Month: September 2007

So all of Washington (and maybe even a few of those out in the rest of the country) is waiting for Gen. David Petraeus to deliver his report on the "surge" and how things are going in Iraq. It is a curious phenomenon whose curiosity has been too little noticed. We supposedly have a long … Continue reading “Waiting for Gen. Petraeus”

Nearly two-thirds of the Turkish public named the United States as their country’s greatest future threat, a recent Pew Global Attitudes Project survey has revealed – the highest percentage of any Middle Eastern or Islamic country polled. The survey, which was also conducted in Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco and Israel, asked an open-ended … Continue reading “US Viewed as Turkey’s ‘Greatest Threat’”

NEW DELHI – India’s hosting of large-scale military exercises involving four countries led by the United States has triggered spirited protests by left-wing parties that prop up the country’s ruling coalition. The naval exercises, underway since Tuesday, are the largest and the most complex that India has ever participated in and feature as many as … Continue reading “Five-Nation Naval Drill Presages ‘Asian NATO’?”

Days after Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei made his most recent "confidential" report to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Cheney Cabal sycophantic editorialists at the Washington Post charged ElBaradei with being a "Rogue Regulator," behaving as if he was "free to ignore" the Board, using his IAEA Secretariat to "thwart" the … Continue reading “Rogue Regulator?”

The killing in Hawijah, Iraq of 18-year old Corporal Jeremy Shank of Jackson, Missouri (population 12,000) merited an article in the Southeast Missourian. Cpl. Shank was killed on Sept. 6, 2006 and I was in that part of Missouri when his body came home for burial. According to the Pentagon, Shank was on a "dismounted … Continue reading “Are Petraeus and Westmoreland Birds of a Feather?”

Updated at 11:10 p.m. EDT, Sept. 7, 2007On an otherwise quiet Friday military officials announced that a British soldier and seven GIs were killed in separate incidents over the last couple of days. Iraqis fared better–only 25 Iraqis were killed and 11 wounded in today’s reports. Also, Iraqi newspapers reported that Chemical Ali and two … Continue reading “Friday: 7 GIs, 1 Briton, 25 Iraqis Killed; 11 Iraqis Wounded”

Andy McCarthy’s exclamation of despair: We know that Ron Paul did great in the Republican presidential debate sponsored by Fox News and held in Durham, New Hampshire, because how else can we explain neocon Andy McCarthy’s exclamation of despair over at the National Review group blog? “Why,” he cried out in anguish, “is there so … Continue reading “Ron Versus the Huckster”

Iran’s unexpected agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Mohamed ElBaradei to resolve old issues surrounding its nuclear program in less than two months, and the fact that it has installed only two-thirds of the centrifuges previously announced, indicate that Tehran may be positioning itself for another bid for a diplomatic solution. The IAEA … Continue reading “Iran Nuke Moves Hint at Interest in Deal”

BAGHDAD – Residents are fleeing Samarra city in the face of fierce fighting between US forces and resistance groups. New defiance is rising against US forces following military "crimes,” fleeing residents say. "On Sunday the 26th of August, there was fierce fighting between armed men and American forces in the Armooshiya district, and I saw … Continue reading “Samarra Under US Attack”

When John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt published their controversial essay "The Israel Lobby" in the London Review of Books in March 2006, their work elicited the kind of response of which most academics only dream. But it was also attacked and condemned by critics for its provocative and pointed argument that a wide-ranging … Continue reading “Outing the ‘Israel Lobby’”