Month: October 2008

While the Pentagon’s budget has risen to heights not seen since World War II, US diplomatic and foreign aid assets have largely atrophied and must be quickly rebuilt by any new administration that takes office in January, according to a new report released here this week by former senior foreign service officers. The report by … Continue reading “Top Ex-Diplomats Slam ‘Militarization’ of Foreign Policy”

As the Washington Post reported yesterday, the US Justice Department has dropped the key allegation against British resident and Guantánamo prisoner Binyam Mohamed – that he was involved, with American citizen Jose Padilla, in a plot to detonate a "dirty bomb" in a US city. For over three years, Binyam’s lawyers at Reprieve, the London-based … Continue reading “Justice Dept. Drops ‘Dirty Bomb Plot’ Allegation Against Binyam Mohamed”

Almost eight months after the US – followed by most NATO members – recognized the occupied Serbian province of Kosovo as a dependent state, the Serbian government finally did something about it. On October 8, the UN General Assembly approved Serbia’s request to seek the opinion of the International Court of Justice about the legality … Continue reading “Cheap Thrills”

Updated at 4:55 p.m. EDT, Oct. 16, 2008A mass grave containing 22 bodies was discovered near Karbala. At least 19 Iraqis were killed and another 60 were wounded in other incidents as well, but no Coalition deaths were reported. The White House dismissed earlier reports that a U.S-Iraqi security deal has been reached. Among issues … Continue reading “Wednesday: 41 Iraqis Killed; 60 Iraqis Wounded”

With only three months left in office, U.S. President George W. Bush appears increasingly determined to calm the international waters he so vigorously churned up, especially during his first term. In just the last several days, he has effectively rehabilitated a charter member of the "Axis of Evil" – North Korea – by agreeing to … Continue reading “Bush Set to Go With a Whimper, Not a Bang”

I wish I had a dollar – oops, better make that a euro – for every recent obituary marking The Death or The Fall or The Collapse or just the End of the American Empire or the American Era. Hey, I would have been able to bail out almost all the world’s troubled financial institutions … Continue reading “Beware of Big Ideas”

Barring a catastrophe – a terrorist attack on American soil, a calamitous gaffe, or the documented revelation that he really is a Muslim after all – it looks like Barack Obama is going to be the 44th president of these United States. Not only that, but I’d bet the farm we’ll have a Democratic Congress, … Continue reading “Goodbye, GOP”

Editor’s note: The following is adapted from Understanding the U.S.-Iran Crisis: A Primer. With George W. Bush’s administration in its last year in office, the danger of a U.S. military attack on Iran still looms as a dangerous possibility. Widespread official government, military, and analytical sources, including the collective assessment of all 16 U.S. intelligence … Continue reading “Understanding the US-Iran Crisis”

Have No Illusions Hi Justin, I myself am a left-wing antiwar activist, but I must say that I love reading your blogs, which I generally agree with wholeheartedly, and I have now gained a great appreciation for the conservative antiwar advocates like yourself. I actually was enamored with Obama back in the spring, having been … Continue reading “Backtalk, October 15, 2008”

At least six Iraqis were killed and 12 more were wounded during light violence across the country. An American soldier was wounded in a small arms attack in Baghdad as well. Also, eight mortar rounds struck a U.S. base in Balad; no casualties were as yet reported. A Sunni minister of parliament alleged that Kurdish … Continue reading “Tuesday: 1 US Soldier, 6 Iraqis Killed; 12 Iraqis Wounded”