Jim Lobe

They normally come in the form of simple, one or two-paragraph queries, affectionately, and sometimes not so affectionately, referred to by his underlings and colleagues as "snowflakes." But Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld’s latest ruminations blew in like a freak autumn blizzard, catching official Washington off-guard and leaving spokespersons scrambling for guidance that could reassure reporters, … Continue reading “Rumsfeld’s Ruminations Reinforce Reservations”

The image was not an edifying one: the president of the United States a horse, his vice president, the rider. But that is the image Sen. Joseph Biden, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, used to describe the power relationship between U.S. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in … Continue reading “Cheney’s the One”

The U.S. military should be investigating the deaths of dozens of Iraqi civilians killed by its troops; instead, it is not even keeping track of their numbers, says a report released here Tuesday. In an investigation undertaken in late September, Human Rights Watch collected what it called credible reports of 94 civilian deaths at the … Continue reading “US Ignores Soldiers’ Killings of Civilians”

Amid rising tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and renewed charges that it is sheltering senior al-Qaeda leaders, including the son of Osama bin Laden, a major international think tank is calling on the administration of President George W Bush to seriously engage Tehran rather than to seek confrontation with it. In a new report entitled … Continue reading “Iran: More Talk, Less Action”

A neo-conservative strategist who has long called for the United States and Israel to work together to "roll back" the Ba’ath-led government in Syria has been quietly appointed as a Middle East adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. David Wurmser, who had been working for Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John … Continue reading “New Cheney Adviser Sets Syria In His Sights”

Despite a two-week public-relations offensive designed to persuade the world and the U.S. public that it knows what it is doing in Iraq, the Bush administration appears increasingly at sea. That was made clear by a number of developments this week, which were capped Friday by the killings of four more U.S. soldiers in two … Continue reading “Postwar Casualties Rise Amid Disarray in US Plans”

Representatives of a new coalition of prominent foreign-policy scholars and analysts whose political views range from right to centre-left announced here Thursday they hope to spearhead opposition to the imperial policies pursued by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Leaders of the ‘Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy‘ charged that the administration is … Continue reading “Thinkers Launch Anti-Empire Drive”

The more commercial television news you watch, the more wrong you are likely to be about key elements of the Iraq War and its aftermath, according to a major new study released in Washington on Thursday. And the more you watch the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News channel, in particular, the more likely it is that … Continue reading “We Report, You Get It Wrong”

The neo-conservatives in and around the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush may be on the defensive, but Washington’s reaction to the Israeli attack on Syria Sunday shows that they remain in the driver’s seat at the White House. The fact that Bush has himself refused to in any way criticise the Israeli attack … Continue reading “Bush Stance on Syria Hit Shows Neocons Still Hold Sway”

One has to feel sorry for Republicans. Although they control both houses of the U.S. Congress and the White House, they must think they’re living through a bad dream. Consider Republicans on Capitol Hill in particular: After campaigning for a constitutional amendment that would require the federal government to balance its budget, they’re forced to … Continue reading “Washington APlame, or The Lady’s Not for Burning”