Month: November 2008

It may become a biennial ritual. Every two years, if the commander in chief (or the commander in chief-elect) says he wants to throw more troops into an unwinnable war for no clear reason other than his political advantage, panderer in chief Robert Gates will shout "Outstanding!" Never mind what the commanders in the field … Continue reading “Robert Gates’ Urge to Surge”

Updated at 3:57 p.m. EST, Nov. 23, 2008At least 11 Iraqis were killed and another 37 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Eight of the dead were from the discovery of a mass grave in Babel province. No Coalition deaths were reported, but U.S. military officials reported that Kurdish authorities purchased arms from Bulgaria, … Continue reading “Sunday: 11 Iraqis Killed, 37 Wounded”

At least 12 Iraqi deaths were reported today, none in Baghdad or Mosul where bombings occur on a daily basis. Ten of the dead were found in a mass grave south of the capital. Meanwhile, a parliamentary vote on a U.S.-Iraqi security pact is now set for Wednesday. Also, hundreds of tribesmen near Mosul demonstrated … Continue reading “Saturday: 12 Iraqis Killed, Mass Grave Found”

The previous Clinton-Gore administrations – acting at the behest of various well-funded groups of activists in this country and the complicit Best Congress Money Can Buy – attempted to convert various regimes (Muslim and otherwise) in other nation-states to regimes more sympathetic to those activists’ beliefs. First, by the imposition of sanctions. And if that … Continue reading “Meeting the Challenges of 2025”

President-elect Barack Obama – showing the obligatory toughness toward foreign "evildoers" needed (especially by Democrats) in American political campaigns – pledged to use the American military to go after al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Of all people, his hawkish rival, Senator John McCain, who supported the unprovoked US invasion and occupation of Iraq, criticized Obama’s approach toward … Continue reading “Military Action May Sometimes Be Moral and Constitutional, But Not Smart”

Updated at 5:00 p.m. EST, Nov. 21, 2008Although the prayer day tends to be relatively peaceful, a massive demonstration took place in Baghdad at the behest of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Across Iraq, three people were killed and another 20 were wounded, mostly in Baghdad. Three U.S. servicemembers died in three separate incidents as well. … Continue reading “Friday: 3 GIs, 3 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded”

While the United States will remain the world’s single most powerful country in 2025, it will be less dominant and more constrained in its freedom of action – even in the military sphere – than it is now, according to a major new report released here Thursday by the government’s National Intelligence council (NIC). Instead, … Continue reading “Intelligence Analysts See Multi-Polar, Risky World By 2025”

Capping a nearly two-year consultation involving dozens of US and international leaders, a new report by three US think tanks is calling on President-elect Barack Obama and other leaders to implement sweeping reforms in global governance to more effectively tackle shared regional and global threats over the next half century. "Global governance is the number … Continue reading “Greybeards Urge Overhaul of Global Governance”

We had a breather during the final stretch of the presidential election campaign, but the way is now cleared for a renewal of the propaganda campaign urging war with Iran. The latest salvo: a UN report claiming Iran plans on building 3,000 new centrifuges, and headlines are screaming – in the West, at any rate … Continue reading “Stop Hillary!”

John McCain’s defeat has set off a scramble to control the Republican Party’s ideological soul. The GOP should learn from Sen. McCain’s mistakes. Despite his reputation as a foreign policy guru, his neoconservative instincts invariably led him astray. His embarrassing embrace of Georgia’s unstable Mikheil Saakashvili highlighted McCain’s poor judgment, though the Republican Party’s problem … Continue reading “Learning from John McCain’s Mistakes: Supporting Aggression in the Caucasus”