Month: October 2007

They came in as unreformed Cold Warriors, only lacking a cold war – and looking for an enemy: a Russia to roll back even further, rogue states like Saddam’s rickety dictatorship to smash. They were still in the old fight, eager to make sure that the “Evil Empire,” already long down for the count, would … Continue reading “12 Books in Search of a Policy”

As a CIA officer in Turkey in the 1980s, I once had the misfortune of witnessing a man being tortured by the police. In those days, Istanbul was home to a foreigners’ prison, which has now been converted into a luxury hotel. In the foreigners’ prison anyone who was not a Turkish citizen was automatically … Continue reading “Tortured by Uncle Sam”

Updated at 12:20 a.m. EDT, Oct. 23, 2007The Kurdistan Worker’s Party has asked a skeptical Turkey for a cease fire. Overall, 111 Iraqis were killed and 75 were wounded during attacks that included a raid by Iraqi National Accord members. In Baghdad, five dumped bodies were found scattered in as many neighborhoods. A roadside bomb … Continue reading “Monday: 111 Iraqis Killed, 75 Wounded”

In the harshest speech against Iran given by a top Bush administration official to date, Vice President Dick Cheney Sunday warned the Islamic Republic of "serious consequences" if it did not freeze its nuclear program and accused it of "direct involvement in the killings of Americans." "Given the nature of Iran’s rulers, the declarations of … Continue reading “Cheney Raises the Rhetoric Against Iran”

The ongoing hara-kiri of the GOP proceeds apace, with the latest being a concerted effort by the party’s neoconservative wing to oust sitting Republican members of Congress who oppose the war. The latest examples: Walter B. Jones of North Carolina and Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland. Rep. Jones attracted national attention when, at the height of … Continue reading “The GOP Purge”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has apparently promised some wealthy Armenian-American backers in her district that she would bring to a vote a resolution condemning the massacres of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide. It was that. You don’t kill 1.2 million people out of a population of only 1.6 million by accident. … Continue reading “Here’s Hoping Pelosi Peeves the Turks”

As thousands of Americans take to the streets this week, they will face a rising right-wing offensive to discredit and derail the antiwar movement. The cry of “troops home now” will echo in 11 cities as an intense year-long battle begins to sharpen. Not since 2002 will the antiwar movement – and dovish Democrats – … Continue reading “Neocons Surge Against
Antiwar Movement”

Is Congress afraid of Gen. David Petraeus? If not, why did its members run around like panicked turkeys in a rain storm to defend a four-star general from a few liberal Democrats at MoveOn.org? Before the “Betray Us” flap established MoveOn’s bona fides, the outfit was little more than a fundraising adjunct to the Democratic … Continue reading “Who’s Afraid of Gen. Petraeus?”

Question: Who was the first economist to win a Nobel Prize? Many economists, hearing this question, would know that it’s a trick question, but they would identify the small trick and miss the big one. The small trick is that there was no first economist to win the Nobel Prize in economics because two economists, … Continue reading “Economists and the
Nobel Peace Prize”

Updated at 11:15 p.m. EDT, Oct. 21, 2007At least 78 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 83 more were wounded in the latest violence. Most of the casualties occurred during a U.S. raid in Sadr City. During incidents at the Turkish border, another 49 people were killed and 24 more were wounded. No Coalition … Continue reading “Sunday: 78 Iraqis Killed, 83 Wounded”