Human rights and disarmament activists reacted bitterly Wednesday to the decision by the administration of President Barack Obama, who will receive the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize next month, not to sign the 10-year-old treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. The U.S....
Unforced Error
Wednesday: 20 Iraqis Killed, 52 Wounded
Government Terrorism Lists Are a Holiday Turkey
As the holiday travel season rolls around again, the government's terrorism watch list and no-fly list get ever more bizarre. Of course, for starters, the list has always been unconstitutional, because the government does not have probable cause to believe the vast...
Dumb and Dumber Wars
Michael O'Hanlon, a war hawk tank-thinker with the Brookings Institution who encouraged us to invade Iraq, says we should "remain hopeful" about Afghanistan. Even though the news about Afghanistan has been "dispiriting," O'Hanlon tells us,...
Who Will Protest Obama’s War?
Here we are on the verge of a momentous announcement – President Obama's unveiling of his "comprehensive plan" for escalating the war in Afghanistan – and where is the so-called antiwar movement? Missing in action, as this news report reveals: "'There's this...
As Obama Decides on Afghanistan, JFK’s Vietnam Deliberations Worth Recalling
The pressure that has been on Barack Obama with respect to reinforcement of the war in Afghanistan resembles that placed on John F. Kennedy to send American combat troops to Vietnam during the 18 months before his assassination. Kennedy made an early decision that...
Afghan Army Turnover Rate Threatens US War Plans
One in every four combat soldiers quit the Afghan National Army (ANA) during the year ending in September, published data by the U.S. Defense Department and the Inspector General for Reconstruction in Afghanistan reveals. That high rate of turnover in the ANA, driven...
Tuesday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 11 Wounded
South Africa Deports Israeli Airline Official After Investigation
South Africa deported an Israeli airline official last week following allegations that Israel's secret police, the Shin Bet, had infiltrated Johannesburg international airport in an effort to gather information on South African citizens, particularly black and Muslim...