Month: August 2008

[A TomDispatch recommendation: Bill Moyers had Andrew Bacevich on his Journal for an hour Friday night, discussing his new book, The Limits of Power (which is now the number one bestseller at Amazon.com). It was nothing short of a tutorial for the American people on the three-pronged crisis that faces us – economic, political, and … Continue reading “Double Standards in the Global War on Terror: Anthrax Department”

“This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten a neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government, and get away with it.” – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Aug. 14, 2008 Condi Rice seems to think the invasions of Czechoslovakia and Georgia are quite comparable, except that this time the invaders … Continue reading “Please Mr. President,
Don’t Make Promises to Fools”

The Real Aggressor Close, Justin, but no cigar. The real aggressor in the Russia-Georgia fight is the fight promoter, the U.S. Our government trained, armed, and equipped the Georgian army to be among the strongest, pound for pound, in the world. We coached them to bomb the population center of Tskhinvali. And the U.S. had … Continue reading “Backtalk, August 19, 2008”

Updated at 5:48 p.m. EDT, August 18, 2008At least 14 people were killed and 34 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Baghdad suffered a number of bombs, but no Coalition deaths were reported. U.S. forces showered two civilians with bullets in the Makhmour area. The man and his son died of their wounds.In Baghdad, … Continue reading “Monday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 34 Wounded”

In covering the story of Iran’s role in Iraq, far too many reporters have passed on blatant propaganda without the slightest effort to point out its inconsistency with documented facts, much less to try to uncover the truth. But a story by Pamela Hess of Associated Press distributed Aug. 15 sets a new standard for … Continue reading “AP’s Iran-Trained Hit Squads Story: Iraq News Nadir?”

No one ever believed the Americans’ explanation of why they wanted to base interceptor missiles in Poland, of all places, some 20 years after the fall of the Soviet empire – not even the Americans. The idea, said Washington, is to defend the Poles against the alleged threat of an attack from… Iran, which has … Continue reading “Russophobia: A Political Pathology”

George Orwell once made an important distinction between patriotism and nationalism, one that has since been elaborated upon many times by others, notably the quirky but often insightful historian John Lukacs, but that still has not caught on sufficiently, apparently, to have much of an impact on what we might call our national consciousness: "By … Continue reading “A Familiar Enemy”

Updated at 11:22 p.m. EDT, Aug. 17, 2008With the end of the Shabaniyah observance, Shi’ites are returning to their home cities from Karbala. No major events were reported in the city. Iraqi newspapers have ceased publication for the day. Overall, 19 Iraqis were killed and 40 others were wounded in violent attacks elsewhere. Two people … Continue reading “Sunday: 19 Iraqis Killed, 40 Wounded”

Updated at 11:10 p.m. EDT, Aug. 16, 2008Shi’ite pilgrims gathered by the hundreds of thousands in Karbala today for the Shabaniyah observance, which culminates tomorrow night. Due to the holiday, there will be less news reports coming out of the country. Across Iraq, at least nine Iraqis were killed and another 16 were wounded, some … Continue reading “Saturday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 16 Wounded”

U.S. officials privately admit being concerned that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki has become "overconfident" about his government’s ability to manage without US combat troops, according to an Iraq analyst who just returned from a trip to Iraq arranged by US commander General David Petraeus. Colin Kahl, a fellow at the Center for a … Continue reading “US Officials Admit Worry over a ‘Difficult’ al-Maliki”