Month: December 2018

"Assad must go, Obama says." So read the headline in The Washington Post, Aug. 18, 2011. The story quoted President Barack Obama directly: "The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way. … the time has come for President Assad to step aside." France’s Nicolas … Continue reading “How the War Party Lost the Middle East”

Most New Year’s Resolutions last but a few days. By late January the crowd in the gym dwindles down to its normal size. Most resolutions are fantasy, a simple act of wishful thinking. We all know this. Still, dreams are what makes life tolerable. So, in that spirit, let’s take a break from the standard … Continue reading “A Modest Proposal: An Anti-Militarist New Year’s Resolution for America”

The monthly tally of casualties was lower in December.

In March, US president Donald Trump promised the American public that US troops would be leaving Syria “very soon.” Nine months later, he threw Washington’s political establishment into turmoil by finally ordering the withdrawal he’d promised. Politicians like US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who’d never once in four years bestirred themselves to authorize the previous … Continue reading “Trump’s Holiday Gift to America: Hope for a Little More Peace on Earth?”

A mass grave dating to the Islamic State invasion was found in the Hawija area.

Several small attacks left casualties.

This has been the 7th year that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange spent Christmas in confinement inside Ecuador’s London embassy. For nearly a decade, the US government’s aggressive witch-hunt of truthtellers has trapped him in the UK. Assange claimed political asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012 to mitigate the risk of extradition to the US, … Continue reading “Justice for Julian Assange, Test of Western Democracy”

It’s official, Israel is racing towards early elections. But no one is talking about who can vote in them. New elections were nearly called in November 2017 after Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned in protest of Israel not going to war with Gaza and right-wing leader Naftali Bennett threatened to pull his party from the … Continue reading “Elections Don’t Make Israel a Democracy”

This article originally appeared at TruthDig. Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king, Do you know what I know In your palace warm, mighty king, Do you know what I know A child, a child shivers in the cold Let us bring him silver and gold…. —Lyrics to the famous Christmas song, “Do You … Continue reading “Jesus Christ Would Be Appalled by America’s Immigration Policy”

Survival in the Age of Trump is today on many minds. For some, the issue is whether our whimsical, volatile president will undo 70 years of alliance (read: empire) building here and now. For others, it is whether he will finally realize his campaign promises to be the Great Disrupter and fulfill the wishes of … Continue reading “Thank Goodness for Trump, the Ugly American”