If you think the Afghan War is increasingly unpopular in the United States, try Europe. A recent German Marshall Fund poll offered these figures on the question of the “share of population who want to reduce or withdraw troops” from that country: Romania, 71 percent; Poland, 68 percent; United Kingdom, 60 percent; Germany, 57 …
Continue reading “Will NATO’s 60th Anniversary Be Its Last?”
Updated at 6:51 p.m. EDT, Sept. 28, 2009
At least seven Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded in the latest attacks. A U.S Marine has plead guilty to lesser charges in connection with the deaths of Iraq detainees. Meanwhile, Iraqis disabled during years of violence are fighting for war compensation.
MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: Accountability for Torture We write you, Mr. President, as former intelligence professionals to voice strong support for Attorney General Eric Holder’s authorization of a wider investigation into CIA interrogation. We respectfully disagree with the direct appeal to you by seven former CIA directors …
Continue reading “Intelligence Veterans Demand Accountability for Torture”
Demands from Israel’s chief commander this month that all Israeli citizens should be required to perform national service has turned the spotlight on a rarely discussed group of soldiers: members of Israel’s Palestinian minority. Though no official statistics are available, an estimated 3,000 of Israel’s 1.3 million Palestinian citizens have broken one of their society’s …
Continue reading “Call for Universal National Service Raises Uncomfortable Questions in Israel”
That Iran is building a secret underground facility near the holy city of Qom, under custody of the Revolutionary Guard – too small to be a production center for nuclear fuel, but just right for the enrichment of uranium to weapons grade – is grounds for concern, but not panic. Heretofore, all of Iran’s nuclear …
Continue reading “Is Iran Nearing a Bomb?”
Does anyone remember all the lies that they were told by then-president Bush and the "mainstream media" about the grave threat to America from weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? These lies were repeated endlessly in the print and TV media despite the reports from the weapons inspectors, who had been sent to Iraq, that …
Continue reading “Another War in the Works”
Kelley Vlahos on the military’s courtier-scholars
In a remarkable parallel with a similar turning point in the Vietnam War 44 years ago, President Barack Obama will preside over a series of meetings in the coming weeks that will determine whether the United States will proceed with an escalation of the Afghanistan War or adjust the strategy to reduce the U.S. military …
Continue reading “Fears of Blame for Defeat Shadow Afghan War Meetings”
TUpdated at 7:05 p.m. EDT, Sept. 28, 2009
The lull in violence that began with the Eid observances has ended. At least 27 Iraqis were killed and 52 more were wounded in the latest attacks.
What did the U.S. government know about the "secret" Iranian nuclear research facility at Qom and when did it know it? That’s the question that isn’t on everyone’s lips, as the chatter about Iranian "intransigence" on nuclear issues reaches a crescendo in the run-up to Oct. 1, the date negotiations with Tehran are scheduled to …
Continue reading “September ‘Surprise’” 
