Month: November 2007

I was in Paris last week with my wife and daughter for Thanksgiving. One of the things we noticed was that there were Americans almost everywhere we went. My initial reaction was a bit of surprise given the currently weak dollar versus the Euro ($1.48 USD = 1 Euro as this is written). But my … Continue reading “An American in Paris”

There is one constant in the proclamations of those championing the independence of the occupied Serbian province of Kosovo: the more they claim it is "inevitable" and just around the corner, the less likely it becomes. The drive to officially sever the province – occupied in 1999 by NATO, following an illegal war, and administered … Continue reading “On the Brink”

In 1805, the French army out maneuvered, outsmarted, and outfought the combined armies of Russia and Austria at Austerlitz. Three years later it would flounder against a rag-tag collection of Spanish guerrillas. In 1967, it took six days for the Israeli army to smash Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and seize the West Bank, the Golan … Continue reading “The Algebra of Occupation”

Updated at 1:00 a.m. EST, Nov. 29, 2007At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 52 more were wounded in the latest reports of violence in Iraq. No Coalition deaths were announced. In odd news, the family of an Iraqi journalist living in Jordan is now denying that 11 members of their family were assassinated a … Continue reading “Wednesday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 52 Wounded”

DIWANIYAH, Iraq – Detentions have become commonplace in Iraq, but now more than ever before people are being detained after being accused of membership in "militias supported by Iran." "Hundreds of our men were detained and accused of being militiamen supported by Iran," Mahmood Allawi, a 50-year-old lawyer from Diwaniyah, 160 km south of Baghdad, … Continue reading “Detentions Escalate in Diwaniyah”

Civil libertarians are worried that a little-known anti-terrorism bill now making its way through the U.S. Congress with virtually no debate could be planting the seeds of another USA PATRIOT Act, which was hurriedly enacted into law after the al Qaeda attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, co-authored … Continue reading “Civil Libertarians Warn of ‘PATRIOT Act Lite’”

Globalization, what a concept. You can get a burger prepared your way practically anywhere in the world. The Nike Swoosh appears at elite athletic venues across the United States and on the skinny frames of T-shirted children playing in the streets of Calcutta. For those interested in buying an American automobile – a word of … Continue reading “The Proliferation Game”

Is the U.S. going to occupy Iraq indefinitely, or will we withdraw our troops within the next year or so, as the majority of Americans would have it? President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki don’t care what Americans – or Iraqis – think or want: they’ve already settled the question by signing a … Continue reading “Road to Empire”

In its quest to control global oil and gas reserves, the U.S. has forgotten its noble heritage and is endangering its future by supporting dictators abroad. While the Middle East’s resources are a tempting prize, the continuing alienation of its people and the likelihood of wider confrontations are a recipe for disaster. To reach its … Continue reading “Oil Costs More Than You Think”

There’s little reason to hope for a breakthrough at the Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, unless there is a fundamental shift in U.S. policy in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And there’s little evidence to suggest such a change is forthcoming. Indeed, Yossi Beilin, the Israeli Knesset member and former cabinet official who served as … Continue reading “Is Annapolis Hopeless?”