Month: January 2007

IRBIL – Iraqis have left a bloody 2006 behind, but the two opening weeks of 2007 do not bode well for the rest of this year. As the United Nations reported a death toll of 34,000 civilians for last year, the non-government organization Iraq Body Count suggested that more than 1,000 civilians have been killed … Continue reading “An Unhappy New Year
Thus Far in Iraq”

For 18 months now, the George W. Bush administration has periodically raised the charge that Iran is supplying anti-coalition forces in Iraq with arms. But in the past, high administration officials have always admitted that they have no real evidence to support it. Now, they are going further. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters … Continue reading “Despite Charges, No Evidence Iran Sending IEDs to Iraq”

It was the renowned Prussian military thinker Carl von Clausewitz who proposed in the early 19th century that “war is merely a continuation of politics” – an assertion that should continue to serve as a cautionary note to statesmen and generals who fail to take into consideration the political context in which their military strategy … Continue reading “A Military ‘Surge’ to a
Political Nowhere”

Is Israel, supported by the Bush administration, preparing to launch an atomic war against Iran? On Jan. 7, the London Sunday Times claimed that the Israeli government is planning to attack Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. While the Israeli government denies the story, recent statements by top Israeli officials and military figures … Continue reading “Iran: Thinking the Unthinkable”

Last week, most of the media’s and public’s attention was focused on President Bush’s announcement that he would be sending another 20,000-plus troops to Iraq – a move opposed by 70 percent of the American people. Nonetheless, the president refuses to let public opinion change his mind (he has famously said, "As to whether or … Continue reading “92,000 More Soldiers?”

Updated at 5:45 p.m. EST, Jan. 17, 2007 This morning, the United Nations released its figures on civilian deaths for last year. They estimate that in 2006 over 34,000 civilian Iraqis were killed in sectarian violence. Today alone though, 143 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 269 were wounded. Also, the U.S. military … Continue reading “Tuesday: 143 Iraqis Killed, 269 Wounded; 4 GIs Killed”

Although President Bush’s escalation of the Iraq War has been opposed by a substantial majority of the American people, many generals, the Iraq Study Group, and most Democrats and some Republicans in Congress, the most important opposition may come from Iraqis. Although Bush had trouble correctly reading the results of the November 2006 congressional elections, … Continue reading “Escalation Doomed by
Shi’ite Opposition”

America is four years into a bloody debacle in Iraq not merely because Bush and Cheney marched us in, or simply because neocon propagandists lied about Saddam’s nuclear program and WMD, and Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda, anthrax attacks, and 9/11. We are there because a Democratic Senate voted to give Bush a blank check for … Continue reading “Mr. Bush, Meet Walter Jones”

With Ali al-Fadhily BAGHDAD – Expressions of outrage over the conduct of the trial and the manner of Saddam Hussein’s rushed, chaotic execution are continuing unabated here as lawyers and human rights groups voice their criticism – although some are still cautiously asking the media to withhold their names from publication. Iraqi and international legal … Continue reading “Furor Over Saddam’s Execution Continues Unabated”

President George W. Bush’s seemingly aggressive Iran policy of taking direct action against alleged Iranian "networks" involved in attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, combined with the deployment of a second carrier group off Iran’s coast, triggered speculation that it is related to a plan for an attack. But the revelation by Secretary of State … Continue reading “Bush’s New Iran Policy: War Plan or Propaganda?”