Philip Giraldi

The Pentagon and White House continue to argue that they are not planning a war against Iran in spite of the continuing buildup of naval forces in the Persian Gulf, which will peak with the arrival of a third carrier group at the end of May. The naval aviation and missile resources available, which are … Continue reading “A High Price to Pay for Ignorance”

The "Global War on Terrorism," or GWOT for short, has become such a staple of political discourse that it has been embraced both by Republicans and Democrats as well as the media. Republicans cite Iraq as the "central front" in the GWOT to justify continuation of the war in that unhappy land while Democrats point … Continue reading “Cheney Does Africa”

There is a general perception that the rush to war with Iran has somewhat abated. This perception is best expressed in the widely publicized comments from neoconservative pundits suggesting that the current approach to bridling Tehran’s ambitions should be a rigorous program of sanctions to isolate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his government. The apparent shift … Continue reading “Democrats Earn Their Stripes in the War Party”

Halliburton’s move from Houston to Dubai has aroused predictable concerns about security. Halliburton is known to be a major defense contractor, and the rulers of Dubai are undeniably Arabs, albeit Arabs who are demonstrably among America’s closest allies. On one level, the announcement appears to have unleashed emotional Arab-bashing based on the same reservoir of … Continue reading “Picking on Halliburton”

The numbers are not good. By every conceivable measure, the United States, which only six years ago was positively perceived and admired by many people around the world, is now almost universally disliked and frequently feared. The Pew Global Attitudes Project June 2006 polling reveals that even among America’s closest traditional allies in Europe, with … Continue reading “Clueless in Gaza”

There has been a noticeable shift in the rhetoric emanating from the proponents of war with Iran, almost certainly due to the perception that armed conflict with Tehran will not be as easy a sell as was Iraq. The shift is most marked within the Bush Administration itself, where daily attacks on Iran that started … Continue reading “Old Europe and the Mullahs”

The administration of President George W. Bush has designated the spread of democracy as its principal foreign policy objective with the understanding that burgeoning democracies will make the world a better and safer place for Americans. But critics observe that democracy might not be an exportable commodity, and those who seek to impose it may … Continue reading “You Say You Want a Revolution?”