Charley Reese

There are two concepts all of us have to struggle with. One is our individuality. The other is the mass. Individual soldiers who survive combat often come home to realize that all of the horrific and heroic actions they took don’t mean anything. Vietnam, for example, is ruled by a communist government. Nobody but a … Continue reading “Stop the Cannon Fodder”

Fellow columnist Molly Ivins has launched a crusade of sorts to end what she calls “this evil war.” I’m afraid that columnists, other than having the ability to occasionally embarrass a politician who still has a conscience, are pretty much without influence in the corridors of Washington. There, the lobbyist and his money get the … Continue reading “‘Crusade’ Against an Evil War”

The U.S., after training and egging on the Ethiopians to intervene in the Somali civil war, is now bombing and strafing Somalis. The government “suspects” they might be al-Qaeda. That is a load of horse apples. You can’t identify people, much less their politics, from an airplane or a helicopter. Air power always kills innocent … Continue reading “How It All Began”

Scott Ritter, a former U.N. arms inspector in Iraq, has written a book, Target Iran, in which he accuses the Israeli government and its American lobby of pushing the U.S. into attacking Iran. Ritter writes, “Let there be no doubt: If there is an American war with Iran, it is a war that was made … Continue reading “Israel’s Bad Influence”

Now that John Bolton, our undiplomatic ambassador to the United Nations, will be stepping down, the Senate ought to take a hard look at the world body before confirming a replacement. The U.N. was cobbled together toward the end of World War II, and it is clear from the charter that the five allied powers … Continue reading “Put No Faith in the United Nations”

There are over a half-million foreign students at American colleges and universities; the U.S. borders, for all practical purposes, remain wide open; only 6 percent of the shipping containers are checked; and there is still a generous number of legal immigrants admitted. I offer this as an antidote to the Bush administration’s boogeyman stories about … Continue reading “Boogeymongering”

Robert Gates is a poor choice for secretary of defense, but by now everyone should be accustomed to George W. Bush making poor choices. Gates was so notorious for politicizing intelligence so that it matched the policy decisions of the higher-ups that the first time he was nominated for CIA director, analysts still on active … Continue reading “Gates a Poor Choice”

The Baker commission – or more accurately, the Geriatric Squad – is not likely to come up with a solution to the Iraq War. The commission consists of some old political types – two ex-secretaries of state, Jim Baker and Lawrence Eagleburger; two ex-senators, Chuck Robb and Alan Simpson; two ex-congressmen, Leon Panetta and Lee … Continue reading “The Geriatric Squad”

Al-Jazeera, the Arab television network that the Bush administration hates so passionately, has launched its English-language service but is, of course, having trouble finding an American cable or satellite system willing to carry it. The British Broadcasting Corp. had a man watch the first day’s broadcast (it’s being distributed in Europe) and gave it a … Continue reading “Al-Jazeera and the Truth”

A glance at Donald Rumsfeld’s biography will tell you that he is: (1) ambitious; (2) bright; (3) competent; and (4) incredibly experienced in both the private sector and the public sector. So how did the 74-year-old secretary of defense become the bad guy of the Bush administration? The answer is probably that by his 70s, … Continue reading “Goodbye, Rummy”