At least seven Iraqis were killed and 61 more were wounded in recent violence. Most of the attacks were in northern Iraq, but one bold robbery attempt in Baghdad ended in a shootout. Meanwhile, the De-Ba’athification process came under fire again. Also, a lawyer for Tariq Aziz is looking for international help in freeing his infirm client.
read moreTuesday: No Iraqi Casualties Reported
No reports of violence escaped Iraq today; however, there were other important news stories. Among them, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill promises that he is not in Arbil to encourage Kurds to make concessions to the Arab-led central government. Meanwhile, Iraq is cracking down on shops that sell military and police uniforms. Also, Amnesty International has asked for a halt the increasing passage of death sentences.
read moreThe Two Faces of Interventionism
As the US military arrives in Haiti, with only the French and Hugo Chavez raising objections, our foreign policy of global intervention gets a new lease on life – especially on the home front, where it's needed most. Even the hardest heart cannot be closed to the...
The Next Crisis for Obama?
Harsher Gaza War Looming on Horizon?
RAMALLAH - According to several prominent Palestinians and Israelis, another major Israeli military assault on Gaza, even harsher than last year's Operation Cast Lead, is imminent. But will this change anything, and have the underlying causes behind the previous...
Tough Minds and Tender Hearts
I spent Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday in Washington, D.C., as part of the Witness Against Torture fast, which campaigns to end all forms of torture and has worked steadily for an end to the indefinite detention of people imprisoned in Guantanamo, Bagram, and...
British Govt. to Release Documents on Gitmo Case
After months of denial, the British government has agreed to release secret documents that lawyers say could prove that MI5 agents were present during the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's torture of a British resident held by the U.S. government for eight years....
Going Rogue in Combat Boots
Here's a bit of cheery news: Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates met with the nation's top defense company executives, including the CEOs of those mega-military-industrial combines Lockheed Martin and Boeing, and called for a "closer partnership." He also...
Blackwater Wants to Surge Its Armed Force in Afghanistan
A just-released U.S. State Department inspector general's report [.pdf] on Blackwater's work in Afghanistan reveals that Blackwater is proposing increasing its private armed forces in Afghanistan, particularly in Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat where the U.S. is opening...
The COIN Myth, Part III
Parts I and II discussed how our counterinsurgency doctrine's requirements for a reliable host-nation government, a reliable host-nation security force, and reliable intelligence are impossible to achieve in our present wars. The third and final part of the series...
