"Jewish Settlers Live High While GIs Die" is what Gen. David Petraeus is saying if we strip away the niceties. Is Petraeus’ formulation anti-Semitic? Perhaps it would be better to talk of "Israeli settlers." But that portrayal is not accurate. The minority of Arab citizens of Israel, even though suffering so many forms of discrimination, …
Continue reading “Petraeus’ Cry”
Iraq’s major political forces are beginning what is likely to be a lengthy and uncertain process of talks to form a government. A key question is whether Iraq’s politically diverse groups will join forces together based on ideological, ethnic, sectarian, or merely pragmatist considerations. "[T]he core contradictions of Iraqi politics will be on display as …
Continue reading “Uphill Coalition-Building Battle for Winners Unfolds”
As the New York Times reports, former Iraqi prime minister and U.S. sock puppet Iyad Allawi’s apparent victory in his country’s recent election sets up a "period of uncertainty" that may "threaten plans to withdraw American troops." Gen. Ray Odierno, the U.S. commander in Iraq who reminds one of John Candy’s character in the film …
Continue reading “The Desert Ox”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is considering a peace offer from the militant group Hizb-i-Islami, which is led by warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and linked to the Taliban. The good news is that this may be a sign of the Karzai government exercising sovereignty by engaging in policies and actions it deems are in the best interest …
Continue reading “Settling for Good Enough in Afghanistan”
President Obama has taken a further plunge into the kind of war abyss that consumed predecessors named Johnson, Nixon, and Bush. On Sunday, during his first presidential trip to Afghanistan, Obama stood before thousands of American troops to proclaim the sanctity of the war effort. He played the role deftly – a commander in chief, …
Continue reading “A Bomber Jacket Doesn’t Cover the Blood”
The Accountability and Justice Commission reared its ugly head again even as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tries any tactic that could allow him to retain power. Meanwhile, a massive triple bombing took place in Karbala. Overall, at least 16 Iraqis were killed and 83 more were wounded in the latest violence.
Nebojsa Malic on the mess that Bosnia still is
The perpetual reinvention of reality proceeds apace, as neocons who once gave expression to the Bush administration’s most extreme rhetoric now pose as "moderates," – and these same neocons insist the Iraq war was a great success after all. They point to the recent Iraqi elections as proof of their redemption – even as their …
Continue reading “Who Is Iyad Allawi?”
In January 1077, King Henry IV walked to Canossa. He crossed the snow-covered Alps barefoot, wearing a penitent monk’s hair shirt, and reached the North-Italian fortress in which the Vicar of God had found refuge. Pope Gregory VII had excommunicated him after a conflict over the right to invest bishops throughout the German Reich. The …
Continue reading “On the Road to Canossa”
At least eight Iraqis were killed and 47 more were wounded in today’s attacks, but good news came out of Iraq as well. An Iraqi-American contractor held hostage in Iraq was released in good health into U.S. custody. Also, a bomb attack in Qaim apparently killed an Iraqiya candidate.
