Month: June 2008

During the tenure of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the Army was the military service in the doghouse. Under his successor, Robert Gates, it appears to be the Air Force. Recently, Secretary Gates took the unprecedented step of firing the top civilian and military leaders of the service for its snafus with nuclear weapons and … Continue reading “Can the Air Force Be Reformed?”

The following is taken from a talk delivered at the Conference for the Right of Return and the Secular Democratic State, held in Haifa on June 21. In 1895 Theodor Herzl, Zionism’s chief prophet, confided in his diary that he did not favor sharing Palestine with the natives. Better, he wrote, to "try to spirit … Continue reading “Zionism’s Dead End”

Updated at 6:52 p.m. EDT, June 27, 2008Blaming a sandstorm, U.S. forces delayed the handover of Anbar province to Iraqi security forces. Yesterday, a bombing there killed over 20 people including U.S. Marines and local tribal leaders. At least 10 Iraqis were killed and six were wounded across Iraq today. Because it is the weekly … Continue reading “Friday: 10 Iraqis Killed, 6 Wounded”

Of the Axis-of-Evil nations named in his State of the Union in 2002, President Bush has often said, “The United States will not permit the world’s most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world’s most destructive weapons.” He failed with North Korea. Will he accept failure in Iran, though there is no hard evidence … Continue reading “Who’s Planning Our Next War?”

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has become a neoconservative heart-throb since he appears to genuinely admire the U.S. He also is a mercantilist, protectionist, and nationalist. Common positions all, but none advance America’s interest. Browbeating Ireland to reverse the results of its recent referendum rejecting the Lisbon Treaty, which would consolidate power in Brussels and create, … Continue reading “Turning the Recurring Joke of a New European Defense Policy into Reality”

A person my age has watched many things decline in America, and few get better. As one of my neighbors says, everything good is gone or going. In that category we must now include good reporting. When I started work in Washington in 1973, it was axiomatic that a newspaper reporter talked to many sources … Continue reading “The Yellow Press”

Updated at at 11:11 p.m. EDT, June 26, 2008A pair of significant bombings shook Iraq today and underscored how tenuous the security gains made in the last few months actually are. Three U.S. Marines were among the dead in the attack in Karma. At least 48 Iraqis were killed and 119 more were wounded across … Continue reading “Thursday: 3 Marines, 48 Iraqis Killed; 119 Iraqis Wounded”

Proponents of a US military withdrawal from Iraq routinely brush off criticisms that their ideas are "irresponsible". But until today, the charge that withdrawal cannot be accomplished responsibly – and just how that would be done – has never been coherently answered. With the release Wednesday of the report "Quickly, Carefully, and Generously: The Necessary … Continue reading “A Blueprint for Iraq Withdrawal”

On the eve of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a bipartisan group of some 200 religious leaders and former top US national security and military officers launched a campaign for a presidential order to outlaw torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of all detainees. The campaign, consisting of a "Declaration of … Continue reading “Anti-Torture Campaign Wins Influential Backers”

There is a proverb in the Balkans, probably as old as civilization: where drills fail, money will do. It seems a fitting byline for the unraveling of some six weeks of political drama, following the May 11 general elections. At first, it seemed that President Tadic and the Democratic Party were celebrating prematurely; their coalition, … Continue reading “Return of the Reds”