Month: April 2007

Can a pantheress turn into a pussycat? Impossible, a zoologist would say. But last week, we saw it happen with our own eyes. Condoleezza Rice came here to teach Ehud Olmert, once and for all, who is boss. The president of the United States wants to make order in the Middle East, and the government … Continue reading “Olmert and the Pussycat”

There is a general perception that the rush to war with Iran has somewhat abated. This perception is best expressed in the widely publicized comments from neoconservative pundits suggesting that the current approach to bridling Tehran’s ambitions should be a rigorous program of sanctions to isolate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his government. The apparent shift … Continue reading “Democrats Earn Their Stripes in the War Party”

Updated at 12:37 p.m. EDT, Apr. 4, 2007The brunt of violence in Iraq today took the form of small gunfire and unidentified body dumps. At least 64 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 46 were wounded. Also, the U.S. military reported that a Marine was killed while conducting combat operations in Anbar province … Continue reading “Tuesday: 64 Iraqis, 1 Marine Killed; 46 Iraqis Wounded”

President Bush has scolded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for visiting Syria. In the president’s opinion, shared by others, the U.S. government should speak with just one voice overseas. Yet that view flies in the face of both the text and the spirit of the Constitution. Before the rise of the post-World War II imperial presidency, … Continue reading “Kudos to Pelosi for Visiting Syria”

The media spectacle that John McCain made of himself in Baghdad on Sunday was yet another reprise of a ghastly ritual. Sen. McCain expressed “very cautious optimism” and told reporters that the latest version of the U.S. war effort in Iraq is “making progress.” Three years ago, in early April 2004, when an insurrection exploded … Continue reading “McCain Walks in
McNamara’s Footsteps”

No one wants to be a loser. In the sports world, some players and fans take losing so seriously that they resort to violence. The same attitude colors our approach to international relations, especially war. During the Vietnam War, many, including Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and President Lyndon Johnson, knew we were unable to … Continue reading “The Courage to Admit Defeat”

Updated at 2:10 a.m. EDT, Apr. 3, 2007At least 84 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 280 Iraqis were wounded in violent attacks. Also, 10 people were abducted at a fake checkpoint. In the largest incident, about 200 were wounded and 13 killed, including a GI, during a truck bombing in Kirkuk. … Continue reading “Monday: 3 GIs, 1 Briton, 84 Iraqis Killed; 280 Iraqis Wounded, 10 Kidnapped”

To the extent the administration of President George W. Bush has a coherent Middle East policy, it took some serious hits this past week. No, not the democracy-promotion strategy, although that didn’t fare very well either given what even the State Department conceded was the obvious rigging of the constitutional-reform referendum that Amnesty International called … Continue reading “Tough Week for Bush’s
Middle East Strategy”

The discussion around Brian Doherty’s Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the American Libertarian Movement underscores a point I’ve been making, not only to my fellow libertarians, but also to Antiwar.com’s many left-oriented readers: libertarianism, i.e., the philosophy that government is invariably a malevolent force in human history, is anti-imperialism. Opposition to war lies … Continue reading “Libertarianism and the War”

Updated at 1:50 a.m. EST, Apr. 2, 2007One British and seven American servicemembers were killed in three separate events today and yesterday, reported the U.S. military. On the other hand, civilian violence tapered off significantly over the weekend. Only 71 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 34 were wounded in attacks. The … Continue reading “Sunday: 7 GIs, 1 Briton, 71 Iraqis Killed; 34 Iraqis Wounded, 19 kidnapped”