Month: June 2008

Updated at 12:50 a.m. EDT, June 12, 2008At 26 Iraqis were killed and 40 more were wounded, mostly during a series of explosions in Baghdad. Two U.S. military deaths were reported as well. Meanwhile, the Iraqi ambassador in Tehran said a bomb was found at his home, but Iranian authorities claimed a suspicious package was … Continue reading “Wednesday: 2 U.S. Soldiers, 26 Iraqis Killed; 40 Iraqis Wounded”

Pentagon officials firmly opposed a proposal by Vice President Dick Cheney last summer for air strikes against Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bases by insisting that the administration would have to make clear decisions about how far the United States would go in escalating the conflict with Iran, according to a former George W. Bush … Continue reading “Fearing Escalation, Pentagon Fought Cheney Iran Plan”

Scott McClellan, the most significant defector from behind the Iron Curtain of the War Party’s domain, doesn’t think we were lied into war. According to him, it was all due to the “partisan” attitudes that dominate Washington discourse on every issue. As he puts it, “the permanent campaign” atmosphere made them do it: “I don’t … Continue reading “‘Faster, Please!’”

UNITED NATIONS – This week, Iran’s new speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, proposed forming two joint committees of the legislative and judiciary branches in an effort to reconcile new legislation with the Islamic penal code. The step is viewed as part of Larinaji’s enthusiasm to build strategic alliances within Iran’s political establishment to enhance the … Continue reading “Ahmadinejad Faces Heavyweight Foe in Larijani”

Two weeks ago, I wrote a brief article in remembrance of Abdul Rahman al-Amri, a Saudi prisoner at Guantánamo, and a long-term hunger striker, who died on May 30, 2007, apparently by committing suicide. June 10 was another bleak and overlooked anniversary, as it was exactly two years ago that the news was announced that … Continue reading “Suicide and Irony at Guantánamo”

The Internet teaches its own lessons, often painfully quickly. In April 2005, I followed an urge, as I often did in those days. Our president, who would soon claim to be spending his spare time absorbing meaty books like King Leopold’s Ghost, Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power, and Mao: The Unknown Story, was … Continue reading “One Man’s Online Journey Through Bush’s Alphabet Soup”

“To have your cake and eat it too” is a popular figure of speech meaning to try to have two incompatible things. Of course, comedian George Carlin pointed out that the phrase doesn’t make complete sense: “When people say, ‘Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too,’ what good is a … Continue reading “Having Your Cake and
Eating It Too”

Intelligence [sic] Committee Report Gordon Prather, Congratulations and thank you for being the first writer to provide a link to the actual report [.pdf] in your comments. I had found it for myself via Google searching, but nowhere in the many articles I’ve read on the subject. Does anyone but you make it easy for … Continue reading “Backtalk, June 11, 2008”

Updated at 12:05 a.m. EDT, June 11,2008Although the assassination of the head of Saddam Hussein’s tribe rocked the country today, it was a relatively quiet day marked mostly by arrests and detentions. At least 19 Iraqis were killed and 26 were wounded in attacks. No Coalition troop deaths were reported. The head of the al-Bu … Continue reading “Tuesday: 19 Iraqis Killed; 26 Wounded; Tribal Leader Assassinated”

With the Iranian nuclear "threat" in the crosshairs, discussion of Palestinians or a Syrian-Israeli détente was virtually nonexistent. But then again, one should not expect many overtures for peace when attending the annual policy conference for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). As more than 5,000 Jewish-American activists ascended Capitol Hill last week, the … Continue reading “Pledging Allegiance to AIPAC”