Month: February 2007

The Israelis, stung by their defeat at the hands of Hezbollah, are aching for a rematch. There have been a number of border incidents since the IDF retreated and the blockade was lifted, the most recent – and most brazen – occurring when the Israelis crossed a security fence, purportedly to search for explosives planted … Continue reading “Lebanon, Again”

U.S. and Israeli hopes of forging of a Sunni Arab alliance to contain Iran and its regional allies may be misplaced, at least at the popular level, according to a major survey of six Arab countries released here Thursday. The face-to-face survey of a total of 3,850 respondents in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia … Continue reading “Arabs Less Worried About Iran”

In aborting Iran’s nuclear program, “all options are on the table.” Some version of this threat against Iran has lately been made by John McCain, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Mitt Romney. Yet, if an attack on Iran is among “options … on the table,” who put it there? Who gave President Bush the authority … Continue reading “Is Bombing Iran Bush’s Call?”

Let me make an argument about Bush administration Iran policy – about the possibility that a regime-change-style, shock-and-awe air assault might someday be launched on Iranian nuclear facilities and associated targets – based on no insider knowledge, just the logic of George and Dick’s Thelma-and-Louise-style imperialism. Of course, we all know at least half the … Continue reading “Thelma and Louise Imperialism: Over the Cliff with George and Dick?”

Timothy W. Crawford and Alan J. Kuperman, ed.’s, Gambling on Humanitarian Intervention: Moral Hazard, Rebellion and Civil War (New York: Routledge, 2006), 100 pp. The wreck of the Bush crusade to democratize Iraq – let alone the Mideast, let alone the world! – has effectively discredited what had been a growing demand for humanitarian intervention … Continue reading “Gambling on Humanitarian Intervention”

Update at 12:30 a.m. EST, Feb. 9, 2007 At least 212 Iraqis were reported killed or found dead today in Iraq. Another 123 were wounded in various incidents. Also, four Marines were killed in two separate attacks in Anbar province yesterday. And, a day after seven American servicemembers were killed in a helicopter crash, U.S. … Continue reading “Thursday: 212 Iraqis, 4 Marines Killed; 123 Iraqis Wounded”

Last Friday, the UN’s special envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, presented his proposal for the future status of Kosovo to the government in Belgrade and the provisional Albanian government in Pristina. Kosovo, also known as Kosovo-Metohija, is province of Serbia that has been under NATO occupation and UN administration since June 1999, following a 78-day … Continue reading “Ahtisaari’s ‘Final Solution’”

Just last week, in a typical air strike of the Iraq War, two missiles were fired at targets somewhere in the city of Ramadi, capital of al-Anbar province in the heartland of the Sunni insurgency, in the course of a battle with American forces stationed there. According to newspaper accounts, “18 insurgents” were killed. Air … Continue reading “The Pentagon’s Secret Air War in Iraq”

I have read the report on and parts of the (declassified) text of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq’s future, the official assessment issued by key American intelligence agencies. It outlines three possible scenarios for the U.S.-occupied country: The emergence of a Shi’ite strongman to assert authority over minority sects; A period of sustained … Continue reading “Listen to the Foxes, Not Hedgehogs, on Iraq”

Updated at 11:10 p.m. EST, Feb. 7, 2007 Today was deadly for foreign servicemembers in Iraq. Military authorities reported nine deaths including seven American servicemembers who were killed during a helicopter crash this morning northwest of Baghdad, and a Marine who was killed in combat on Tuesday in Anbar province. A Polish soldier was also … Continue reading “Wednesday: 86 Iraqis, 8 GIs, 1 Pole Killed; 64 Iraqis, 3 Poles Wounded”