Bleep NATO

Tom Shanker of the New York Times tells us that NATO defense ministers have given their "broad endorsement" to Gen. Stanley McChrystal's plan to escalate the Afghanistan war into a full-Monty counter insurgency effort. NATO defense ministers love...

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Why the Attacks on J Street?

For the past few years we've seen a sea change on the question of U.S. relations with Israel, both in the U.S. and in the Jewish state. In America, the idea that our "special relationship" with Tel Aviv dictates a policy of unconditional support has come...

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Sunday: 164 Iraqis Killed; Over 700 Iraqis, 3 US Contractors Wounded

Updated at 5:25 p.m. EDT, Oct. 25, 2009 A pair of devastating explosions targeting government buildings in Baghdad left 147 dead and 718 wounded just hours before the Iraqi government would again try to solve an elections law impasse. Three U.S. contractors were also wounded. The death toll eclipses that of “Bloody Wednesday” which left over 100 dead two months ago. Only two other Iraqis were reported killed elsewhere.
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Saturday: 7 Iraqis Killed, 15 Wounded

Updated at 9:09 p.m. EDT, Oct. 24, 2009 At least seven Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded in new violence. An Iraqi court issued an arrest warrant for a Sunni parliamentarian after a detainee claimed he received money and instructions from her to kill or expel Shi’ites from Diyala province.
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Friday: 5 Iraqis Killed, 8 Wounded

Updated at 8:30 p.m. EDT, Oct. 23, 2009 As US envoy to the UN Susan Rice visited Baghdad to hold talks with Prime Minister Maliki about ending U.N. sanctions on Iraq, a United Nations spokesman separately said it was concerned that Iraqi refugees in Europe are being forcibly returned to a dangerous, war-torn country. The prayer day has so far been rather quiet. At least five Iraqis were killed and eight more were wounded. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warned of chaos if January’s national elections are delayed.
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