Month: February 2008

I am hardly of the party that thinks democracy as such is the key to all things true and beautiful in politics; indeed, I’m generally persuaded that the majority is almost always wrong, that any policy labeled "populist" is likely to be informed by ignorance, and that if my view tends to accord with that … Continue reading “Hope in Pakistan?”

BAGHDAD – What the US has been calling the success of a "surge," many Iraqis see as evidence of catastrophe. Where US forces point to peace and calm, local Iraqis find an eerie silence. And when US forces speak of a reduction in violence, many Iraqis simply do not know what they are talking about. … Continue reading “Iraqis: ‘Surge’ Is a Catastrophe”

With the occupation of Iraq soon to enter its sixth year and the looming possibility of war against Iran, it’s easy for Americans not to notice the Bush administration’s attempt to expand the U.S. military presence in Europe. A new Cold War between the United States and Russia threatens. And the U.S. media is paying … Continue reading “Pushing Missile Defense in Europe”

Updated at 8:50 p.m. EST, Feb. 22, 2008At least 30 Iraqis were killed and another 39 were wounded during increased violence. Meanwhile, an American soldier died of a non-combat illness, and several GIs were wounded during a bombing in Balad. Hostilities at the Turkish border left at leave five Turkish soldiers and 24 PKK separatists … Continue reading “Friday: 1 US Soldier, 30 Iraqis, 5 Turkish Soldiers, 24 PKK Killed; 39 Iraqis Wounded”

Independent arms-control critics here say that Wednesday’s successful strike by a missile launched from a US warship in the Pacific Ocean of a dying spy satellite will add to growing fears in Russia and China that Washington is determined to assert military dominance in space. They are deeply skeptical of the Pentagon’s explanation that it … Continue reading “Satellite Shootdown Fuels Fears of New Space Race”

President George W. Bush and his director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, are telling the American people that an unaccountable executive branch is necessary for their protection. Without the Protect America Act, Bush and McConnell claim, the executive branch will not be able to spy on terrorists, and we will all be blown up. Terrorists … Continue reading “Protecting America – From the President”

Back in December, I said this election year would be characterized by the collapse of the alleged "front-runners" – i.e. presidential candidates favored by the pundits and the Beltway know-it-alls – and so it has come to pass. Barack Obama has upended the supposedly inevitable Hillary, and the GOP electorate, too, has humbled those formerly … Continue reading “The Year of the Insurgents”

According to the New Yorker’s Paul Kramer, here’s what A.F. Miller of the 32nd Volunteer Infantry Regiment wrote in a letter to the Omaha World-Herald in May 1900 from the Philippines about the treatment of a prisoner taken by his unit: “Now, this is the way we give them the water cure. Lay them on … Continue reading “Visiting the Torture Museum”

Serbia did not have to wait long to be “rewarded” for the narrow re-election of Europhile president Boris Tadic; precisely two weeks after the runoff vote, the EU and the Empire made their move. On Sunday, February 17, the Albanian provisional government of the occupied province of Kosovo declared independence, and requested international recognition. By … Continue reading “Day of Infamy”

No End in Sight: Iraq’s Descent into Chaos Charles H. Ferguson PublicAffairs, 2008 640 pp. As is typical in Washington, the administration has solved the crisis in Iraq by redefining success. No longer is the goal a liberal, multi-ethnic nation ready to lead the rest of the Middle East towards democracy, enlightenment, and the American … Continue reading “No End in Sight: Iraq’s Descent into Chaos“