There are no major stories to cover, but lots of seemingly minor ones that all point to major trends in the works. Let’s start with the news that the Heritage Foundation is "censoring" pro-surveillance material coming out of that policy-wonk factory: yes,...
Baghdad Blast Drives Casualty Toll to 92 Killed, 120 Wounded
Iran Hawks Down but Not Out After Geneva Talks
Iran hawks here are pushing hard for Congress, where they enjoy the greatest influence, to approve a new set of extra-territorial sanctions – albeit with some tactical adjustments to take account of the newly hopeful mood coming out of Geneva – before the next round...
15 Killed in Fresh Iraq Attacks
Fractured Opposition Could Derail Syria Talks
Despite U.S. and Western pressure on the opposition to take part in U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at halting the two-and-a-half-year-old Syrian civil war, most experts here believe the rebels are unlikely to show up any time soon. And even if they do, the results will be...
The Failed Policy of Collapsism
When small children want something to go away, they close their eyes. Poof! The monster disappears. The spoonful of spinach vanishes. The spilled milk evaporates. Except that they don’t. U.S policymakers indulge in a similar variety of child’s play called collapsism....
Afghan Families Want Accountability, Not Apologies
The dusty cemetery in Saracha village hosts three new graves: small hills of soil shielding the bodies of Sahebullah, Wasihullah and Amanullah, three of the five boys and young men killed by an ISAF-NATO airstrike on late Friday, Oct. 4. According to the firsts...
More Bombs For Baghdad; 39 Killed, 63 Wounded
American Apocalypse
I don’t believe in God. However, I do believe in divine retribution. Without going into the specifics of this somewhat counterintuitive theology, suffice to say here that its central axiom is the idea that actions have consequences. One cannot go on committing evil...
It’s Time To Put an End to Israel’s ‘Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell’ Nuclear Policy
The negotiations this week in Geneva between Iran and the “P5+1” (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – plus Germany) offer a promising vehicle for avoiding another destructive war....


