Civilian Surge Expected in New Pakistan Aid Plans
U.S. plans to substantially increase non-military aid to Pakistan to help curb Islamist extremism there will initially require a marked rise in the number of U.S.-based experts working in the country, according to a State Department "Strategy Report"...
Thursday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 14 Wounded
Updated at 7:19 p.m. EST, Dec. 17, 2009
At least six Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Meanwhile, Iraq politicians are asking candidates in next year’s national elections to avoid politicizing recent security lapses. Also, Iraqi militants have apparently used an inexpensive computer program to hack into U.S. military drone feeds.
read moreUS Contemplates More of the Scarcely Believable in ‘Afpak’
Iran’s Domestic Conflict Shifts Into Higher Gear
Although the tumult that has gripped Iran since the contested Jun. 12 election has never abated, two recent occurrences have highlighted the further sharpening of internal conflict and the government's inability to restore stability in the face of creative ways the...
The Guantánamo Shell Game?
Human and rights advocates and members of the Republican Party found unusual common ground Monday. Both registered strong objections to the announcement that the Barack Obama administration would be transferring detainees from Guantánamo to a maximum security prison...
No-Fault Espionage
Wednesday: 7 Iraqis Killed, 27 Wounded
Updated at 8:35 p.m. EST, Dec. 16, 2009
At least seven Iraqis were killed and 27 more were wounded in the latest violence. Prime Minister Maliki came out against Ba’athists again as he spoke about new security implementations. Also, the U.S. House passed a defense bill that will fund the war in Iraq.
read moreThe War Democrats
A recent op ed piece by Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.), a former admiral, is typical of the Bushian "logic" which continues to dominate the making of American foreign policy in the age of Obama. The style is different – gone are the preening neocon Napoleons –...
US: Guantanamo Prisoners Not ‘Persons’
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal Monday to review a lower court's dismissal of a case brought by four British former Guantanamo prisoners against former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the detainees' lawyers charged Tuesday that the country's highest...
