Month: January 2009

President George W. Bush has been using his last weeks in office making the case that he was not a disaster as president. There’s not much else for him to do – after all, no one cares what he thinks about the issues. Everyone, even those who voted for John McCain, are waiting for Barack … Continue reading “Assessing the Bush Administration: A Foreign Catastrophe at Every Turn”

Just two weeks ago, in a habeas corpus case in a Washington, DC, court, Judge Richard Leon turned the clock back to January 11, 2002 (the day Guantánamo opened) by ruling that the US government could continue holding two prisoners at Guantánamo – the Yemeni Muaz al-Alawi and the Tunisian Hisham Sliti – because the … Continue reading “Judge Orders Release of Guantánamo’s Forgotten Child”

Outgoing CIA Director Michael Hayden is going around town telling folks he has warned President-elect Barack Obama "personally and forcefully" that if Obama authorizes an investigation into controversial activities like waterboarding, "no one in Langley will ever take a risk again." Upon learning this from what we former intelligence officers used to call an "A-1 … Continue reading “What’s CIA Director Hayden Hidin’?”

The Pentagon pours vast sums of money into many things – and it isn’t only what you imagine. It’s not just weapons and equipment, nor even technological and scientific research. Don’t forget, for instance, the military money that goes into conferences to talk about carrying out more technological and scientific research to create more weapons … Continue reading “Future Shock at the Army Science Conference”

The role played by Israel as the catalyst for war in the Middle East was dramatically underscored the other day, when David Sanger of the New York Times reported Israel had requested access to “bunker-buster” bombs developed by the US, and also clearance for flying over Iraqi airspace to get at Iran. Both requests were … Continue reading “Israel versus America”

Updated at 9:25 p.m. EST, Jan. 15, 2009Pentagon officials today admitted working on a 16-month exit plan for U.S. troops in Iraq; however, it remains just one of several possible scenarios. In Iraq, violence took the lives of nine Iraqis and wounded another six on a mostly quiet day. No Coalition deaths were reported. In … Continue reading “Thursday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 6 Wounded”

A broad spectrum of groups and individuals is urging President-elect Barack Obama to go beyond his campaign pledge to lift curbs on travel and remittances to their homeland by Cuban Americans and launch a much broader process of normalization with Havana. Several analysts contacted by IPS said they were encouraged by Tuesday’s testimony by Secretary … Continue reading “Obama Urged to Take Bold Steps Toward Cuba Normalization”

Just a week into 2009, the new Cold War between Washington and Moscow got a whole lot colder. What seemed like a minor dispute between Moscow's gas conglomerate Gazprom and its Ukrainian counterpart quickly evolved into a major energy and political crisis, leaving much of Europe without heat during an unusually cold snap. About 80% … Continue reading “A Freezing War”

ARISH, Egypt – Yesterday, en route to the Rafah border crossing that leads into Gaza, our driver pointed to a long line of trucks laden with goods that are desperately needed in every area of Gaza. "You see," he said, "all of this is to help people." Generous people, around the world, want Gazans to … Continue reading “Cease Fire, Cease Siege”

All of the suffering in Gaza – indeed, all of the suffering endured by Palestinians under Israeli occupation for the last eight years – could have been avoided if Israel negotiated a peace agreement with Yasser Arafat when it had the chance, in 2001. What chance? The official Israeli position is that there was no … Continue reading “Does Israeli Intelligence Lie?”