Month: July 2007

Updated at 11:35 p.m. EDT, July 11, 2007At least 163 Iraqis were killed and 101 were wounded in the latest violence. Most were killed during military operations. Also, an American servicemember died from non-battle-related causes that are under investigation. A truck carrying 200 explosive belts from Syria was intercepted and the driver detained, while Iraqi … Continue reading “Wednesday: 163 Iraqis, 1 GI Killed; 101 Iraqis Wounded”

I see that Cindy Sheehan is announcing a possible run against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Sheehan’s angry that Pelosi has consistently resisted defunding the Iraq war and has staunchly stood against the impeach-Bush-and-Cheney tide sweeping the Democratic/antiwar netroots. Yet it seems, also, that she has had an ideological awakening: “I was a lifelong … Continue reading “Sheehan’s Rebellion”

Recently forced out as president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, one of the primary architects of U.S. President George W. Bush’s Iraq war, is heading back to familiar surroundings. And the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the United States’ premier conservative think-tanks, is more than pleased to welcome him back. Earlier this … Continue reading “Wolfowitz: Return to Sender?”

On June 18, seven children were killed during a U.S.-led air strike against a suspected al-Qaeda sanctuary in eastern Afghanistan. Three days later, at least 25 civilians died during a similar "incident" in Helmand province in the south of the country. The same day, a U.S. air strike aimed at a house in the Iraqi … Continue reading “Overlooking the Air War”

BAQUBA – Ongoing U.S. military operations in Diyala province have brought normal life to an end and fueled support for the national resistance. Baquba, 30 mi. northeast of Baghdad, and capital city of the volatile Diyala province, has born the brunt of violence during the U.S. military Operation Arrowhead Ripper. Conflicting reports are on offer … Continue reading “Operation Arrowhead Becomes Fountainhead of Anger”

Updated at 8:50 p.m. EDT, July 10, 2007At least 173 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and 124 were wounded in the latest round of violence. These numbers include an attack on a small northern village. An American servicemember and a Filipino were killed during shelling in the Green Zone today. Another American servicemember … Continue reading “Tuesday: 173 Iraqis, 2 GIs, 2 U.S. Contractors Killed; 124 Iraqis Wounded”

In the face of a critical Senate debate on future U.S. strategy in Iraq, neoconservatives and other hawks are trying to rally increasingly skeptical – and worried – Republicans behind continued support for President George W. Bush’s five-month-old "surge" strategy. They are arguing that the surge – the deployment of an additional 30,000 U.S. troops … Continue reading “Neocons Try to Rally, Bully Republicans”

As Congress begins to consider the Iraq War funding bill, defections by important Republican senators have caused a White House debate on whether to try to get ahead of the onrushing train to leave Iraq. In the Bush administration’s surreal parallel universe, this “post surge redeployment” – normal people would call this a withdrawal after … Continue reading “Would Iraqi Civil War
Hurt the US?”

The growing crisis over Islamic extremism in Pakistan is drawing attention to the complicity of that country’s military government in the rise of the biggest haven for Islamic terrorism in the world. The issue, which is also linked to the threat to U.S. troops in Afghanistan from Taliban bases in Pakistan, is likely to push … Continue reading “Bush’s Shielding of Musharraf at Risk”

The first news stories about the most notorious massacre of the Vietnam War were picked up the morning after from an Army publicity release. These proved fairly typical for the war. On its front page, the New York Times labeled the operation in and around a village called My Lai 4 (or “Pinkville,” as it … Continue reading “‘Accidents’ of War”