Jim Lobe

A spreading and increasingly violent rebellion against Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is destabilizing the Caribbean nation in ways that could move it to the top of Washington’s foreign-policy. U.S. officials are deeply concerned that the violence, if not quickly ended, may well spark a new exodus of thousands of Haitian boat people headed for the … Continue reading “Haiti Unrest Spells Trouble for Aristide, Bush”

President George W. Bush’s choice to co-chair his commission to investigate intelligence failures prior to the Iraq War is a longtime, right wing political activist closely tied to the neo-conservative network that led the pro-war propaganda campaign. Federal appeals court Judge Laurence Silberman, who will share the chairmanship with former Virginia Democratic Senator Charles Robb, … Continue reading “Co-Chair of Bush Iraq Panel Part of Neocon Network”

New York, the city most affected by the 9/11 attacks almost two and a half years ago, has become the latest U.S. municipality to formally urge major reforms to the USA PATRIOT Act to eliminate threats to basic civil rights and due-process protections. The New York City Council voted Wednesday to urge local agencies not … Continue reading “New York City Wants Easing of Patriot Act”

While critics and supporters of the Bush administration’s preemption doctrine have described it as unprecedented in U.S. diplomacy, the release of a 34-year-old memo advocating “regime change” in Chile shows the policy has been around for quite some time. The eight-page document by then-national security adviser Henry Kissinger to former president Richard Nixon also suggests … Continue reading “US Policy of Preemption is Nothing New”

Iraq’s governing council has quietly approved a plan to replace some existing legal rights of women with Islamic law or “Shariah,” according to 44 U.S. lawmakers, who warn Washington of a “brewing women’s right’s crisis” in the U.S.-occupied country. In a letter sent to President George W. Bush on Monday, the federal politicians, led by … Continue reading “US Lawmakers Say Iraqi Council Plan Would Cut Women’s Rights”

Badly wounded by the total collapse of its prewar contentions that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, the administration of President George W. Bush has embarked on a strategy of diversion and delay. It hopes to divert attention from the role played by senior administration officials in influencing and … Continue reading “WMD-gate: Bush Wants to Scapegoat CIA”

If U.S. President George W. Bush believed that aligning US policies more closely to those of the right-wing Likud government headed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would win him more votes from Jewish Americans, he should think again. That is the message of a new survey of 500 Jewish Americans polled by Zogby International … Continue reading “Jewish, Arab Americans Disapprove of Bush Mideast Policy”

Suicide bombings that killed two peacekeepers from Britain and Canada in 48 hours have abruptly reminded Washington and its NATO allies they face major challenges in ensuring sufficient security in Afghanistan to hold credible elections scheduled for June. Already, some officials are suggesting the vote might have to be rescheduled as a result of both … Continue reading “Concerns Grow Over Taliban Resurgence, Opium”

While Democratic rivals battle for the presidential nomination in a succession of grueling primary elections, Vice President Dick Cheney appears to be fighting to secure his spot on the Republican ticket behind President George W. Bush. The vice president, whose moderation and 35-year Washington experience reassured voters worried about the callowness and inexperience of Bush … Continue reading “Will Dubya Dump Dick?”

Retired Gen. Anthony Zinni began warning that ousting Saddam Hussein, let alone invading Iraq, risked destabilizing the entire Middle East back in 1998, when he led U.S. Central Command and testified against the Iraq Liberation Act that made “regime change” official US policy. And just six months before the actual invasion last March, in October … Continue reading “War Party Puts Syria in Its Sights”