Month: May 2009

Iran Hawks Push Obama on Deadline for Diplomacy

After an uneventful first meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that seemed to produce no real breakthroughs, hawks in the U.S. and Israel are seizing upon what they claim is a significant concession by Obama: his setting a "timetable" for negotiations with Iran. Although Obama merely promised a "reassessment" … Continue reading “Iran Hawks Push Obama on Deadline for Diplomacy”

Why Liberals Love Obama

If I were a liberal Democrat – and, as my regular readers know, this is very far from being the case – I’d be mad as heck over the way President Barack Obama has reversed himself on key foreign policy and civil liberties issues. I’d be positively furious about his "reconsideration" of preventive detention, the … Continue reading “Why Liberals Love Obama”

The March of Folly, Continued

To understand what’s up with President Obama as he escalates the war in Afghanistan, there may be no better place to look than a book published 25 years ago. The March of Folly, by historian Barbara Tuchman, is a chilling assessment of how very smart people in power can do very stupid things – how … Continue reading “The March of Folly, Continued”

Power Struggle Killing Gaza Patients

GAZA CITY – The lives of hundreds of critically ill Gazans continue to be jeopardized by the power struggle between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah and political blackmail by Israel. Mohammed Zibdeh, 12, who has cancer of the brain, is waiting in Gaza City for a permit to travel to Israel for advanced treatment. … Continue reading “Power Struggle Killing Gaza Patients”

Out of Guantánamo and Into Court

In a move that seems to open up a route out of Guantánamo for prisoners accused of having an active involvement with international terrorism that does not involve reviving the much-criticized system of trials by military commission, the Justice Department announced today that Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian, one of 14 "high-value detainees" transferred to … Continue reading “Out of Guantánamo and Into Court”

Neocon Group Calls for Military Strikes on Media

In the era of embedded media, independent journalists have become the eyes and ears of the world. Without those un-embedded journalists willing to risk their lives to place themselves on the other side of the barrel of the tank or the gun or under the air strikes, history would be written almost entirely from the … Continue reading “Neocon Group Calls for Military Strikes on Media”