While President Barack Obama Monday touted the continuing U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq as a key marker in the success of his regional policies, the latest news from the Greater Middle East, as well as a new public opinion survey, is far less encouraging. Not only was July the deadliest month for U.S. troops in …
Continue reading “Despite Iraq Withdrawal, Greater Mideast Not Looking Good”
Listen to Ron Paul deliver these remarks here. Our foreign policy was in the spotlight last week, which is exactly where it should be. Almost two years ago many voters elected someone they thought would lead us to a more peaceful, rational co-existence with other countries. However, while attention has been focused on the administration’s …
Continue reading “The Trouble With Unconstitutional Wars”
Gen. Stan McChrystal, United States Army, will leave active service with four stars instead of three because of a special waiver bestowed on him by President Barack Obama. One is supposed to hold four-star rank for three years before one can retire at that pay grade, something McChrystal obviously didn’t do, but Obama made nice …
Continue reading “Code of Military Justice”
Despite indications of a surge in violence, U.S. President Barack Obama promised to end U.S. combat operations on schedule this month and shift the Iraq mission to civilian and diplomatic efforts. Still, at least 14 Iraqis were killed and 36 more were wounded in new violence. Meanwhile, Kuwait marked the 20th anniversary of the country’s invasion by Iraqi troops and start of the first Gulf War. Also, Saudi Arabia is welcoming the opportunity to strengthen relations with Iraq and reign in Iran’s influence in the region.
People endowed with sensitive political ears were startled this week by two words, which, so it seemed, escaped from the mouth of Benjamin Netanyahu by accident: “Eastern front.” Once upon a time these words were part of the everyday vocabulary of the occupation. In recent years they have been gathering dust in the political junkyard. …
Continue reading “All Quiet on the Eastern Front”
As the WikiLeaks document-dump week ends, perhaps the real significance of what happened lay not in the specific revelations in those 92,000 pieces of raw data from American frustration-ville in Afghanistan, 2004-2009 (much of which would have been no news to anyone reading TomDispatch all these years). It may simply be that, for the second …
Continue reading “In Bed With the US Army”
I’m shocked – shocked, I tell you! – that the Anti-Defamation League has joined the alliance of militant Christians, militantly atheistic “Objectivists,” and other assorted militant nut-jobs in calling for a ban on the so-called “Ground Zero mosque, “ otherwise known as Cordoba House. After all, why would an organization ostensibly devoted to “civil rights” …
Continue reading “Anti-Defamers Defame Muslims”
Although the day was marked by light violence, newly released casualty figures for July hinted at a surge in attacks over the last month. Some blamed the increase on the delay in forming a new government. That impasse could soon be overcome as the party that received the third largest number of parliamentary seats today issued a statement completely rejecting P.M. Maliki’s return to the premiership. Should Maliki step aside, it could move the process forward. Only five Iraqis were wounded in today’s reports.
