Month: August 2007

When the United States sells state-of-the-art weapons systems to Arab nations, it invariably provides even more lethal and sophisticated arms to its steadfast ally, Israel, in order to help counter the firepower of its neighbors. So, when Egypt gets the M60A3 and M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, Israel gets the TOW-2A and Hellfire antitank missiles to … Continue reading “US Arms Sales Preserve Israel’s Edge”

Political factions Fatah and Hamas must reconcile in order to pursue a sustainable peace in the Palestinian territories, and if and when a power-sharing agreement is brokered, the international community must be willing to accept it, according to a recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG). "As long as the Palestinian schism endures, progress … Continue reading “Bush Revs Up Lemon of a Peace Policy”

BAGHDAD – The recent resignations of Iraq’s Army Chief of Staff and several of his council military leaders underscore a continuing decomposition of Iraq’s US-backed government. Everybody in Iraq – politicians, political analysts, poets, scientists, porters – seems to agree that the US-backed Iraqi government headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is a total failure. … Continue reading “A Nail in Maliki Government’s Coffin?”

A couple of policy wonks, Michael O’Hanlon and Ken Pollack, spent a week in Iraq and came back. One said he thought it was less violent. They both said in an op-ed piece that the war was winnable. It’s characters like these who make a man like Juan Cole so valuable. Cole is a scholar … Continue reading “Wonky Nonsense”

Iran is the new Nazi Germany and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the new Hitler. Or so Israeli officials have been declaring for months as they and their American allies try to persuade the doubters in Washington that an attack on Tehran is essential. And if the latest media reports are to be trusted, it looks … Continue reading “Israel’s Jewish Problem in Tehran”

Updated at 10:52 p.m. EDT, Aug. 3, 2007Three MND-B soldiers were killed and 11 wounded when an IED blasted their patrol in Baghdad yesterday. Iraqis fared better today during extremely light violence. At least 22 Iraqis were killed and 13 more were wounded. Also, five Australian soldiers were injured in a traffic accident. In Baghdad, … Continue reading “Friday: 3 GIs, 22 Iraqis Killed; 13 Iraqis Wounded”

In a report to lawmakers earlier this week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the war in Iraq could cost US taxpayers over a trillion dollars when the long-term costs of caring for soldiers wounded in action, military and economic aid for the Iraqi government, and ongoing costs associated with the 190,000 troops stationed … Continue reading “As Iraq Costs Soar, Contractors Earn Record Profits”

It was business as usual during Christians United for Israel’s recent "Israel Summit," its highly-publicized second summer sojourn to Washington. There were thousands of supporters in attendance, including an impressive array of Republican Party elected officials and political leaders. There were a series of seminars and workshops aimed at solidifying pro-Israel talking points, and growing … Continue reading “US Evangelicals at Odds on Embracing Israel”

Barack Obama often seems to be channeling John F. Kennedy, and while this thrills liberals to no end – and most Americans of a certain age, no matter what their politics – it scares me, and ought to scare you. The Kennedy-esque cadences of Obama’s rhetorical style, the soaring phrases, the high-minded spirit of noblesse … Continue reading “Obama As The New Kennedy”