Month: March 2007

Updated at 1:30 a.m. EST, Mar. 13, 2007At least 76 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 13 were wounded. Civilian violence was lighter than usual; most of today’s deaths occurred during security operations. Also, the U.S. military reported that a Marine was killed in combat in Anbar Province, and a soldier died of … Continue reading “Monday: 76 Iraqis, 2 GIs Killed; 13 Iraqis Injured”

Chuck Hagel, wrote one editorialist, is "a man whose time has come," and today – if, as expected, he announces his candidacy for the White House – is a day that will transform the debate over the war and bridge the partisan divide that does so much to ensure that our irrational foreign policy continues … Continue reading “Hagel Against the War Party”

It was just nine months ago when Newsweek spoke for the conventional wisdom at that moment when it pronounced “The End of Cowboy Diplomacy.” The phrase signaled the apparent victory – at last – of the State Department-led “realist” wing over hawks led by Vice President Dick Cheney and then-Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld in gaining … Continue reading “End of Cowboy Diplomacy,
Part II?”

When it comes to surging in Iraq, it’s “encouraging” out there. So the president tells us (“Yet even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs…”); so Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the surge commander in Baghdad, tells us (“[It’s] too early to discern significant trends, [but] there have been a few encouraging signs…”). No, … Continue reading “Iraq as a Cauldron of State Terrorism”

The biggest transfer of cash in history took place from May 2003 to June 2004 when the U.S. Federal Reserve of New York shipped $12 billion in bills of various denominations to war-torn Iraq. Over the course of one year, a fleet of C-130s carried, from New York to Baghdad, 484 pallets weighing a total … Continue reading “Playing Monopoly
With Iraqi Money”

Updated at 1:20 a.m EST, March 12, 2007At least 76 Iraqis were reported killed or found dead today and another 71 Iraqis were wounded. At least two significant bombings occurred in the capital while a third bombing targeted a political organization in Mosul. Roadside bombs killed an American servicemember in Baghdad and another in Salah … Continue reading “Sunday: 76 Iraqis, 3 GIs Killed; 71 Iraqis Wounded”

Updated at 2:11 p.m. EST, Mar. 10, 2007As world powers met in Baghdad to discuss stabilizing the country, they were greeted by a pair of mortars, which resulted in no injuries. Overall, at least 78 Iraqis were killed or found dead during violent acts and another 120 were wounded. Also, U.S. soldiers stand accused of … Continue reading “Saturday: 78 Iraqis Killed, 120 Wounded”

QANDIL MOUNTAINS (Iraq-Iran-Turkey) – The fragile quiet in this no-man’s-land is broken by a young fighter shooting into the air at a regular morning ceremony to “commemorate martyrs.” The firing is more than ceremonial. A new threat of war is looming in this mountain range in the north of Iraq, cutting into Turkey and Iran. … Continue reading “Kurds Fear a New War”

Within hours of the verdict that Lewis “Scooter” Libby had “obstructed justice” – had prevented Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald from finding out whether a crime had been committed in the “outing” of CIA Non-Official Cover operative Valerie Plame and her cover, Brewster-Jennings & Associates, and if so, who had committed it – the Cheney Cabal … Continue reading “More Sand In Our Faces”

More than five years have passed since President Bush labeled Iraq, Iran and North Korea the “axis of evil.” It is imperative that we try to piece together what role U.S. intelligence played in supporting the “axis” idea and the misguided policies and actions that ensued. For the “axis of evil” sobriquet morphed into axes … Continue reading “There’s Still Time to Rethink Iran”