Month: December 2007

BAQUBA – The alarming security situation in Diyala province north of Baghdad has killed off much of the education system. The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq had at first brought hope. Salaries were increased: a newly appointed primary or secondary school teacher was given 200,000 Iraqi dinars, or about $150 a month. In September 2006, the … Continue reading “Education Is the Latest Casualty in Baquba”

The Honorable John Manley Chairman, the Manley Committee Formerly, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada No Fixed Address Ottawa, Canada Dear Mr. Manley, Re: A public submission to your committee to advise Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Canada’s plan for Afghanistan. When the formation of your committee [.pdf] was announced at the end of October, there … Continue reading “Stephen Harper’s Index”

The latest National Intelligence Estimate has been greeted by a mixture of relief and alarm. As I have been saying all along, Iran indeed poses no quantifiable imminent nuclear threat to us or her neighbors. It is with much alarm, however, that we see the administration continue to ratchet up the war rhetoric as if … Continue reading “Bombed If You Do, Bombed If You Don’t”

In a recent speech given at the American-Afghan business conference, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy to the UN, and one of the enthusiastic proponents of using American "hard power" to reorder the Muslim world, finally admitted to the myriad problems facing the international community in its efforts to resolve the Afghan conflict. That these pronouncements … Continue reading “Karzai Discredits Democracy in Afghanistan”

Updated at 12:35 a.m EST, Dec. 11, 2007Baghdad was rocked by several attacks today, including one that caused a refinery fire in a southern neighborhood. At least 30 Iraqis were killed and 81 more were wounded throughout the country. One Task Force Iron soldier was killed and two more were injured during a suicide attack … Continue reading “Monday: 1 US Soldier, 3 US Contractors, 30 Iraqis Killed; 81 Iraqis Wounded”

The pushback against the recent finding [.pdf] by America’s 16 intelligence agencies that puts "high confidence" in their evaluation that Iran stopped its covert nuclear weapons project in 2003 has the Lobby going into overdrive – with (who else?) John Bolton leading the charge, crying "Putsch!" and decrying the NIE as pure "politics." Bolton and … Continue reading “Iran, Nukes,
and the ‘Laptop of Death’”

Updated at 11:45 p.m EST, Dec. 9, 2007Baiji was again the scene of an attack that left several people dead or injured. Overall, 46 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 28 were wounded throughout the country. No Coalition deaths were reported. Also, officials have banned the use of government vehicles that lack license … Continue reading “Sunday: 46 Iraqis Killed, 28 Wounded”

Nearly one week after a U.S. intelligence report revealed that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, the saber-rattling inside the Washington Beltway appears to have receded for the moment, and with it, the George W. Bush administration’s strongest pretext for a military confrontation with Iran. The judgments of the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate … Continue reading “‘Laptop of Death’: Revising the NIE on Iran”

Updated at 5:55 p.m. EST, Dec. 8, 2007At least 48 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 88 more were wounded in the latest round of violence. In Baiji a significant attack caused a large number of casualties. Meanwhile, Mosul is considering digging a security trench around the city. No Coalition casualties were reported. The … Continue reading “Saturday: 48 Iraqis Killed, 88 Wounded”

Those who know about the centrifuges used to refine uranium tell me they must spin at an almost unrivaled velocity – almost unrivaled, because Bush administration statements are being spun at equivalent speed by White House and corporate media spiders. Without weaver-in-chief Karl Rove and former presidential spokesman Tony Snow, it is amateur hour at … Continue reading “Bush Spins Iran’s Centrifuges”