Month: March 2009

The signals coming from the Obama administration as a “strategic review” of Afghan policy is nearing completion this week are, to say the least, confusing. While much new thinking on the Afghan War has been promised, early leaks about the review’s proposals for the next “three to five years” largely seem to promise more of … Continue reading “Unknown Afghanistan”

RAMALLAH – As environmental experts, NGOs and government officials gather in Istanbul this week to attend the Fifth World Water Forum, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has drawn attention to the critical water situation in Gaza. "ICRC teams are repairing water and sewage systems in Gaza that were badly damaged during the … Continue reading “After War, Gazans Struggle for Clean Drinking Water”

When the Bush administration was preparing the public in 2001-2003 for the invasion of Iraq by selling it lies and exaggerations, it was supported by articles discredited former New York Times reporter Judith Miller published on the front page of the Times. Beginning in 1998, Miller spread propaganda for Ahmed Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress, claiming … Continue reading “A New Judith Miller for
Iran Hawks?”

The Obama administration’s choice to head the National Intelligence Council (NIC) recently withdrew in the face of a concerted right-wing attack. Veteran diplomat Chas Freeman would not have had to face Senate confirmation. Instead, he had to face attacks in the right-wing press and blogosphere. His withdrawal was a victory for Bush-era neoconservatives and their … Continue reading “Neocons 1, Obama 0”

Much has been made of President Obama’s proclivity for big spending. There’s the $787 billion stimulus bill, the $410 billion spending bill to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year (filled with $7.7 billion in earmarks – meaning that it has nothing to do with keeping the government running), and a … Continue reading “Hey, Big Spender!”

Updated at 7:26 p.m. EST, March 17, 2009 At least 8 Iraqis were killed on an unusually quiet day that saw U.N. officials remember the deadly chemical attack in Halabja 21 years ago. No Coalition deaths nor Iraqi wounded were reported. As the 21st anniversary of the chemical attack at Halabja was observed during a … Continue reading “Tuesday: 8 Iraqis Killed; UN Observes Halabja Anniversary”

Human rights activists and constitutional law experts were virtually unanimous in their condemnation of the positions taken on prisoner detention and treatment in federal court last week by President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice, which one group described as "a case of old wine in new bottles." While the Justice Department announced it would no … Continue reading “Obama Follows Bush on Detainees”

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama should work hard on areas of common interest with Russia in order to build a "partnership, however uneasy," that would serve Washington’s interests in key areas, including non-proliferation, energy, and counter-terrorism, according to a new report [.pdf] released Monday by the Nixon Center and the Belfer Center for … Continue reading “Bipartisan Experts Urge ‘Partnership’ With Russia”

During Nixon’s historic trip to China in 1972, his interpreter and I, free for a few hours, conscripted a driver to take us on a tour of Beijing. Somewhere in my files are photos from that day we toured the grim city of Chairman Mao in the time of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The … Continue reading “Of Patriots and Assassins”

Advanced reports on the Barack Obama administration’s strategy to "peel off" a majority of insurgent commanders from the "hard core" of Taliban suggest that it will be presented as a political route to victory in Afghanistan that would not require U.S. and NATO troops to win militarily. But experts warn that the strategy is unlikely … Continue reading “Plan to Split Taliban Lures Obama Deeper Into War”