Month: May 2008

The War Party has a reliable strategy when faced with a rising political figure who threatens their monopoly on American politics, one that is time-tested and invariably successful: when all else fails, they bring out the Smear Bund. This is a term coined by John T. Flynn, I believe, in the run-up to the outbreak … Continue reading “Divert, Distract, and Demonize”

Christianity and War and Other Essays Against the Warfare State Laurence M. Vance Vance Publications (Pensacola, Fl.), 2008 418 pp. By Doug Bandow One of the great ironies of modern Christianity is how warlike many Christians are. Not all Christians, certainly. And many believers at many times in history have put state and ruler before … Continue reading “Christianity and War“

Updated at 9:00 p.m. EDT, May 1, 2008At least 93 Iraqis were killed and 212 more were wounded in the latest violence. Two mass grave were found in Duluiya, but the number of bodies was not reported yet. An American soldier was killed during a car bombing today in central Baghdad. Also, the DOD announced … Continue reading “Thursday: 2 US Soldiers, 93 Iraqis Killed; 212 Iraqis Wounded”

The price of oil and other international economic issues are rapidly taking center stage among the dominant foreign policy concerns of the US public, which has also become increasingly skeptical about the effectiveness of military action to further Washington’s interests abroad, according to a major new survey released Wednesday by the influential Foreign Affairs journal. … Continue reading “Economy High in US Public’s Foreign Policy Worries”

The already high stakes in the battle for the future of Serbia were raised again on Tuesday, when Serbian officials signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union. With less than two weeks left before the general elections, the move was supposed to be a boost for the Europhile bloc, led by … Continue reading “Much Ado About Nothing”

One of the central tenets of the US containment strategy during the Cold War was the belief in Moscow as well as in the capitals of America’s allies across the Atlantic and the Pacific that in a crisis with the Communist powers, Americans would risk New York, Chicago and Los Angeles for London and Bonn, … Continue reading “Need a (Nuclear) Umbrella? Call Hillary”

With nine months left in office, the Bush administration has opened negotiations with the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that are expected to set parameters within which future relationships between Iraq and the United States will be conducted. The end product, as presently envisioned by Washington, will be either one document with two major … Continue reading “Base-less Strategy”