Month: February 2010

America’s Shadowy Base World

Once is an anomaly; twice is the beginning of a pattern. Right now, we’re seeing the same sequence of events for the second time in less than a decade, and it looks like the signature American way of war in our time is coming into focus. In 2003, when the Bush administration invaded Iraq, the … Continue reading “America’s Shadowy Base World”

Tuesday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 17 Wounded

Updated at 8:38 p.m. EST, Feb. 9, 2010 Candidates hoping to run in March elections despite a ban found themselves left in the cold when an appeals committee rejected all but 37 of their cases. Meanwhile, at least four Iraqis were killed and 17 more were wounded in light violence. Also, the Salah ad-Din council appears to still be playing a game of political musical chairs.

The Middle East No Longer Matters

As the Obama administration gears up for additional commitments to Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East, it is good to remind ourselves that in spite of the overheated rhetoric of the past few years, the region is of very little, if any, strategic value to the United States. Although we have sacrificed our national … Continue reading “The Middle East No Longer Matters”

Iran Sanctions Are the Talk of the Day

If there were any doubts about what exactly U.S. President Barack Obama meant when he warned Iran of "growing consequences" during his State of the Union address last month, they seem to be dispelled by recent statements from top administration officials, who are beating the sanctions drum loud and clear. When U.S. Secretary of Defense … Continue reading “Iran Sanctions Are the Talk of the Day”

Antiwar Reporting on the National Security State

Respected journalist Jeremy Scahill wrote an article on Feb. 4 for The Nation titled “The Expanding U.S. War in Pakistan.” In his article he presented as fact several assertions about the CIA and U.S. military special operations forces. In this article I will challenge those assertions. Why? Because many readers of The Nation, and other … Continue reading “Antiwar Reporting on the National Security State”

Destabilizing Pakistan

Almost every day, reports come back from the CIA’s "secret" battlefield in the Pakistani tribal borderlands. Unmanned aerial vehicles – that is, pilotless drones – shoot missiles (18 of them in a single attack on a tiny village last week) or drop bombs and then the news comes in: a certain number of al-Qaeda or … Continue reading “Destabilizing Pakistan”

Spies, Lies, and Fear

The Bosnian "Threat" to Empire Bosnia was in the headlines again this week. On Monday, police from both the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat Federation raided a Wahhabi village in the north of the country. And on Tuesday, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair spoke of Bosnia as one of the "principal challenges to … Continue reading “Spies, Lies, and Fear”

A Four-Letter Word

Many important struggles in Israel are calling out to people of conscience. Among others (in random order): The struggle for preserving the environment and the future of the planet. The struggle for democracy against fascist trends. The struggle for human rights and civil rights. The feminist struggle. The struggle for the rights of gays and … Continue reading “A Four-Letter Word”