On Wednesday, Baghdad requested U.S. airstrikes to help dislodge militants in Tikrit, and warplanes began flying those missions. The strikes coincided with the resumption of an operation to liberate Tikrit that stalled two weeks ago.

The spectacle of virtually the entire Senate GOP caucus mobilizing in support of a foreign power in order to drag us into war with Iran has certainly been instructive. Not since the Federalist party plotted with the British during the War of 1812 has an American fifth...

When the George W. Bush administration was preparing the public in 2001-2003 for the invasion of Iraq by selling it lies and exaggerations, it was greatly aided by the New York Times. The Times columnist Thomas Friedman was a forceful advocate of the invasion,...

The Iraqi government asked the U.S. military to conduct aerial surveillance over Tikrit. At least 105 people were killed, and 94 more were wounded in fighting and attacks.

Though "Bibi" Netanyahu won re-election last week, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will still look into whether the State Department financed a clandestine effort to defeat him. Reportedly, State funneled $350,000 to an American NGO called...

In November 2008, when Barack Obama first took office, he was riding high on a wave of euphoria at his show-stopping promises. Beyond offering "change" and pledging universal healthcare, the most salient campaign point he made then revolved around scaling...

Although the controversy surrounding the misleading open letter by 47 Republican U.S. senators to Iran – an attempt to sabotage the Obama administration’s possible agreement with that nation limiting its nuclear program – has broken down along party lines, the...

A complicated state of affairs has slowed the Battle for Tikrit. Meanwhile, at least 189 were killed and 56 were wounded in mostly other violence.

Originally posted at TomDispatch. One of the mysteries of our era is why there seems to be no learning curve in Washington. Over the last 13 years, American wars and conflicts have repeatedly helped create disaster zones, encouraging the fragmentation of whole...

Twelve years ago last week, the US launched its invasion of Iraq, an act the late General William Odom predicted would turn out to be “the greatest strategic disaster in US history.” Before the attack I was accused of exaggerating the potential costs of the war when I...