Month: April 2007

The media often reports overseas developments but doesn’t always explore their underlying causes, which, in many cases, conveniently lets the U.S. government off the hook. The recent internecine violence in Somalia provides a classic example. The U.S. media has focused to date almost exclusively on the rising Islamist movement in Somalia and U.S. "covert" assistance … Continue reading “A US-Made Mess in Somalia”

As Chairman Carl Levin of Senate Armed Services conceded Sunday, Congress is not going to de-fund the war in Iraq, even if Bush vetoes every Democratic timetable for withdrawal. The war will go on – backed by a Democratic Congress. If Majority Leader Reid is not bluffing about his threat to vote with Russ Feingold … Continue reading “What a Lack of Courage Cost”

One night when I was in my teens, I found myself at a production of Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. I had never heard of the playwright or the play, nor had I seen a play performed in the round. The actors were dramatically entering and exiting in the aisles when, suddenly, … Continue reading “The Theater of the
Imperially Absurd”

Updated at 12:45 a.m. EDT, April 10, 2008Demonstrations and car bans marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, while a war of words continued between Turkish officials and Iraqi Kurds. Baghdad and Najaf were under a 24-hour driving ban. Overall, at least 33 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 61 … Continue reading “Monday: 6 GIs, 33 Iraqis Killed; 61 Iraqis Wounded”

The Easter holiday celebration took up a lot more of my Sunday afternoon than I had planned, and so there’s no column today: sorry about that. I do, however, have a new column at Taki’s Top Drawer that I think you’ll like, so please check it out. I’m also going to be on Antiwar.com Radio … Continue reading “Easter Holiday Break”

In a previous article, “How Much is the Iraq War Costing You? Part 1,” I laid out the facts and figures about the monetary cost of the Iraq war to U.S. taxpayers, assuming conservatively a low-end estimate of annual spending on the Iraq war. I concluded that the main American residents paying for the war … Continue reading “How Much Is the Iraq War Costing You?”

Updated at 12:50 p.m. EDT, April 8, 2007At least 73 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and 95 were wounded in violent attacks. Two significant bombings occurred, one in Baghdad and the other in Mahmudiya. Also, the U.S. military reported on the deaths of 11 more servicemembers in separate incidents.Today, three U.S. soldiers were … Continue reading “Sunday: 11 GIs, 73 Iraqis Killed; 95 Iraqis Wounded”

Updated at 11:39 p.m. EDT, April 7, 2007At least 96 Iraqis were killed or found dead during violent activity today, another 105 were wounded, and ten Iraqis were kidnapped south of Kirkuk. Several explosions around the country resulted only in property damage. Also, three more U.S. servicemembers have been reported killed in Iraq.The military reported … Continue reading “Saturday: 3 GIs, 96 Iraqis Killed; 105 Iraqis Wounded”

On March 17, 2003, ten days after the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency publicly reported to the UN Security Council that, “One, there is no indication of resumed nuclear activities in those buildings that were identified through the use of satellite imagery as being reconstructed or newly erected since 1998, nor any indication … Continue reading “More Mainstream Media Obfuscation”

Well, as I predicted a few days ago, the release of the British hostages/captives/whatever has been quickly followed by lamentations and gnashing of teeth. As David Pryce-Jones put it on Thursday over at National Review Online, "now is the time for recriminations." What might have seemed like a success to people using mere common sense … Continue reading “Lamenting Lack of War”