Month: February 2014

Throughout the Cold War, the West (calling itself the "free world") argued that the Communist bloc wanted to conquer the world, because for Communism to triumph it could allow no alternatives. Yet the Communist faction advocating a global revolution –Trotsky and his followers – were purged by Stalin, whose own doctrine was "Socialism in One … Continue reading “Lords of Chaos”

At least 20 people were killed, and another 97 were wounded in today’s attacks. Also, an unknown number of women are being abused, raped, or tortured while in detention within Iraq’s penal system. Some of them are being held illegally.

Two weeks ago in a room in Kabul, Afghanistan, I joined several dozen people, working seamstresses, some college students, socially engaged teenagers and a few visiting internationals like myself, to discuss world hunger. Our emphasis was not exclusively on their own country’s worsening hunger problems. The Afghan Peace Volunteers, in whose home we were meeting, … Continue reading “Salt and Terror in Afghanistan”

When Western intelligence agencies began in the early 1990s to intercept telexes from an Iranian university to foreign high technology firms, intelligence analysts believed they saw the first signs of military involvement in Iran’s nuclear program. That suspicion led to U.S. intelligence assessments over the next decade that Iran was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. The … Continue reading “Misread Telexes Led Analysts to See Iran Nuclear Arms Program”

As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hurried to his helicopter ready to take off at the end of a visit to Iraq last year, it was becoming clearer that the Americans have lost control of a country they wished to mold to their liking. His departure on March 24, 2013 was the conclusion of … Continue reading “Iraq Near Implosion: The ‘Bad Years’ Are Back”

At least 71 people were killed and 141 more were wounded in attacks across Iraq. A series of bombs, several in critical areas downtown, terrorized Baghdad. The government also reported the deaths of 35 ISIS/DAASH militants in Anbar province.

Why is the talented journalist Barrett Brown in jail – awaiting trial on charges that could keep him there for one hundred years? A writer for Vanity Fair, the Guardian, and at one time an unofficial spokesman for the internet pirates known as "Anonymous," Brown apparently stumbled on the murky world of "private" cyber-security firms … Continue reading “Free Barrett Brown”

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president, has refused to sign a security deal with the United States that could keep about 8,000 to 12,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan after "combat operations" end at the end of 2014. These forces would train still-pathetic Afghan security forces in the field (after 13 years of US training), conduct counterterrorism raids, … Continue reading “A War Is Not Over Till It’s Over”

At least 27 people were killed and 70 were wounded in fresh violence. No new reports of casualties came out of Anbar today, and the government said it was winding down operations in Ramadi and Falluja. Baghdad and Mosul, however, saw plenty of attacks.

I read in the newspaper last week now the US Chief Negotiator on the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Martin Indyk, met with a group of Jewish leaders to brief them on the "tightly held" details of what was being proposed by Secretary of State John Kerry. A few days before, New York’s new mayor Bill de … Continue reading “Ordinary Citizens Need Not Apply”