Month: December 2008

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water… After all, that massive U.S. air attack on Iran that anti-imperial critics long expected to arrive, that Seymour Hersh wrote about, that so many feared, never happened and, with Barack Obama’s election, should certainly have been put to rest in a deep … Continue reading “Is Iran Policy Still Up for Grabs?”

The Washington, D.C., metro is following in the footsteps of the New York subway and is now conducting random searches of passengers. The justification given for further eroding the Fourth Amendment (which guarantees "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not … Continue reading “More Security, Less Secure”

A broad coalition of Jewish lobby groups has made a series of breakthroughs this year in its campaign to link the question of justice for millions of Palestinian refugees with justice for Jews who left Arab states in the wake of Israel’s establishment 60 years ago. Referring to these Jews as the "forgotten refugees" and … Continue reading “Campaign for ‘Forgotten Refugees’ Downplays Palestinian Losses”

Updated at 4:15 p.m. EST, Dec. 2, 2008A second day of bombings in northern Iraq left dozens of casualties. Overall at least 18 Iraqis were killed and 49 more were wounded across the country. No Coalition deaths were reported. Meanwhile, "Chemical Ali", Saddam Hussein’s cousin, was sentenced to death for the second time on charges … Continue reading “Tuesday: 18 Iraqis Killed, 49 Wounded”

Introducing the top figures in his national security team in Chicago Monday, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama promised a "new dawn of American leadership" that will be marked by much greater emphasis on diplomacy and multilateralism than was accorded by the incumbent, George W. Bush. Obama said all of his appointees, who featured current Pentagon chief … Continue reading “Diplomacy, Multilateralism Stressed by Obama Team”

Arguably the most successful act of revolutionary terror was the June 1914 assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Believing his mission to murder the heir to the Austrian throne had failed, Gavrilo Princip suddenly found himself standing a few feet away from the royal car. He fired twice, mortally wounding the archduke and … Continue reading “The Rationale of Terror”

Undeterred by massive budget deficits from wars, a falling economy, and financial bailouts, the U.S. government has managed to start a new cold war with Russia. Last Friday, the Russian military announced that it was developing a new generation of ballistic missiles in response to the U.S. government’s decision to deploy ballistic missile defenses in … Continue reading “The Cost of Hegemony Is Beyond Reach”

Either way, we’ll be leaving. Thanksgiving week was remarkable because it may have witnessed the last nails being driven into the coffin of America’s ongoing colonial enterprise. On Tuesday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai angrily denounced the creation of a parallel carpetbagger government to be run by the United States and NATO in his country. He … Continue reading “Get Out Now,
or Get Out Later”

Updated at 7:36 p.m. EST, Dec. 1, 2008At least 58 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 112 were wounded in the latest violence. There were not many incidents, but the few that were reported were too significant to slip through the cracks. Meanwhile, South Korean troops ended their mission in Arbil. The U.S. … Continue reading “Monday: 58 Iraqis Killed, 112 Wounded”

As the euphoria of the Obama cult builds toward a climax and the pundits declaim the advent of Something Big, it’s the small changes that concern me, particularly those that touch directly on my job, which is to sniff out the War Party wherever it is presently burrowed. The election of Barack Obama has been … Continue reading “The End of the Affair”