Month: December 2006

Updated at 10:00 p.m. EST, Dec. 8, 2006 Although a regular car curfew helped quash violence towards religious observers in the capital, at least 78 Iraqis were killed today and 43 wounded in violent attacks across the country. Also, three U.S. soldiers were killed and two Marines were wounded in separate events. The U.S. military … Continue reading “Friday: 78 Iraqis, 3 GIs Killed; 43 Iraqis, 2 Marines Wounded”

The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End Peter Galbraith Simon & Schuster, 2006 261 pp. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq Thomas E. Ricks Penguin Press, 2006 482 pp. Losing Iraq: Inside the Postwar Reconstruction Fiasco David L. Phillips Westview, 2005 292 pp. Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, … Continue reading “Readings in the Age of Empire”

One day after its official release, the package of 79 recommendations on U.S. Iraq and Middle East policy released Wednesday by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) faced a very uncertain future. Denounced by hawks and doves alike in both major parties, the ISG’s 142-page report [.pdf] received what at best could be called an … Continue reading “ISG Report Faces
Uncertain Future”

As an attempt to clean up the mess created by President Bush and his neocon advisors, the report [.pdf] of the Baker-Hamilton commission is an admirable effort. Yet, in the end, it is too little, too late. The report is divided into two major sections – an assessment of the situation as it now stands, … Continue reading “We Can’t Wait for 2008”

At Tuesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nomination of Robert Gates to be secretary of defense, I felt as though I were paying last respects to the Constitution of the United States. But there was none of the praise customarily given to the deceased. Rather, the bouquets were fulsomely shared round about among … Continue reading “Republic Takes Another Hit
at Gates Hearing”

Is President Bush Sane? Paul Craig Roberts asks a compelling question: “Is President Bush sane?” Though Bush is apparently power-mad, don’t underestimate his ruthlessness. Cunning is the word for Bush. He is shrewd enough to know that Hitler took total power in the aftermath of the Reichstag fire. All the pieces of a perfect power … Continue reading “Backtalk December 8, 2006”

Updated at 7:35 p.m EST, Dec. 7, 2006 At least 57 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 10 were wounded in several attacks. U.S. military authorities reported that another U.S. soldier was killed yesterday in Iraq, and a GI died today from wounds received in combat yesterday; they are listed in Wednesday’s … Continue reading “Thursday: 57 Iraqis Killed, 10 Wounded”

ARBIL – The call from his mother changed Dr. Harb Zakko’s life. "Someone has been calling me to open the door, saying he has something for you," his mother said. Soon after, apparently the same person called him at his clinic, asking personal questions. The doctor got the message. He returned home and asked his … Continue reading “Iraqi Professionals Targeted for Abduction, Murder”

Today’s release of the Iraq Study Group report [.pdf] raises as many questions as it answers. A few highlights of the report and its 79 recommendations follow. Troop Withdrawals? Despite some early headlines suggesting that the Iraq Study Group would be calling for a withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq by the beginning of … Continue reading “Iraq Study Group:
How Big a Change?”

"The real difficulty in changing any enterprise lies not in developing new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones." – John Maynard Keynes A ray of realism appeared in the confirmation hearings for Secretary of Defense nominee Robert Gates before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Gates himself said that the U.S. was not winning … Continue reading “Catastrophe Still Awaits”