As an October 20 piece in Stars and Stripes reminds us, the U.S. has been fighting a second war in Afghanistan without much success – that would be the one against poppy production. Poppies are the flower from which opium is derived, so the U.S. campaign against their...
Resisting US Bases in Okinawa
They come in kayaks and canoes to protect the bay, maintain a tent city on the beach, and hold candlelight vigils. From posters to marches, songs, and a petition expressing international solidarity, Okinawan residents have left no question about their fierce...
Don’t Ask the Pentagon Where Its Money Goes
President Barack Obama proudly signed the law that repealed the Pentagon’s
Battles Rage Not Far from Baghdad; 282 Killed, 116 Wounded Across Iraq
Leslie Gelb Is Right
Amid all the hysteria surrounding the rise of the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIS), even the most frantic have usually refrained from calling for "boots on the ground," i.e. the re-invasion of Iraq. Except for John McCain, at most they say we need to arm...
Will the US Go to ‘War’ Against Ebola?
Originally posted at TomDispatch. These days, two “wars” are in the headlines: one against the marauding Islamic State and its new caliphate of terror carved out of parts of Iraq and Syria, the other against a marauding disease and potential pandemic,...
58 Killed, 45 Wounded Across Iraq; Militiamen Boldly Operate Under Own Terms
Britain’s Phantoms of the Past in Palestine
It would be intellectually dishonest to reflect on the British House of Commons' vote of October 13, on a Palestinian state without digging deeper into history. Regardless of the meaning of the non-binding motion, the parliamentary action cannot be brushed off as just...
A Decent Respect for the Opinions of Mankind
If the British parliament had adopted a resolution in favor of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the reaction of our media would have been like this: "In an atmosphere of great enthusiasm, the British parliament adopted with a huge majority (274 for, a...
Turkey’s Reluctance to Help Against ISIS Should Be a Red Flag
The questionable continuance of the NATO alliance after the Cold War ended is demonstrated by Turkey’s reluctance to help against the rampaging group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The alliance was originally supposed to defend NATO members against a Soviet...


