Month: March 2008

America is an amazing place – one of the wealthiest and freest nations on earth. Yet because Europe has so many more cultures and languages in one contained area, Americans, compared to their European brethren, seem like country bumpkins in their knowledge and understanding of what is happening in the world. Unfortunately, this tin ear … Continue reading “Accepting Reality Is No Vice; Being Oblivious Is No Virtue”

The USS Cole isn’t engaged in a sightseeing tour of the Eastern Mediterranean: its sudden deployment just “over the horizon” near Lebanon – in tandem with two other warships – is a clear sign that the Americans are preparing for something big. That’s what the Arab world seems to believe, anyway, if you listen to … Continue reading “Lebanon: The Unknown Crisis”

End the Cuban Embargo [T]he United States’ policy is based on the carrot and stick approach. The embargo is stick, and removing it is the carrot. We want something from Cuba that only the Castro brothers can give, and that’s the release of political prisoners and respect for basic human rights and civil liberties. Many … Continue reading “Backtalk, March 3, 2008”

Updated at 11:53 p.m. EST, March 2, 2008The U.S. military reported killing a Saudi national believed to be a leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Meanwhile, Sunnis held demonstrations against the President Ahmadinejad’s visit as Shi’ites welcomed the Iranian leader. In the latest violence, 33 Iraqis were killed and 41 more were wounded. No Coalition deaths … Continue reading “Sunday: 33 Iraqis Killed, 41 Wounded”

Updated at 5:50 p.m. EST, March 1, 2008At least 15 Iraqis were killed and 21 others were wounded in the latest round of violence; a British airman was also killed during a rocket attack in Basra. Meanwhile, in Diyala province, Awakening Council members returned to their posts after a three-week “strike” protesting the police chief. … Continue reading “Saturday: 1 British Airman, 15 Iraqis Killed; 21 Iraqis Wounded”

Sisyphus was a character in Greek mythology, condemned to roll a huge rock to the top of a steep hill, with said accursed rock rolling back down again the moment Sisyphus thought he had accomplished his task. In the modern version of this Greek tragedy, G. Aghazadeh, Vice-President of Iran and President of the Atomic … Continue reading “Iran’s Sisyphean Task”

Another high-ranking George W. Bush administration official has resigned. The Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Benefits Daniel Cooper quit Thursday amid mounting criticism over a backlog of disability claims for injured veterans that runs six months long and an appearance he made in a fundraising video for an evangelical Christian organization where he said … Continue reading “Embattled Veterans Official Resigns Post”

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as they demonstrated in this week’s televised presidential debate, are firmly against the war in Iraq — Barack earlier but Hillary even more firmly than before. At least that’s what they say. It’s worth remembering that at a much later stage in the campaign in 2000 George W. Bush … Continue reading “Democrats Offer Only Shallow Changes”

BAQUBA – US backed Sahwa forces threaten to destabilize US-backed Iraqi government forces in Iraq’s volatile Diyala province. The "Awakening Councils," known locally as the Sahwa, have left their centers in cities and districts around the capital of Diyala province, located 40 km northeast of Baghdad. After seeing better security and stability brought about by … Continue reading “Tensions Rise Between ‘Awakening’ and Iraqi Govt Forces”

BAQUBA – New plant diseases, attacks by occupation forces and escalating fuel prices are strangling farmers in Diyala province. Prior to the US-led invasion of March 2003, farmers in Baquba, the capital city of Diyala province 40 km northeast of Baghdad, struggled with plant diseases they believed were caused by bombs dropped during the US-led … Continue reading “Occupation Strangles Farmers”