Americans may feel more distant from war than at any time since World War II began. Certainly, a smaller percentage of us — less than 1% — serves in the military in this all-volunteer era of ours and, on the face of it, Washington’s constant warring in distant lands seems barely to touch the lives …
Continue reading “Washington’s Militarized Mindset”
George Santayana wisely said: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Oblivious to history and its lessons, the United States and its Western allies are repeating their actions from the 1950s by imposing an oil embargo on Iran. The U.S.-led alliance has forgotten the past. Iran remembers. When, under the leadership …
Continue reading “Strait History: Iran’s Options”
Violence moved north deep into predominantly Sunni areas. Overall, at least 10 Iraqis were killed and 48 more were wounded across the country. Separately, a member of the Iraqiya list has accused Baghdad of sending security forces to Diyala province to incite violence within the Sunni population.
Al Jazeera published a report Wednesday based on an extensive scientific investigation of the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat. Though he was 75 years old when he died, many noted the marked deterioration in his appearance in his final weeks and speculated that he was poisoned or that he had AIDS. An Israeli journalist who …
Continue reading “Did the Mossad Murder Arafat?”
I recently read a fascinating article by Scott McConnell, “The Special Relationship With Israel: Is It Worth the Cost?,” which appeared in the spring 2012 Middle East Policy Council Journal. Even for those of us who have closely followed the issue of Israel’s asymmetrical relationship with the United States, Scott provides some unique insights. He …
Continue reading “America Adopts the Israel Paradigm”
The bloodshed continues unabated. At least 19 people were killed and 52 more were wounded in fresh attacks today. A Shi’ite holiday that culminates on Friday is likely to draw more violence as insurgents target helpless pilgrims.
Yasser Arafat died on November 11, 2004, of a mysterious ailment. His enemies spread the rumor he had AIDS: David Frum, with typical classiness, claimed he had contracted AIDS as a consequence of having sex with his bodyguards. Now, however, it has been revealed Arafat was poisoned: the cause of his death was exposure to …
Continue reading “Who Killed Yasser Arafat?”
Just the other day, I saw a girl running along the side of the road. She looked like she was about high school age. She was wearing a ‘USMC’ t-shirt. And I thought, ‘If she joins then she’s going to have to accept rape and the destruction of her life.’ I cannot in good faith …
Continue reading “Why Women Should Not Enlist”
On June 27, 2012, the FBI partially declassified and released seven additional pages [.pdf] from a 1985–2002 investigation into how a network of front companies connected to the Israeli Ministry of Defense illegally smuggled nuclear triggers out of the U.S.* The newly released FBI files detail how Richard Kelly Smyth — who was convicted of …
Continue reading “Netanyahu Worked Inside Nuclear Smuggling Ring”
The first major attacks against Shi’ite pilgrims observing Shabaniya occurred today in cities south of Baghdad. At least 63 people were killed and 152 more were wounded in those and other attacks.
