Month: September 2006

BEIRUT – Sectarian political fissures are widening in Lebanon nearly one month after a United Nations brokered cease-fire went into affect, due in part to a muted political battle being waged internally between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government as both attempt to show displaced Lebanese residents that they are committed to rebuilding their lives and … Continue reading “Hezbollah Ahead of Lebanese Govt in Reconstruction”

To hear the American government and its Israeli allies tell it, the struggle in the Middle East is a straightforward black-and-white one, which pits the Forces of Goodness (Washington and Tel Aviv) against “terrorists” and terrorist-supporting states like Iran and Syria. This narrative enables the Americans and the Israelis to mask their own agendas – … Continue reading “Terror in the Levant”

You’ve heard the president and vice president say it over and over in various ways: There was a connection between the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and Iraq. Let’s take this seriously and consider some of the links between the two. Numbers and Comparisons At least 3,438 Iraqis died by violent means during July (roughly … Continue reading “The Real Link Between 9/11 and Iraq (Finally) Revealed”

On the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the question asked within and outside of the United States is whether America is winning the global war on terrorism (GWOT). As far as President George W. Bush is concerned, the answer is “yes.” But about 85 percent of the counterterrorism experts recently … Continue reading “The US Is Losing
the War on Terror”

“DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Islamic Fascist. Papa says, ‘If you see it on Fox News, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there an Islamic Fascist?” Virginia O’Hanlon c/o Benador Associates Washington, D.C. VIRGINIA, your friends are twisted, sniveling, spineless little Chamberlains. … Continue reading “Is There an Islamic Fascism?”

For many baby boomers, a defining question is: "Where were you and what were you doing when President Kennedy was shot?" For the post-baby boom generation, the defining question will be: "Where were you and what were you doing on 9/11?" I was in my office on the 3rd floor at the Cato Institute. I … Continue reading “Remembering 9/11”

What looked like a virtually sure thing just one month ago – Senate confirmation of the Bush administration’s controversial ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton – is suddenly looking unexpectedly shaky. Last week’s eleventh-hour request by moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee put off its vote … Continue reading “Time Running Out on Bolton Nomination”

With Ali al-Fadhily FALLUJAH – After enduring two major assaults, Fallujah is under threat from U.S. forces again, residents say. "They destroyed our city twice, and they are threatening us a third time," 52-year-old Ahmed Dhahy told IPS in Fallujah, the Sunni-dominated city 30 mi. west of Baghdad. "They want us to do their job … Continue reading “Fallujah Under Threat Yet Again”

Ever since the Soviet Union disintegrated, the United Nations and its enforcement agency – the Security Council – has more often than not thwarted what the neo-crazies wanted to do. In particular, in 2002 the Security Council refused to sanction Bush’s preemptive invasion of Iraq. The Security Council had been told Bush had “intelligence” that … Continue reading “Bolton and the PSI Posse”

Like JFK’s assassination in 1963 and the moon landing in 1969, people remember where they were and what they were doing on Sept. 11, 2001. In my case, just a few hours before the attack, I was walking down one of the corridors of the Pentagon that was later obliterated by the hijacked aircraft. After … Continue reading “Fear Mongering on the Anniversary of 9/11”