Other than an increasingly beleaguered band of administration factotums and neoconservative propagandists, few Americans defend the decision to invade Iraq. The mistakes have been too catastrophic and too many for the rest of us to take seriously more of the same...
Is Terrorism a Mortal Threat?
It may have been politically incorrect to publish the thoughts on the sixth anniversary of 9-11, but what Colin Powell had to say to GQ magazine needs to be heard. Terrorism, said Powell, is not a mortal threat to America. "What is the greatest threat...
The New Military Frontier: Africa
A US Army captain in Africa waxes philosophical. It's like the old saying, he opines; "give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll eat forever." Is he talking about skills-building, or community empowerment? No: Captain Joseph...
Glued to Our Seats in the Theater of War
Has anyone noticed that our commander-in-chief no longer plays dress up? He hasn't done so for a while and that's no small thing. It's a phenomenon that came and went almost without comment in the media. I don't remember the first time I noticed that George W. Bush...
Backtalk, September 21, 2007
Petraeus Helps Destroy Bush's 'Proxy War' Claim Why does the author accept the Bush Administration's implicit premise that Iraqi users of EFPs are incapable of constructing their own weapons, and therefore must be getting them from Iran or Hezbollah? As a Google...
Thursday: 1 GI, 66 Iraqis Killed; 54 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 7:20 p.m. EDT, Sept. 20, 2007At least 66 Iraqis were killed and 54 wounded in the latest round of violence. Among the attacks was another controversial incident involving U.S. troops in Sadr City. Also, several bombs were detonated in Baghdad and Kirkuk....
Why ‘Partition’ (of Iraq) Is a Dirty Word
A small number of politicians and analysts, including me, have been advocating for some time what has generally been loosely labeled the "partition" option for Iraq. Although at least one anonymous administration official has said that the Bush...
Republicans Block Habeas for Gitmo Detainees
Despite the support of a solid majority of the US Senate, a measure designed to restore the right of foreign terrorist suspects to challenge their detention in federal court was blocked here Wednesday on a procedural maneuver. The measure, an amendment to the 2008...
The Royal Treatment: Saudi Involvement in Iraq Overlooked
Reporting on Iraqi benchmarks in mid-September, Bush and his team of Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker sought to pin some of the blame on Iran. Eschewing diplomatic language during his testimony, Crocker boldly said, "Iran plays a harmful role in Iraq."...
Ditch the Empire, Stick to Commerce
If the invasion of Afghanistan had been a success, we would not still be fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. If the invasion of Iraq had been a success, we would not be fighting there. Two invasions of practically defenseless countries with obsolete...