Month: January 2017

Although official casualties figures are rare, hundreds of wounded are arriving in Kurdistan for treatment.

"I worry that there’s a temptation to overstate the terrorist threat. It is not an existential threat." "Demonizing Islam and demonizing Muslims is self-defeating. It will make the problem worse." These are two of the statements made by former Secretary of Defense and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency Robert Gates at the Naval … Continue reading “Robert Gates, Pro and Con”

Last week, as the mainstream media continued to obsess over the CIA’s evidence-free claim that the Russians hacked the presidential election, President Obama quietly sent 300 US Marines back into Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. This is the first time in three years that the US military has been sent into that conflict zone, and it represents … Continue reading “Will Obama’s ‘Good War’ in Afghanistan Continue?”

Though every Republican in Congress voted against the Iran nuclear deal, "Tearing it up … is not going to happen," says Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Hopefully, the chairman speaks for the president-elect. During the campaign, Donald Trump indicated as much, saying that, though the U.S. got jobbed in the negotiations … Continue reading “Iran Nuclear Deal – Alive or Dead?”

The renewed operation in Mosul and others left hundreds of militants dead.

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It’s easy to forget just how scary the "good times" once were. I’m talking about the 1950s, that Edenic, Father-Knows-Best era that Donald Trump now yearns so deeply to bring back in order to "make America great again." Compared to the apocalyptic fears of those years, present American ones would seem … Continue reading “History After ‘The End of History’”

Justin Raimondo has no column today due to a power outage in Sebastopol, California. Perhaps the Russians hacked the local power grid (that’s a joke). Assuming no further problems, he will return with Wednesday’s column. NOTES IN THE MARGIN You can check out my Twitter feed by going here. But please note that my tweets … Continue reading “Power Outage”

The much-anticipated Intelligence Community report backing up its claims that the Russians hacked the US elections in November has just been released. Titled “Declassified Intelligence Community Assessment of Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections,” the report is long on speculation and short on any evidence for the claims it was supposed to prove. … Continue reading “Is That All There Is? Intel Community Releases Its Russia ‘Hacking’ Report”

Troops reached the Tigris River in Mosul on Sunday, prompting militants to attack Baghdad.

Operations in Mosul and Anbar Province left hundreds dead.