Month: November 2006

Rural communities are experiencing a disproportionate amount of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new study by the Carsey Institute, a think tank at the University of New Hampshire. "The mortality rate for soldiers from rural America is about 60 percent higher than the mortality rate for soldiers from metropolitan areas," … Continue reading “Rural America Suffering High Death Toll in Iraq, Afghanistan”

A revealing book I have recently read about the present Middle East is Joris Luyendijk’s Almost Human. Luyendijk was a Dutch journalist who spent several years (1998-2003) in Arab countries as well as in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, working for two Dutch quality newspapers and for the television. His background as a social … Continue reading “Who Makes the Middle East?”

Updated at 12:59 a.m. EST, Nov. 29, 2006 As media outlets in the United States debated today over which terms to use to describe the violent situation in Iraq, 76 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 100 wounded. Also, a U.S. Marine was reported killed and the death of an American pilot remains … Continue reading “Tuesday: 76 Iraqis, 1 Marine Killed; 100 Iraqis Wounded”

PARIS – Whoever poisoned Alexander Litvinenko had two goals: a long and lingering death for the KGB defector and pointing a finger of accusation for his killing right in the face of Vladimir Putin. Which leads me to believe Putin had nothing to do with it. In an assassination, one must ask: Cui bono? To … Continue reading “Is Putin Being Set Up?”

During the first Lebanon war, I visited Jounieh, a town some 20 km north of Beirut. At the time, it served as a port for the Christian forces. It was an exciting evening. In spite of the war raging in nearby Beirut, Jounieh was full of life. The Christian elite spent the day in the … Continue reading “‘Kill Them! Kill Everyone!
All of Them!’”

Many foreign policy experts advocate using economic sanctions to motivate foreign governments to change policy. And, while it may be true that many of these governments could improve their countries with policy reforms, history shows that economic coercion doesn’t work. Both conservatives and liberals like to use economic coercion. For more than 45 years, conservatives … Continue reading “Sanctions: Useless, or Worse Than Useless?”

Once again the possibility of reinstating a military draft is being discussed in Washington, and while the idea seems remote, it is not unthinkable. Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel of New York, soon to be a powerful committee chair, has openly called for reinstating the Selective Service System. Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey claims that our … Continue reading “Congress to Ponder Conscription?”

Keep in mind, I’ve run TomDispatch.com for only a few years, but I’ve been a book editor in mainstream publishing for over 30 years. Sometime last spring, I was on the phone with former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega talking about books she might someday write, when she suddenly said to me, “You know … Continue reading “Bringing Bush to Court”

Updated at 6:20 p.m. EST, Nov. 27, 2006 A curfew that followed a massacre in Sadr City on Thursday was completely lifted today. As clashes resumed in Baghdad, 109 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 70 wounded during incidents in the capital and elsewhere today. A United States Air Force F-16CG crashed northwest … Continue reading “Monday: 109 Iraqis Killed, 70 Wounded”

Four major political assassinations with international implications in the past year, three in the last month or so: Rafik Hariri and Pierre Gemayel in Lebanon, and two Russians, Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist, and former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko. Is it just a passing fad, or is somebody trying to tell us something? These murders are … Continue reading “The Nuking of Alexander Litvinenko”