Month: February 2009

Updated at 7:31 p.m. EST, Jan. 18, 2009At least three Iraqis were killed and two more died on a very quiet day. No Coalition casualties were reported; however, a bus carrying Arbaeen pilgrims slammed into the back of a British military vehicle, killing at least seven passengers. Meanwhile, Kuwait’s deputy prime minister has announced plans … Continue reading “Wednesday: 3 Iraqis Killed, 2 Wounded; 7 Iraqis Die in Accident With UK Military Vehicle”

CENTCOM Commander Gen. David Petraeus and Multinational Force Iraq (MNF-I) Commander Gen. Ray Odierno have submitted assessments of Iraq combat-troop withdrawal plans to President Barack Obama based on the premise that his 16-month withdrawal plan would pose significantly greater risk to "security gains" than the 23-month plan they favor. But a senior commander in Iraq … Continue reading “Commanders in Iraq Challenge Petraeus on Pullout Risk”

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s policy of Great Society spending and the Vietnam War is credited with the rising American inflation that persisted until checked by President Reagan’s supply-side policy. In Johnson’s time, the American economy and the U.S. dollar were strong, and there was no current account deficit. Yet LBJ’s policy of guns and butter … Continue reading “Who Remembers ‘Guns and Butter’?”

We are witnessing what a military takeover of a superpower looks like in the new American century. David Petraeus became the most dangerous American general since Douglas MacArthur when George W. Bush announced that his "main man" would decide when, how, and if an Iraq troop drawdown would occur, giving Petraeus unilateral control of U.S. … Continue reading “American Caesar’s Ghost”

In many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, the story line depends on some sort of magic elixir or potion. Similarly, the advocates for a Brave New World tell us the comic opera called "democracy" flows from the magic of elections. Just hold elections, and presto!, wars vanish. Regrettably, the Brave New World’s music is not nearly … Continue reading “The Magic Potion”

Since February 2003, Iran’s nuclear program has undergone what the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) itself admits to be the most intrusive inspection in its entire history. After thousands of hours of inspections by some of the most experienced IAEA experts, the Agency has verified time and again that (1) there is no evidence of … Continue reading “Who’s Telling the Truth About Iran’s Nuclear Program?”

As you can see by going to our front page and looking at the fundraising thermometer, we’re having a really, really hard time raising the funds we need to continue Antiwar.com. The main reason for this, as you might imagine, is the economic collapse America seems to be undergoing, which doesn’t look likely to reach … Continue reading “It Isn’t All About Me”

On Monday, Feb. 8, President Barack Obama gave his first prime-time press conference. The purpose was to make the case for his nearly trillion-dollar economic stimulus plan, but the discussion touched on foreign policy during the Q&A. What the president said is telling about what to expect from the Obama administration. Diplomacy is back in … Continue reading “Portents From the First
Press Conference”

If there were a Nobel Prize for Hypocrisy, Abraham Foxman would have been a great candidate. The director of the Anti-Defamation League, who once interpreted even International Holocaust Remembrance Day as an expression of the Gentiles’ latent desire to see Jews dead, has published a new survey on anti-Semitism in Europe [.pdf]. One of the … Continue reading “Abe Foxman’s ‘Anti-Semitic Pandemic’”

Updated at 8:05 p.m. EST, Feb. 17, 2009At least 6 Iraqis were killed and 24 more were wounded in new attacks. None of the attacks appeared to target Arbaeen travelers. No Coalition deaths were reported, but a U.S. army sergeant will testify against a fellow servicemember accused of murdering four Iraqi prisoners. Also, U.S. President … Continue reading “Tuesday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 24 Wounded”