Updated at 12:45 a.m. EDT, May 7, 2007At least 118 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 134 Iraqis were wounded in violent attacks today; the largest a bombing in Bagdad that killed dozens. Twelve U.S. servicemembers were also reported killed, nine of them died today....
Sanctions Aggravate Iranian Rights Situation
TEHRAN, Iran As economic sanctions are applied to this country for its nuclear activities, hardliners in the government are getting strengthened and successfully demanding even harsher curbs on individual liberties. The sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security...
Saturday: 81 Iraqis Killed, 61 Wounded
Updated at 11:50 p.m. EDT, May 5, 2007At least 81 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 61 were wounded during violence. The most significant attack took place in western Baghdad when a suicide bomber detonated his cargo among a group of police recruits....
‘Realists’ Gain Bush’s Ear, to Cheney’s Chagrin
With just over 18 months left in office, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush appears once again to be moving in a more "realist" direction in its dealings with the rest of the world, including the Middle East. The most obvious sign came...
Tenet’s Failures
The National Security Act of 1947 created the Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, making said DCI responsible for providing "timely, objective, independent of political considerations" intelligence, "based upon all sources available to the intelligence...
Folly in the Baltics
The row over the removal of a statue of a Soviet soldier in Estonia is another bit of evidence why major powers should never ally themselves with small, powerless countries. By the second day, Estonian officials were calling for the European Union to consider the...
Tragic Russia
The death of Boris Yeltsin, who might be described as the first and apparently the last relatively democratic leader of Russia, makes one wonder whether Russia will ever have anything approaching decent governance. (I'm not sure there is any such thing as good...
Friday: 6 GIs, 71 Iraqis Killed; 89 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 12:45 a.m. EDT, May 5, 2007Violent activity was elevated for a Friday. At least 71 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 89 Iraqis were wounded. One foreign fighter identified as an al-Qaeda leader was killed as well. Also, the U.S. military today reported...
Dying for…Estonia?
All week, young toughs in Moscow have besieged the Estonian embassy to harass Ambassador Marina Kaljurand. Her bodyguards had to use a mace-like spray to drive back the thugs, who call Estonia a "fascist country." Estonian diplomats and their families are being pulled...
Blaming and Bullying Iran Is Nothing New
Twenty stark years ago, on May 17, 1987, a double act of Exocet missiles skimmed through the air and slammed into the American Perry-class frigate the USS Stark. The first Exocet antiship missile punched into the warship "at 600 miles per hour and exploded in the...