I almost choked on my coffee listening to neoconservative Rudy Giuliani pompously claim on national TV that he was surprised about any Chechens being responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings because he’s never seen any indication that Chechen extremists harbored animosity toward the U.S.; Guiliani thought they were only focused on Russia. Giuliani knows full …
Continue reading “Chechen Terrorists and the Neocons”
A bomb at a kebob shop in Falluja killed nine people and wounded at least 24 more. Two soldiers were killed and seven more were wounded during a mortar attack at their barracks in al-Khafsa. An al-Qaeda leader was killed during a raid in Rabeaa, while his aide and three soldiers were wounded. Gunmen killed …
Continue reading “Attacks Continue After Iraq Election: 15 Killed”
Iraq conducted regional elections today, except in heavily Sunni areas deemed security risks by the Shi’ite-led central government. Several bombs were detonated at polling centers around the country, but many of them failed to cause any casualties. Overall, it was mostly a peaceful election day. However, at least nine people were killed and eight more were wounded.
Fresh violence leaves 16 dead in Iraq
Fireworks went off over the Tel Aviv skyline this week as thousands of flag-waving Israelis marked the 65th anniversary of their country’s founding. At the same time, a smaller group of Israeli activists explored the other, most often ignored, side to their country’s creation: the forced displaced of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Israeli group …
Continue reading “Palestinian Expulsions Mapped in Hebrew”
The Boston Marathon bombing has brought out our worst – and best – instincts. On the one hand, we have the response from ordinary people – an outpouring not only of support for the people of Boston but impressive online efforts to identify the bomber(s) on 4chan and Reddit. On the other hand, we have …
Continue reading “Making Stuff Up”
Attacks continued across Iraq today, with the worst attack occurring at a pool hall in Baghdad.
“[Drones are a] game-changing technology, akin to gunpowder, the steam engine, the atomic bomb—opening up possibilities that were fiction a generation earlier but also opening up perils that were unknown a generation ago.”—Peter Singer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution America will never be a “no drone zone.” That must be acknowledged from the outset. …
Continue reading “Roaches, Mosquitoes, and Birds: The Coming Micro-Drone Revolution”
Few with any sense of intellectual or historical integrity would still question the bloody massacre that took place in the village of Deir Yassin 65 years ago, claiming the lives of over 100 innocent Palestinians. Attempts at covering up the massacre have been dwarfed by grim details by well-respected historians, including some of Israel’s own. …
Continue reading “Deir Yassin, Beit Daras and the Buried History of Massacres”
Watching Senator John McCain foam at the mouth with his calls for war against Syria reminds one that President Barack Obama has done well to resist strident demands from congress and the media to use the U.S. armed forces in a direct role to remove President Bashar al-Assad. Which is not intended to suggest that …
Continue reading “Drones and Death Lists: The New Face of Warfare” 
