At least five Iraqis were killed and four more were wounded in light violence. The Iraqi government credited its formation deal with reduced attacks during Eid al-Adha observances; however, reports are generally lighter during major holidays anyway. An unknown number of casualties were left after clashes in the Karbala area as well.
Bad faith, says Muhammad Sahimi
Nebojsa Malic on the empire’s futile Balkans quest
VIENTIANE, Laos – Eighteen-year-old Phongsavath Manithong rubbed his eyes with the back of his arms as he described how his life changed forever. He was not even born yet when U.S. military pilots dropped millions of tiny explosives onto Laos. But almost four decades after war ended for this South-east Asian nation, it is people …
Continue reading “For Cluster Bomb Survivors, War Far From Over”
With pressure to slash the 1.3 trillion-dollar federal deficit rising sharply, the public debate over whether to exempt the Pentagon from such cuts is moving rapidly toward center-stage. Two major bipartisan reports – including one commissioned by President Barack Obama – released over the past 10 days argued against such an exemption. But powerful Republicans, …
Continue reading “Will Pentagon Be Exempt from Budget Cuts?”
The only reports of violence came out of Mosul today, where a bomb targeted a convoy carrying three Iraqiya lawmakers. While it did not harm them, the blast killed one bodyguard and injured two others. South of town, gunmen killed a guard working for an oil facility. Meanwhile, Secretary-General of Iraq’s National Chaldean Council demanded self-rule and more protection for Iraqi Christians. News reports are scant this week because of Eid al-Adha observances.
Karen Greenberg on the railroad terror trials
It’s the foreign policy, stupid! says Justin Raimondo
Robert Koehler on how the military reels kids in early
The conviction of the first Guantánamo Bay detainee brought to New York for trial is triggering a wide range of reactions from politicians and legal experts. That trial ended dramatically at the federal courthouse in Manhattan this week, with Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, 36, convicted of one count of conspiracy for his role in the 1998 …
Continue reading “New York Terror Verdict Hailed as Vindicating Civil Trials” 
