Month: November 2007

Imagine Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telling a group of leading U.S. policymakers that Iran’s nuclear weapons program does not pose a direct threat to U.S. security, or former CIA Director George Tenet making the same kind of argument in a public forum. Imagine also that their views are reported in front-page news stories in … Continue reading “Look Who’s Downplaying Iran’s Nuclear Threat”

Updated at 11:40 p.m. EST, Nov. 21, 2007Today, two previously reported Coalition troops deaths were revealed to have been British. The U.S. military said that an American soldier was killed in a separate incident. Also, at least 74 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 48 more Iraqis were wounded. Relatively quiet Anbar province saw … Continue reading “Wednesday: 1 US Soldier, 74 Iraqis Killed; 48 Iraqis Wounded”

While the vast majority of analysts agree that sectarian violence in Iraq has declined sharply from pre-“surge” levels one year ago, a major debate has broken out as to whether the achievement of the surge’s strategic objective – national reconciliation – is closer or more distant than ever. On one side, advocates of the surge … Continue reading “Iraq: Toward National Reconciliation, or a Warlord State?”

FALLUJAH – Three years after a devastating U.S.-led siege of the city, residents of Fallujah continue to struggle with a shattered economy and infrastructure and a lack of mobility. The city that was routed in November 2004 is still suffering the worst humanitarian conditions under a siege that continues. Although military actions are down to … Continue reading “Fallujah Now Under a Different Kind of Siege”

The warlords of Washington don’t care about international public opinion, and that goes double for what Americans think. The politicians, the bureaucrats, the policy wonks, and the lobbyists (both foreign and domestic) could care less that the people of this country, and the world, have a very low opinion of their deadly antics: all the … Continue reading “Invade Pakistan?”

James Circello sat on the edge of his bed staring at the floral pattern on a generic hotel comforter, contemplating what life would be like in prison. It was early August, and his parents had given him a one-way bus ticket to Lawton, Okla., and told him he was welcome home once he got his … Continue reading “When AWOL Is the Only Escape”

According to legend, its flag sprang from the reflection of a star and the crescent moon in a pool of native warriors’ blood. The national anthem exults, "Martyrs would gush out were one to squeeze the soil!" Of all the Muslim countries created after World War I, only Turkey succeeded in expelling Western occupiers to … Continue reading “Turkey: From Bloody Birth to Power Broker”

Updated at 1:10 p.m EST, Nov. 21, 2007A U.K. helicopter crashed near Salman Pak, killing two British soldiers and injuring 2 more. At least 71 Iraqis were killed and 33 more were also wounded in the latest violence. Also, the finance ministry announced that Iraq will give Syria $15 million to defray the costs of … Continue reading “Tuesday: 2 British Soldiers, 71 Iraqis Killed; 33 Iraqis Wounded”

Until late October, the accepted explanation about the Sept. 6 Israeli air strike in Syria, constructed in a series of press leaks from U.S. officials, was that it was prompted by dramatic satellite intelligence that Syria was building a nuclear facility with help from North Korea. But new satellite evidence has discredited that narrative, suggesting … Continue reading “Israel’s Syrian Air Strike Was Aimed at Iran”

The people of Somalia are enduring yet another round of suffering as Ethiopian forces wreak havoc in the capital, Mogadishu. Apparently in response to an attack on one of its units and the dragging of a soldier’s mutilated body through the city’s streets, an Ethiopian mortar reportedly exploded in Mogadishu’s Bakara market on Nov. 9, … Continue reading “Somalia: What the Media
Failed to Report”