Month: February 2007

While media attention has been focused on the U.S. quagmire in Iraq, an equally failed war in Afghanistan has received little coverage. As in countless militaristic U.S. nation-building fiascoes, “mission creep” in Afghanistan is leading to another foreign policy disaster. Although the escalation in Afghanistan has not been announced publicly, a reliable source with connections … Continue reading “More Mission Creep in Afghanistan”

Ideology and faith are stirring new calls to arms among influential political factions in the United States. At a time when the U.S. public is questioning the interventionism and unilateralism of the Bush administration, leading social conservatives and neoconservatives insist that the United States needs to militarily confront the purported threats facing the Judeo-Christian world … Continue reading “Rick Santorum,
American Crusader”

Hundreds of thousands of American troops already occupy Afghanistan and Iraq, a number that is rising as the military surge moves forward. The justification, given endlessly since Sept. 11, is that both countries support terrorism and thus pose a risk to the United States. Yet when we step back and examine the region as a … Continue reading “With Friends Like These…”

Updated at 12:20 p.m. EST, Feb. 26, 2007 A failed assassination attempt left Shi’ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi slightly injured and 12 others dead in Baghdad. Throughout the country, at least two foreign nationals and 137 Iraqis were killed today. Another foreign national and 88 Iraqis were wounded in various incidents. Also, a Marine was … Continue reading “Monday: 137 Iraqis, 2 GIs Killed; 88 Iraqis Wounded; Iraqi VP Wounded in Assassination Attempt”

The deadline that the UN Security Council Resolution 1737 imposed on Iran for suspending its nuclear program passed without Iran complying with the resolution’s demands. Tension in the Persian Gulf has also risen, after President Bush threatened Iran for its alleged meddling in Iraq. The question is, is there a path to peaceful resolution of … Continue reading “A Diplomatic Solution to Iran’s Nuclear Program”

The latest Seymour Hersh piece has a lot of new information, some of it shocking, some of it not at all surprising to readers of Antiwar.com and observers of this space. An example of the latter: "The administration is now examining a wave of new intelligence on Iran’s weapons programs. Current and former American officials … Continue reading “America’s Alliance With bin Laden”

At 10:16 p.m. on March 19, 2003, after copious military preparations in the Persian Gulf region and beyond, after months of diplomatic maneuvers at the United Nations, after a drumbeat of leaked intelligence warnings and hair-raising statements by top U.S. officials and the president about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and how close Saddam Hussein … Continue reading “Talking Points for the Next War”

When I was a child, a popular argument in favor of the Israeli “liberation,” i.e., occupation, of the Palestinian territories was its being a blessing for the Palestinians themselves. “When we took it over,” I was told at school, “there were just a couple of cars in the entire West Bank. And look how many … Continue reading “How to Live With Hunger”

Updated at 1:10 a.m. EST, Feb. 26, 2007 Although Iraqi authorities insist a security crackdown has had a positive effect on attacks in the country, violence rages on. At least 151 Iraqis were reported killed of found dead today and another 134 were injured. Also, an American soldier died after spending nearly a year in … Continue reading “Sunday: 151 Iraqis, 1 GI Killed; 134 Iraqis Wounded”

Updated at 12:40 a.m. EST, Feb. 25, 2007 Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said today that approximately 400 militants have been killed since the beginning of a security crackdown ten days ago. Several dozen more were killed today at a base north of the capital. Another 110 Iraqis were confirmed killed or found dead and … Continue reading “Saturday: 110 Iraqis Confirmed Dead, Dozens More Killed in Clashes; 133 Iraqis Wounded”