Month: September 2008

Updated at 4:58 p.m. EDT, Sept. 14, 2008At least 17 Iraqis were killed and 24 more were wounded in the latest attacks. One U.S. soldier died in a non-combat incident as well. Also, Iraq wants the U.S. and Iran to resume talks on Iraq security that began last year. Meanwhile, the U.S. is trying to … Continue reading “Sunday: 1 US Soldier, 17 Iraqis Killed; 24 Iraqis Wounded”

Updated at 11:46 p.m. EDT, Sept. 13, 2008At least 28 Iraqis were killed and 49 more were wounded in the latest violence, which included an attack on a TV crew in Mosul and a series of bombings in Baghdad. No Coalition deaths were reported.In Baghdad, four people were killed and nine others were wounded when … Continue reading “Saturday: 28 Iraqis Killed, 49 Wounded”

John McCain, his handpicked successor Sarah Palin and their neo-crazy coconspirators are hell-bent upon incorporating Georgia and Ukraine, both former Soviet republics, into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Since they all realize that could well require us to go to war with Russia, sooner or later, perhaps it’s time to revisit On Thermonuclear War, by … Continue reading “On The Beach”

In the twilight of his eight-year term, George W. Bush is the loneliest guy in town these days. Remember him? With the economy in the tank, the Iraq War dragging on with casualties at 2004 levels (which we were all horrified about back then), Bush’s popularity is in the cellar and holding. Republican presidential candidate … Continue reading “Is George W. Bush the Worst President in US History?”

“Long before President McCain was elected,” the three-star general said, “he hinted at attacking Iran in songs and jokes. After the assault, he made his famous address. But we still need citizens to more fully appreciate the victorious details of Operation Bodacious Mayhem.” The most senior officers in each of the armed services nodded, while … Continue reading “Time Machine: Bomb-bomb Iran”

Israel’s enduring use of Palestinian collaborators to entrench the occupation and destroy Palestinian resistance was once the great unmentionable of the Middle East conflict. When the subject was dealt with by the international and local media, it was solely in the context of the failings of the Palestinian legal system, which allowed the summary execution … Continue reading “Israel’s Dark Art of Ensnaring Palestinian Collaborators”

Updated at 11:10 p.m. EDT, Sept. 12, 2008 At least 44 Iraqis were killed and 99 more were wounded during an active prayer day. No Coalition deaths were reported. Meanwhile, peaceful demonstrators in Baghdad and Kufa protested against a U.S-Iraqi security agreement. Also, the U.S. has reached its 2008 Iraqi refugee goal and expects 17,000 … Continue reading “Friday: 44 Iraqis Killed, 99 Wounded”

Seven years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US government is finally getting around to installing radiation scanning devices at major airports. The 9/11 Commission cited this as a major vulnerability four years ago, when their report was released, but we’re just now getting ready to test the equipment at Dulles airport. By the end … Continue reading “Bin Laden Laughs”

If most Americans think Iran and Georgia are the two most volatile flashpoints in the world, one can hardly blame them. The possibility that the Bush administration might strike at Tehran’s nuclear facilities has been hinted about for the past two years, and the White House’s pronouncements on Russia seem like Cold War déjà vu. … Continue reading “Danger in South Asia”

In a little noted passage in her bestselling book, The Dark Side, Jane Mayer offers us a vision, just post-9/11, of the value of one. In October 2001, shaken by a nerve-gas false alarm at the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney, reports Mayer, went underground. He literally embunkered himself in “a secure, undisclosed location,” … Continue reading “The Value of One, the Value of None”