Month: August 2007

September approaches, and with it the supposed watershed in the Iraq war that Gen. David Petraeus’ report to Congress will represent. In reality, the report will make little difference in what the Democratically controlled Congress does, because it has already decided what it will do, namely pretend to try to end the war while actually … Continue reading “The Petraeus Report:
More Kabuki?”

It is as though I’m back as an analyst at the CIA, trying to estimate the chances of an attack on Iran. The putative attacker, though, happens to be our own president. It is precisely the work we analysts used to do. And, while it is still a bit jarring to be turning our analytical … Continue reading “George W. Bush: A CIA Analysis”

There seems to be no end to the exchange of rhetoric between Iran and the U.S. Both blame each other for being the cause of Mideast instability and part of the regional problem. One would have expected a mutual change of tone, if not approach, following their continuing landmark talks and cooperation on Iraq. Instead, … Continue reading “Iran, US: Bury the Past!”

Updated at 11:57 p.m EDT, Aug. 21, 2007At least 63 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 89 more were wounded in the latest round of violence, but no foreign military deaths were reported. There are unconfirmed reports of the discovery, in Fallujah, of a mass grave that contained 300 bodies. Also, the casualty estimates … Continue reading “Tuesday: 63 Iraqis Killed, 89 Wounded”

Washington’s policymakers are growing dissatisfied with the Bush administration’s troop surge in Iraq and a majority agrees that the world is becoming more dangerous for the United States, according to a poll released Monday. The nonpartisan poll, called "The Terrorism Index" and released by the Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy magazine, surveys more … Continue reading “Experts: Surge, War on Terror Failing”

CAIRO – Last month, Washington approved massive military-aid packages and arms sales to its Arab allies, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and a number of smaller Gulf States. But while U.S. officials say the deals aim to bolster the "forces of moderation" in the region, some local commentators see the move as an unnecessary – and … Continue reading “US Arms Create New Divisions in Mideast”

BAQUBA – The major U.S. military operation in Baquba city north of Baghdad has ended, but it has left continuing suffering for residents in its wake. The U.S. military launched Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Baquba, 30 mi. northeast of Baghdad, on June 18. Baquba is the capital city of Iraq’s Diyala province. The stated goal … Continue reading “Baquba Caught Between the US and Al-Qaeda”

Introducing Miss Calculatsia, that fashionable foreigner, the new star in Israeli discourse. To a Hebrew ear, she sounds like a young beauty, like “Miss Israel.” But Miss-Calculatsia, the Hebrew version of “miscalculation,” is neither young nor beautiful, nor even female: just another pretentious foreign word taking the place of a perfectly good Hebrew one. (In … Continue reading “Stumbling Toward Another War”

Pick up the paper any day and you’ll find tiny straws in the wind (or headlines inside the fold) reflecting the seeping away of American power. The president of the planet’s “sole superpower” and his top diplomats and commanders have been denouncing Iran for months as the evil hand behind American disaster in Iraq as … Continue reading “America on the Downward Slope”

In a previous article, we analyzed the function of supposedly nonpartisan think tanks as propaganda mills for government policies, particularly those that aggrandize the warmaking state. It is worth elaborating with a fresh example. In the Aug. 16, 2007, edition of the New York Times, Anthony Cordesman of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies … Continue reading “Militarism’s Transmission Belt”