Month: October 2013

In response to an avalanche of criticism over revelations of his National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) bulk collection of Americans’ telephone and other electronic metadata, General Keith B. Alexander, the director of the agency, in a recent interview with the New York Times, claimed that his spy agency is just misunderstood – not operating illegally or … Continue reading “We Don’t Need More ‘Spin’ About NSA’s Unconstitutional Domestic Snooping, We Need It Stopped”

We all get depressed, at some point or other: I’m sure even Pollyanna had her down moments. What’s troubling is that many anti-interventionists seem to be in a permanent state of depression: given the history of the past decade or so, the interventionist bias of the "mainstream" media, and the enormous resources the War Party … Continue reading “The Case for Optimism”

Despite Eid al-Adha observances, only one significant attack took place today. At least 24 Iraqis were killed and 34 more were wounded.

Almost five years ago, President Bush sat grasping the hand of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, flashbulbs from an army of photographers illuminating their smiling, faintly strained faces. As we know now, the agreement they had just signed and were shaking upon turned out to be a very public parting of ways. For Washington, … Continue reading “Washington’s Silence on Iraq”

At least 13 people were killed and 12 more were wounded as Muslims began to observe the Eid al-Adha holiday.

The Founders were wary of establishing a standing army: they feared not only that it would become an instrument of domestic tyranny, as in Europe, but also that it would lead to … what we have today: a militarist caste that glories in – and profits from – war. As James Madison, the father of … Continue reading “The War Profiteers”

In case you hadn’t noticed, Israel has been in the news a lot lately. After all, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the U.N. in the midst of an Iranian "charm offensive," just as presidents Obama and Rouhani were having the first conversation between Iranian and American heads of state since Jimmy Carter’s day, … Continue reading “The Desert of Israeli Democracy”

A series of multiple bombings across Baghdad and Shi’ite cities to the south of the capital killed at least 61 people and wounded 171 more.

At least 47 were killed and 50 more were wounded in several shootings and bombings.

In an effort to provoke any possible opposition in U.S. political circles to a nuclear deal with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has returned to exploiting an old claim that Iran is building intercontinental ballistic missiles that could hit the United States. The Netanyahu claim takes advantage of the extreme position that has been … Continue reading “Israeli Claim of Iranian ICBM Exploits Biased US Intel”