Month: January 2008

On January 30-31, 1968, the Tet holiday, the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front (NLF, known to Americans as “the Vietcong”) struck at five of the country’s six largest cities, 34 provincial capitals, 64 district capitals, and numerous military bases. NLF sappers even briefly captured part of the heavily fortified American embassy compound in … Continue reading “America’s Forgotten Vietnamese Victims”

The U.S. remains mired in Iraq. The president’s recent trip to the Middle East hit more than the usual roadblocks to achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians or reaching a denuclearization accord with Iran. The Balkans is simmering as Kosovo’s declaration of independence nears. Russia remains sullenly obstructionist. At least Washington is making progress with … Continue reading “Korean Troubles Old and New: Time to Bring the Troops Home”

As the stock market gyrates, and Federal Reserve Board meets by videoconference to inject emergency funds into the system, Chalmers Johnson’s warning that the US empire is not sustainable – that "this is the way empires end" – resonates rather ominously. Johnson, whose most recent book is Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic, … Continue reading “America – A Bankrupt Empire”

The Bush administration had been advertising the "Berlin Sanctions Summit" on Iran as a validation of their long-standing policy of seeking to isolate the Islamic Republic politically and economically in the face of Tehran’s ongoing refusal to submit to the will of the United Nations Security Council when it comes to the matter of suspending … Continue reading “The Sanctions Trap”

Updated at 1:05 a.m. EST, Jan. 25, 2008At least 21 Iraqis were killed and 26 more were wounded a day after a massive bomb blast in Mosul. Among the latest casualties was Mosul’s police chief, who was inspecting yesterday’s bombing site. Meanwhile, no Coalition deaths were reported. In Mosul, gunmen attacked police who were gathered … Continue reading “Thursday: 21 Iraqis Killed, 26 Iraqis Wounded”

with Anthony Fenton VANCOUVER – Despite the government’s official position abstaining from combat in Iraq, Canada has dispatched yet another top general to the command group overseeing day-to-day operations for the US-led occupation and counterinsurgency war. Brigadier-General Nicolas Matern, a Special Forces officer and former commander of Canada’s elite counterterrorism unit, will serve as deputy … Continue reading “Canadian General Takes Senior Command Role in Iraq”

Famous anarchist Emma Goldman once said, "If voting changed anything, they would make it illegal." Following last weekend’s presidential elections in Serbia, the party of the incumbent Boris Tadic must be wishing they had made voting illegal. It appears that "democratic moderate reformers" – epithets Western press routinely uses when describing Tadic and his followers … Continue reading “That Pesky Democracy”

The Iranian defector who was the source of Argentina’s allegation that Iranian officials began planning the Jul. 18, 1994 terror bombing of a Jewish community center at a meeting nearly a year earlier had been dismissed as unreliable by US officials, according to the FBI agent who led the US team assisting the investigation in … Continue reading “US Officials Rejected Key Source on ’94 Argentina Bombing”

The last time my mother was in a hospital, an essay by Thich Nhat Hanh moved in front of my eyes. "Our mother is the teacher who first teaches us love, the most important subject in life," he wrote. "Without my mother I could never have known how to love. Thanks to her I can … Continue reading “In Honor of My Mother and the Power of Love”

"The first use of nuclear weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction." ~Five Western military leaders. I read the statement three times trying to figure out the typo. Then it hit me, the West has now out-Orwellled Orwell: The West must … Continue reading “The West’s Orwellian Monopoly on Morality”