Month: December 2007

Updated at 7:40 p.m. EST, Dec. 14, 2007At least 25 Iraqis were killed or found dead and eight more were wounded on an extremely quiet prayer day. Meanwhile, one hostage was freed in Diwaniya. Also, two U.S. soldiers were killed in separate incidents yesterday. Fridays are the Muslim prayer day, and many journalists consider it … Continue reading “Friday: 2 US Soldiers, 25 Iraqis Killed; 8 Iraqis Wounded”

RAMADI – Many Iraqis are angry that the government seems to be picking favorites for the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims are obliged to carry out the pilgrimage, as long as they are able-bodied and can afford to, at least once in their lifetime. Saudi Arabia, where the holy site of Mecca is … Continue reading “In Iraq, Not Even the Hajj is Free of Corruption”

Ron Paul’s simultaneous reenactment of the Goldwater and McCarthy (Eugene, not Joe) campaigns has excited a wave of enthusiasm on both sides of the political spectrum – and also a much less enthusiastic reaction from committed ideologues, left and right. While they come at the Paul campaign from different angles, both wind up with surprisingly … Continue reading “Ron Paul: Slings and Arrows, Left and Right”

Public opinion polls have consistently shown that the majority of Americans – and even a larger majority of Democrats – believe that Iraq is the most important issue of the day, that it was wrong for the United States to have invaded that country, and the United States should completely withdraw its forces in short … Continue reading “Hillary Clinton on Iraq”

While much attention has been given to Senator Hillary Clinton’s support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, her foreign policy record regarding other international conflicts and her apparent eagerness to accept the use of force appears to indicate that her fateful vote authorizing the invasion and her subsequent support for the occupation and counter-insurgency war … Continue reading “Hillary Clinton’s Illiberal Belligerence”

I‘m off in Norway today, the guest of some folks interested in U.S. foreign policy. They want me to explain what Americans think of international events and how policymakers formulate foreign policy. It’s a daunting, or perhaps more accurately, an embarrassing, task. Americans know very little about the world. Their ignorance is almost charming. In … Continue reading “Embarrassed to Explain US Foreign Policy”

Updated at 11:25 p.m. EST, Dec. 13, 2007This week’s surge in violence continues with at least 46 Iraqi dead and 47 Iraqi wounded in the latest attacks. Another five who were killed appear to be Arab foreigners. Also, a Navy Seal was killed in combat on Tuesday, while a British soldier died from wounds received … Continue reading “Thursday: 1 US Sailor, 1 British Soldier, 46 Iraqis Killed; 47 Iraqis Wounded”

US Jews appear to have become more opposed both to Israel’s making key concessions in renewed peace talks with Palestinians and to the US carrying out a military attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to the latest in an annual series of surveys of Jewish opinion released here this week by the American Jewish Committee … Continue reading “US Jews Tilt Rightwards on Israel”

The left wing of the antiwar movement has some very serious problems, mainly our inability to recognize that the antiwar sentiment in the United States is resonating far beyond the confines of the so-called “left.” We cannot step back and effectively analyze the failures of the antiwar movement without peering under the hood of John … Continue reading “Antiwar Left Should Look Beyond Democrats”

A boyish, inquisitive face with an innocent look peered out from the Washington Post’s lead story yesterday on torture. It was well groomed, pink-shirted John Kiriakou, a CIA interrogator who could just as easily pass for the local youth minister. The report by the Post’s Joby Warrick and Dan Eggen, which describes Kiriakou’s experience in … Continue reading “Are Americans Really ‘Better Than That’?”