Month: February 2009

The Bush administration came to represent everything bad about American foreign policy. George W. Bush is gone. But the foreign policy remains. The battle for peace, prosperity, and liberty continues. It’s a difficult and frustrating struggle. Although the two big political parties create endless sturm und drang when fighting for votes, they actually disagree on … Continue reading “Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty: The Battle Continues”

So, you thought it was all going to be different, did you, that we were in for a change – a Big Change? Well, the bad news, as Newsweek reports, is that the more things change ….  “The Pentagon is prepared to announce the deployment of 17,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan as early … Continue reading “Endgame? What Endgame? “

President Barack Obama’s message of Change has reached Iran, but Iran is skeptical. Change is welcomed, they say, as long as it’s a real, substantive change and not just political maneuvering. Formal communication between the Obama administration and Iran officially commenced with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s letter of congratulations, released one day after the election on … Continue reading “Iran to Obama: Show Us the Change”

A suicide bombing in Diyala province overshadowed today’s release of provincial election results. Attacks against political candidates and other officials continued as well. Overall, at least 20 Iraqis were killed and 17 more were wounded across Iraq. No Coalition deaths were reported. Signaling a predicted and dramatic sea change, election results were released today. Secular … Continue reading “Thursday: 21 Iraqis Killed, 19 Wounded”

Despite a shrinking national economy and a record defense budget, U.S. neoconservatives and other hawks are mounting a spirited – if misleading – campaign to persuade Congress that the military should get a bigger slice. They are calling on Congress and President Barack Obama to boost military spending next year even beyond the projections made … Continue reading “Hawks Urge Boosting Military Spending”

In what promises to be the first major test of the Barack Obama administration’s new approach to the rule of law, the Supreme Court will soon hear what could be one of the most consequential cases in U.S. history. It will be asked to answer the question: Can a U.S. president declare a legal resident … Continue reading “Indefinite Detention Case to Test Obama’s Pledges”

A prominent law professor says the U.S. Defense Department is issuing questionable data on the number of Guantánamo detainees who have been released "and then returned to the battlefield" because the government "is now in a position where they have to find some bad guys – even if they have to invent them by naming … Continue reading “Study Challenges Claims of Gitmo Recidivism”

NAZARETH – Extremist rabbis and their followers, bent on waging holy war against the Palestinians, are taking over the Israeli army by stealth, according to critics.  In a process one military historian has termed the rapid "theologization" of the Israeli army, there are now entire units of religious combat soldiers, many of them based in … Continue reading “Is Israel’s Army Waging a Jewish Jihad?”

One of the many absurdities of Imperial policy in the Balkans is the notion of "integrations," a cute euphemism for the expansion of EU and NATO southward and eastward. If Brussels and Washington are so eager to integrate, why have they consistently supported disintegration – first of Yugoslavia, then of Serbia? In 1992, the nascent … Continue reading “Not Done Yet”

Updated at 7:25 p.m. EST, Feb. 4, 2009At least nine Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 31 were wounded in today’s incidents, which included the discovery of a mass grave. No Coalition deaths were reported. Meanwhile, reports of election fraud continue to vex Anbar province and perhaps down in Basra. Prominent Sunni lawmaker, … Continue reading “Wednesday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 31 Wounded”