Without admitting a need for continued U.S. military presence in Iraq or that he would prefer American troops stay past a Dec. 31 withdrawal date, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki backtracked from previous statements against mission extension and opened the door to such discussions. He now says he will only ask for an extension if there is strong support across Iraq’s political blocs. Meanwhile, light violence left two Iraqis dead and 16 wounded across central and northern Iraq.
read more‘Unprovoked’ Attacks, From 1812 to 9/11
The killing of Osama bin Laden reminds us that there are only two disciplines in which uncaused events occur—quantum physics and the history of U.S. foreign policy. According to the version of history expounded by the American media and politicians, the passenger...
David Frum and the Winds of War
It may be unseemly for a pundit to highlight his own predictive powers, especially in the first sentence of a column, but propriety has never been much of a constraining factor for me, so here goes: No sooner had I written that the High Mucka-Mucks of the...
Fatah-Hamas Honeymoon Could Face Problems
RAMALLAH—Despite the euphoria surrounding the recent signing in Cairo of the groundbreaking unity accord between Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas, ending their four-year feud, numerous obstacles remain that could impinge on the implementation of a unity government....
Tuesday: 13 Iraqis Killed, 29 Wounded
At least 13 Iraqis were killed and 29 more were wounded in new attacks, but a pair of chilling reports noted a darker side of the Iraqi government’s operations.
read moreLessons From the bin Laden Killing
Last week marked an important milestone in the war on terrorism for our country. Osama bin Laden applauded the 9/11 attacks. Such deliberate killing of innocent lives deserved retaliation. It is good that bin Laden is dead and justice is served. The way in which he...
Those Libyan ‘Freedom Fighters’: The Fix Is On
In a column three months ago (“Egypt: Let the Looting Begin”), I suggested that what was really going on in Egypt was somewhat different from the official narrative. In quite a few of the “people power” revolutions in recent years—no matter how sincere the people on...
The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden
When President Obama announced that U.S. special forces had helicoptered into Pakistan, broken into a secret compound an hour from the capital, and killed Osama bin Laden, celebrations broke out all across America. The man who plotted the mass murder of 3,000 of us...
America the Immature and Superficial
The Predators: Where Is Your Democracy?
On May 4, 2011, CNN World News asked whether killing Osama bin Laden was legal under international law. Other news commentaries have questioned whether it would have been both possible and advantageous to bring Osama bin Laden to trial rather than kill him. World...
