Month: January 2014

At least 86 people were killed and 82 more were wounded in new violence across Iraq.

Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote to Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Administration (NSA), and asked plainly whether the NSA has been or is now spying on members of Congress or other public officials. The senator’s letter was no doubt prompted by the revelations of Edward Snowden to the effect that … Continue reading “Spying on Congress”

A picture is indeed sometimes worth a thousand words. A photo of Secretary of State John Kerry disembarking from his plane in Tel Aviv showed chief US negotiator Martin Indyk walking along at his side with a grin on his face as if he had just heard a new Palestinian joke in the plane on … Continue reading “Palestine’s Quislings”

Kabul – The fire in the Chaman e Babrak camp began in Nadiai’s home shortly after noon. She had rushed her son, who had a severe chest infection, to the hospital. She did not know that a gas bottle, used for warmth, was leaking; when the gas connected with a wood burning stove, flames engulfed … Continue reading “The Suffering of Afghan Refugees in Winter”

At least 62 people were killed, including a Saudi Arabian, and 54 more were wounded in the latest round of violence. Few casualties were reported in Anbar province today. The deadliest attacks took place, instead, north of Baghdad.

The U.S. is supposed to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this new year. But despite public opinion polls to the contrary, President Obama is seeking to leave several thousand Special Forces troops, military trainers, CIA personnel, "contractors" and surveillance listening posts for 10 more years in Afghanistan until the end … Continue reading “Why the US Wants To Stay In Afghanistan”

After 9/11, the U.S. Army, taking the lead among the military services in fighting counterinsurgency conflicts against guerrillas in Iraq and Afghanistan, did well in the inter-service wars in the Pentagon over budgets. As in the post-Vietnam era, as the Obama administration has withdrawn from these counterinsurgencies without winning them, the White House and the … Continue reading “Stop Allowing the Army To Copy the Marines’ Missions”

I see innumerable news articles detailing the latest revelations from Edward Snowden, and a blizzard of pieces calling for leniency or a pardon for the world’s most famous whistleblower – but in the comments sections, including of my own columns on the subject, I find expressions of seemingly hopeless despair: "Yes, but what can we … Continue reading “How to Fight the NSA – and Win”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So consider the actions of the U.S. Special Operations Command flattering indeed to the larger U.S. military. After all, over recent decades the Pentagon has done something that once would have been inconceivable. It has divided the whole globe, just about … Continue reading “Special Ops Goes Global”

At least 96 people were killed across Iraq today. One of them was an Egyptian civilian. It is likely that some of the militants killed in Anbar province today were also foreign nationals. Another 98 people were wounded, more than half of them in a bombing in Kirkuk.