Month: December 2006

As official Washington breaks for the two-week Christmas-New Year’s hiatus, it knows that the number one issue it will face on its return in early January is the White House’s apparent "urge to surge" as many as 50,000 new troops into Iraq for up to two years in a last-ditch effort to claim what President … Continue reading “The Urge to Surge”

There is no doubt that future analysts will regard 2006 as the year of setbacks for the American Empire. The most visible defeats have taken place in the Middle East: Iraq first and foremost, then the abortive Israeli war against the Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the recent defeat of US-sponsored warlords in Somalia. But Empire’s … Continue reading “The Long Defeat”

With charges expected to be filed Thursday against five to eight Marines accused of killing 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq on Nov. 19, 2005, it now appears that at least one senior officer will also be charged in the case. The attorney for Capt. Lucas McConnell, who was not present at the alleged massacre … Continue reading “Who Will Pay For Haditha?”

For most of the second part of the 20th Century, representatives of foreign governments had grown accustomed to dealing with a certain type of US official. Ask a Russian diplomat, a Japanese bureaucrat or a French intelligence officer, and they will probably describe the American Assistant Secretary of State, a Treasury official, or a CIA … Continue reading “The Right Men, the Wrong President”

Warning that Iraq faces "complete disintegration into failed-state chaos," the International Crisis Group (ICG) is calling on the United States to make a "clean break" in its strategy for both Iraq and the wider Middle East region. In a new report released Tuesday, the Brussels-based group endorsed many of the key recommendations submitted two weeks … Continue reading “Crisis Group Seeks ‘Clean Break’ in US Strategy”

Anti-Americanism has emerged as a term that, like "fascism" and "communism" in George Orwell’s lexicon, has little meaning beyond "something not desirable." However it is defined, anti-Americanism has clearly mushroomed over the last six years, as charted in a number of polls. This phenomenon is, everyone agrees, intimately tied to the exercise of US power … Continue reading “Anti-Americanism and the Rise of Civic Diplomacy”

Between December 2006 and January 2007, George Bush may reconsider America’s short-term and long-term role in Iraq, though it is looking more and more unlikely that he will choose peace anytime soon. Still, there are similarly situated presidents in our past who have opted for peace. Between November 1798 and February 1799, John Adams faced … Continue reading “Is Bush Up to History’s Challenge?”

NEW DELHI – While President George W. Bush has signed into law new legislation passed by Congress to enable the controversial U.S.-India nuclear cooperation deal, the agreement has come under flak in India’s parliament, and a massive confrontation has broken out between its supporters and opponents. The supporters say the deal offers India the best … Continue reading “India Split Over US Nuke Deal”

Updated at 11:45 p.m. EST, Dec. 20, 2006 New U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made an unannounced trip to Iraq where he discussed with local military commanders the possibility of increasing the number of troops there. Meanwhile, President Bush talked about the need to increase the permanent size of the military during a news … Continue reading “Wednesday: 132 Iraqis, 3 GIs Killed; 64 Iraqis, 6 GIs Wounded”

ARBIL – Iraq’s national reconciliation conference held over the weekend highlights the gap between the country’s various political groups and their lack of consensus on a common basis for reconciliation. Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s call for the return of members of the country’s dissolved army under former president Saddam Hussein was interpreted as positive, … Continue reading “Slim Chance for Iraq Reconciliation Recedes”