Month: January 2008

Last year, the United States woke up to the reality of hundreds of thousands of soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan – and began to grapple with what to do about it. On Feb. 18, 2007, the headline "Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Army’s Top Medical Facility" splashed across the front page of one of … Continue reading “Wounded Vets Trade One Hell for Another”

As we observe the slow and increasingly certain disintegration of Pakistan, we should force ourselves to confront an uncomfortable fact: events in Pakistan are to a large degree side effects of our war in Afghanistan. The Jan. 12 Washington Times headline was "Pentagon Spies al-Qaeda in Pakistan," as if this were somehow news. It quotes … Continue reading “Side Effects of Our War in Afghanistan”

My regular column won’t appear today: I’m traveling back from my Mom’s funeral. Elvera Raimondo was a real character: strong and independent long before the Women’s Lib movement, holder of multiple jobs that enabled me to get out of the rotten public school system (after I’d been thrown out) and attend private schools, and a … Continue reading “In Mourning”

On the American Film Institute‘s (AFI) list of the 100 best American movies, Casablanca has twice (in 1998 and 2007) been the runner-up to the Orson Welles classic Citizen Kane (Casablanca was voted the number one love story by AFI in 2002). On AFI’s list of top 100 movie quotes, Casablanca had six, more than … Continue reading “Shocked, Shocked by Bush’s Broken Promises”

Updated at 11:45 p.m. EST, Jan. 15, 2008At least 15 Iraqis were killed and 38 were wounded in mostly small bombings. No Coalition deaths were reported. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Iraq and praised reconciliation efforts there. Also, Turkish jets resumed attacks on targets in northern Iraq. In … Continue reading “Tuesday: 15 Iraqis Killed, 38 Wounded”

As the world marks the sixth anniversary of the arrival of the first orange-jumpsuit-clad prisoners at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, human rights groups are attempting to focus public and congressional scrutiny on what some are calling "the other Gitmo." It is a prison located on the U.S. military base in the … Continue reading “Afghan Prison Looks Like Another Guantanamo”

BAGHDAD – The newly formed "Awakening" forces set up by the U.S. military are bringing new conflict. For months now the U.S. military has been actively building what it calls Awakening forces and "concerned local citizens" in an effort to reduce attacks on occupation forces. Members of the forces, which comprise primarily former resistance fighters … Continue reading “Iraqis ‘Awake’ to a New Danger”

Which of the two men is the leader of the greatest power on earth and which is the boss of a small client state? A visitor from another planet, attending the press conference in Jerusalem, would find it hard not to answer: Olmert is the president of the great power, Bush is his vassal. Olmert … Continue reading “The Hands of Esau”

Just as the Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference morphed largely into an exercise in lining up a coalition against Iran, so too is President George W. Bush’s first visit to Israel quickly becoming the latest round of Tehran-bashing. The trip, which was initially framed as an effort to jump-start peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, … Continue reading “US, Iran One Misstep
From the Edge”

Updated at 11:50 p.m EST, Jan. 14, 2008At least 56 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 11 were wounded in the latest violence. Most of the deaths reported today were suspected gunmen in the Diyala province, but even the now-quiet Anbar province saw multiple attacks. No Coalition troops were reported killed. Also, the … Continue reading “Monday: 56 Iraqis Killed, 11 Wounded”