Month: August 2007

At a small, informal school in the basement of a church in Amman, many strings of colorful paper cranes bedeck walls and windows. The school serves children whose families have fled Iraq. Older children who come to the school understand the significance of the crane birds. Claudia Lefko, of Northampton, Mass., who helped initiate the … Continue reading “She Stands at Every Door”

The king of Siam knew how to deal with domestic opponents: he would present them with a white elephant. White elephants are rare in nature, and therefore sacred. Being sacred, they may not be put to work. But even a sacred elephant does eat, and eat a lot. Enough to turn a rich man into … Continue reading “White Elephants”

Israel’s Jewish Problem in Tehran This article is extremely naive and one-sided. Believing that the Arab world will be peaceful if left alone is as naive as Dubya’s thinking Americans would be viewed a liberators in Iraq. It completely ignores the the history of the region and its leaders. Simply look at the Iraq-Iran war … Continue reading “Backtalk, August 7, 2007”

Updated at 11:55 p.m EDT, Aug. 6, 2007At least 123 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 131 more were wounded during violence that included a significant truck bombing in Tal Afar. Also, eight GIs were killed and 15 more were wounded in separate events. Four Task Force Lightning soldiers were killed and 12 more … Continue reading “Monday: 8 GIs, 123 Iraqis Killed; 131 Iraqis Wounded”

Editor’s note: The following is an encore presentation of David R. Henderson’s column of July 31, 2006. Sometimes, something happens that is so awful that we find ourselves rationalizing it, talking as if it had to happen, to make ourselves feel better about the horrible event. For many people, I believe, President Truman’s dropping the … Continue reading “Remembering Hiroshima”

How, in the name of all that’s holy, could a rational human being look at what’s going on in Iraq and hold out any hope of “success” for America’s colonial project? The American and Iraqi casualty rates are soaring, the government of Iraq is collapsing, the Turks are getting ready to invade Kurdistan in reaction … Continue reading “Bill Kristol and
the Stink of Fear”

Updated at 11:58 p.m. EDT, Aug. 5, 2007At least 116 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 49 were wounded during the latest round of attacks. Sixty were found dumped together in Baquba. Ten people were kidnapped at a fake checkpoint as well. Also, four American servicemembers were killed and two were injured during separate … Continue reading “Sunday: 4 GIs, 116 Iraqis Killed; 49 Iraqis Wounded”

Updated at 6:45 p.m. EDT, Aug. 4, 2007During a second day of lighter than usual violence, only 38 Iraqis were killed and 26 more were wounded. The body of a Syrian man was found in Kirkuk. Also, a Marine was killed during combat operations in Anbar Province. In Baghdad, mortars landing in al-Firdous Square injured … Continue reading “Saturday: 1 Marine, 38 Iraqis Killed; 26 Iraqis Wounded”

Well, they went pretty far up the chain of command in the Pat Tillman case, all the way up to Lt. Gen. Phillip Kensinger, who was in charge of Special Forces until he retired last year. Army Secretary Pete Geren announced an unusually sharply-worded censure of Gen. Kensinger for "mistakes, misjudgments and a failure of … Continue reading “Pat Tillman Saga Far From Over”

When Bill Clinton became President, there were five acknowledged nuke-armed states – the United States, United Kingdom, France, China and Russia. Back in in the late 1960s those five states had persuaded about 150 other states that didn’t have nukes to become signatories to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The NPT was viewed … Continue reading “The Illegal – and Immoral – Option”