Month: December 2007

I had to laugh when I saw the headline: "Iraq Kurdish leader snubs Rice over Turkey raid." So Condi went all the way to Iraq to resolve this latest crisis in our fast-unraveling Iraqi protectorate, only to be told by Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan autonomous region, the diplomatic equivalent of "go fly a … Continue reading “The Wages of Intervention”

Longtime viewers of the popular NBC television show Saturday Night Live probably recall "Emily Litella" – an elderly woman with hearing problems commenting on the news on the "Weekend Update" segment, played by the late comedian Gilda Radner. Litella would read an editorial addressing a public issue, only to be interrupted in the middle of … Continue reading “Neocons Won’t Let Facts Stand in the Way of Iran ‘Threat’”

Hamid Karzai is the grandson of Khair Mohammed of the village of Karz, not far from Kandahar. He was an indigent member of the Popalzai tribe with a large family who migrated to Kandahar seeking a better life. Normally, when a Pashtun is of noble stock he’s known by a patronym, but more humble tribal … Continue reading “Khalilzad and the Gangs of Afghanistan”

Now that the deadline has passed without an international agreement on the future of Kosovo – the Serbian province that has enjoyed autonomy under the tutelage of the United Nations since the NATO-Serb war of 1999 – a showdown in the UN Security Council looms. No matter what the outcome of Wednesday’s debate, don’t be … Continue reading “The Solution to the Kosovo Problem”

Updated at 6:06 p.m. EST, Dec. 19, 2007A large bombing in Abbara was among the numerous attacks that left dozens of casualties throughout Iraq today. Overall, at least 57 Iraqis were killed and 66 more were wounded in the latest violence. No Coalition deaths were reported, but Turkey sent hundred of fresh troops into Iraq … Continue reading “Tuesday: 57 Iraqis Killed, 66 Wounded”

When the George W. Bush administration asked Damascus to attend last month’s Annapolis conference, Emad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to the United States, was stunned, he admits. "[The U.S.] was really obsessed with making wars. Then we heard that it’s not only that they are not interested in brokering peace talks, they were proactively opposing … Continue reading “Assassination Jars Nascent US Détente With Syria”

White House officials have now admitted that George W. Bush was told that the intelligence assessment on a covert Iranian nuclear program might change last August, but they have avoided answering the question of when the president was first informed about the new intelligence that led to that revised assessment. That evasion is necessary, it … Continue reading “Did Bush Get New Iran Intel Last Winter?”

The most famous words ever spoken in Gaza were the last words of Samson (Judges 16:30): "Let me die with the Philistines!" According to the Biblical story, Samson took hold of the central pillars of the Philistine temple and brought down the whole building upon the lords of the Philistines, the people of Gaza, and … Continue reading “To Die With the Philistines”

Over the past six years the Bush administration, aided and abetted by Congress, has trashed what used to be described as American foreign policy. Foreign policy once was shaped around the U.S. national interest, but no longer. Vulnerable key allies such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt are now struggling to deal with the consequences … Continue reading “Turkey: Another Ally Lost”

Creating Crisis: Another War in the Balkans? In past articles, Doug Bandow has pointed to the hypocrisy of the United States government in encouraging secession in the Balkans and elsewhere, despite its own history of launching a bloody war costing 630,000 lives in order to prevent secession within its own borders. But Mr. Bandow displays … Continue reading “Backtalk, December 18, 2007”