Month: March 2007

It’s interesting how much of our language is taken from war. Politicians in particular like to wage “war” on such things as cancer, drugs and terrorism (all of them lost so far). Aspiring politicians who probably haven’t had a real fight since second grade always promise “to fight” for whatever they happen to be promising. … Continue reading “War Talk”

Way back on 26 May 2003, more than a month before the Cheney Cabal outed Valerie Plame as a covert CIA operative – running agents in Iran, Iraq and elsewhere, seeking information on weapons of mass destruction, under cover of Brewster-Jennings, a CIA-front “energy consulting” firm – the New York Times published an editorial, calling … Continue reading “Fool Me Thrice?”

After years of deliberations and challenges over competency, the International Court of Justice rejected charges of genocide pressed against Serbia by the Muslim-dominated government of Bosnia-Herzegovina during the civil war in that country: “Serbia has not committed genocide, through its organs or persons whose acts engage its responsibility under customary international law,” says the verdict, … Continue reading “Not Guilty”

Updated at 7:15 p.m. EST, March 2, 2007 At least 14 policemen were killed in a dramatic, retaliatory kidnapping in the Diyala province. Overall, 61 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 39 more were wounded in violent attacks throughout Iraq. Also, two American soldiers were killed and a third one was injured in Baghdad. … Continue reading “Friday: 61 Iraqis, 2 GIs Killed; 39 Iraqis, 1 GI Injured”

The State Department plans to send its top refugee official to Damascus in the coming weeks to discuss how best to deal with the estimated 500,000 to one million Iraqis who have sought safe haven in Syria, a Department spokesman confirmed here Thursday. The trip by Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration … Continue reading “U.S. to Send Top Refugee Official to Damascus”

A delegation of U.S. religious leaders called Monday for Washington to negotiate with Tehran, following the delegation’s landmark two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The 13-person religious delegation was the first to meet with an Iranian president since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. ”It was a very cordial meeting,” said Reverend Shanta Premawardhana of … Continue reading “US Religious Leaders Urge Bush to Talk to Iran”

In recent days, we’ve have two reports on timing, when it comes to the future of the president’s “surge” plan for Baghdad. According to Richard A. Oppel of the New York Times, “The plan, which calls for 17,000 additional troops in Baghdad, will continue until at least this fall, the second-ranking commander in Iraq, Lt. … Continue reading “Will We Suffer from the Iraq Syndrome?”

It’s the Chinese Year of the Boar, not very propitious if you’re looking to have an easy time of it. Chinese astrologer Raymond Lo predicts: “The Year of the Boar will not be very peaceful. Boar years can be turbulent because they are dominated by fire and water, conflicting elements that tend to cause havoc.” … Continue reading “The Iraq War Crash”

BAGHDAD – Reports of the gang-rape of 20-year-old Sabrine al-Janabi by three policemen has set off new demands for justice from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government. Janabi, who lives in the Hai al-Amil area of southern Baghdad with her husband, was taken from her home Feb. 18 to a police station and accused of assisting … Continue reading “Iraq Rape Cases Emerge From the Shadows”

Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke, The Silence of the Rational Center: Why American Foreign Policy is Failing (New York: Basic, 2007), 312 pp., $26.95. by Doug Bandow The supposedly indispensable nation is having a tough time in what is supposed to be the unipolar moment. The U.S. might be the unipower, the globe’s sole superpower, … Continue reading “Big Dangerous Ideas”