Iranian nemesis, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in the corridors of the UN, a legendary fixer for the Bush family announced that the White House had cleared him to meet with a “high representative” of Tehran’s government. Former Secretary … Continue reading “Bush Clears Task Force
to Meet With Iranians”

What’s wrong with American foreign policy is actually a lot more complicated than the subhead of this piece would have it, but I just couldn’t resist the temptation: besides which, our president is a major cause – albeit not the only cause – of the dysfunction that afflicts us. A grand example of this is … Continue reading “What’s Wrong With
American Foreign Policy?”

With Salam Talib Until two weeks ago, Ali Falah worked as an emergency room doctor in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The city, which is ethnically mixed but dominated by two Kurdish militias, has been the scene of increased sectarian violence. Most doctors left the city earlier this year after one physician was gunned … Continue reading “Doctors Under Fire in Iraq”

Canadian troops are not in Iraq, although this newspaper has consistently advocated sending them there. As we said at the time of the Coalition intervention in 2003, "much good should flow from it." Subsequent events have proved our position to be entirely wrong. It is now clear that Iraq is in a much more desperate … Continue reading “Bloody but Unbowed: Canadians in Afghanistan”

Complaints involving anti-Muslim discrimination, harassment, and violence jumped over 30 percent in 2005 compared to 2004, according to a new report released here Monday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim organization. A total of 1,972 such incidents were reported in 2005. That was the highest number since CAIR began reporting … Continue reading “Group Finds Jump in Anti-Muslim Incidents”