Month: July 2008

It was neoconservative pundit Charles Krauthammer who, in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, inaugurated Washington’s unipolar moment. "America is no mere international citizen. It is the dominant power in the world, more dominant than any since Rome," he wrote then, before the Afghan and Iraq wars, before Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, before … Continue reading “Blogging Brobdingnagian Blowback”

Now that the dust has settled in the spat between journalist Joe Klein and the ideologues at Commentary, it is time to regret the ink spilled over the non-issue of "dual loyalties." The idea that there are U.S. citizens who have equal loyalties to the United States and Israel is passé. American Israel-firsters have long … Continue reading “Turning the Tables
on the Israel-Firsters”

Fisking Feith’s Faulty Case for War Mr. Henderson: You know what simply amazes me is the lack of insight (or maybe it’s just duplicity) of the journalists analyzing or commenting on the rationale for war with Iraq. Not once have I heard anyone question the likelihood of Iraq developing a nuclear arsenal, which was given … Continue reading “Backtalk, July 16, 2008”

Updated at 11:25 p.m. EDT, July 16, 2008A significant bomb attack killed and wounded dozens of army recruits in the restive Diyala province. To the north, a series of bombs disturbed the peace in Mosul. In Baghdad, a mortar attack wounded or killed nearly a dozen there. Overall, at least 56 Iraqis were killed and … Continue reading “Tuesday: 1 US Soldier, 56 Iraqis Killed; 99 Iraqis Wounded”

As a federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. military improperly labeled a Chinese Muslim held at Guantanamo Bay an "enemy combatant" and ordered that he be released, transferred, or granted a new hearing, an influential congressional committee delivered a scathing criticism of China’s closed trial of 15 men on terrorism charges – resulting in … Continue reading “Uyghurs Jailed From Guantanamo to Beijing”

If nothing else, the deaths Sunday of nine U.S. soldiers at a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan close to the Pakistan border are likely to bring home to the U.S. electorate what top national security officials have been saying for much of the past year – that the central front in Washington’s "global war on … Continue reading “Afghan Assault Could Alter Campaign Dynamics”

Last week, the front pages of the world press blossomed with photos of four Iranian rockets, fired in salvo, heading skyward. The image was powerful, and the message reinforced by the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Should Israel attack Iran, said Ali Shira, Tel Aviv will be “set on fire.” U.S. reaction was swift … Continue reading “A Phony Crisis –
and a Real One”

Peter Zimmerman carries august credentials. He is a nuclear physicist. He has degrees from Stanford in experimental nuclear and particle physics. He was the top scientist for arms control at the State Department for a number of years. He later served as chief scientist for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has written scores of … Continue reading “What’s NOT in the
IAEA Iran Reports”

The process whereby the neoconservatives were able to hijack the Republican Party’s foreign policy has been dissected and analyzed frequently over the past two years. Perhaps more disturbing in the long term, however, is their success at hijacking the label "conservative." When broadcast journalists Brian Williams and Katie Couric describe someone as a conservative Republican, … Continue reading “Conservative Confusion on Iran”

Updated at 9:05 p.m. EDT, July 14, 2008At least 16 Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded in the latest round of violence. One U.S. soldier died from a non-combat related incident as well. In Baghdad, three people were killed and 14 others were wounded when a hand grenade was lobbed at them during … Continue reading “Monday: 1 US Soldier, 16 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded”