Charley Reese

The president concentrated so hard on the two members of his infamous “axis of evil” that didn’t have nuclear weapons that he neglected the one that does. North Korea announced that it would test a nuclear weapon, and now it has done so. I’m sure the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, said, “Woe is … Continue reading “Presidential Neglect”

President Bush has been bonked on the head by so many facts that refute his rhetoric in recent days, he must feel like he’s been caught in a West Texas hailstorm. But don’t worry about him. He’s a hardheaded man. I haven’t seen a fact yet that can get past his hair. Even as the … Continue reading “West Texas Hailstorm”

A deluge of experts, attracted by government money, is drowning Washington. So many elected and appointed officials know even less than the phony experts that it’s like a gold-rush town for the briefcase-toting fast-talkers. You, however, don’t need to be an expert – phony or genuine – to figure out the broad outlines of the … Continue reading “Not Worth a Camel”

As crazy as it sounds, President George Bush might be planning to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. There are two currents of speculation flowing through Washington these days. One current says that the Bush administration is planning the bombing campaign, but only as a bluff to force the Iranians to negotiate. The other current says that … Continue reading “As Crazy as It Sounds”

The two most dangerous leaders in the world are George W. Bush and North Korea’s Kim Jong Il. The lights seem to be out upstairs in both men. Neither man can see the world as it really exists. I wish to stress that. It’s not a question of having a difference of opinion. Rational people … Continue reading “Slipped His Moorings”

President George Bush’s ignorance of the Middle East and its people is well-known. So also is his habit of parroting words and sentences given to him by other people. He hit a new low when he referred to “Islamic fascists.” No two more opposite concepts are to be found. Fascism glorifies the nation-state; Islam is … Continue reading “Bigotry and Ignorance of Islam”

To get a better idea of what ails the world, let’s use our imagination to transport ourselves into outer space. From there, we can look down on Earth not as an American or as a European, but as a disinterested alien. We see a collection of sovereign nations – some large, some small, some powerful … Continue reading “Clueless and Catastrophic”

Since everybody and his brother is claiming victory in the Lebanese war, I thought we might try to establish some rational criteria for judging the outcome. At first, Israel announced that its objective was to destroy Hezbollah. This was later modified to weaken Hezbollah enough to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah rockets. The latest Israeli … Continue reading “Nobody Won”

The plot to blow up several American and British airplanes over the Atlantic is merely a taste of things to come. Fortunately, this particular plot was foiled by Scotland Yard and the British counterintelligence people. The death toll might well have exceeded that of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The lesson to be learned … Continue reading “A Taste of What Is to Come”

There are two proposals for a cease-fire in Lebanon. One is French and is backed by the European Union and most of the Muslim world. The other is Israeli-American and backed only by Israel and the United States. There is one main difference. The French proposal is for an immediate cease-fire followed by negotiations on … Continue reading “My Fellow Targets”