Some Guantánamo Prisoners Fight Release
As 13 prisoners held at the U.S. naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba appeared set to finally win their freedom, others are asking their release to be deferred. The problem is that some of those cleared for release fear they will be tortured if they are transferred to...
Thursday: 12 Iraqis Killed, 86 Wounded
Updated at 8:15 p.m. EDT, Sept. 10, 2009
Bombings to the south of Baghdad almost overshadow the new casualties stemming from a bombing in northern Iraq that was reported late yesterday. Overall, at least 12 Iraqis were killed and 86 more were wounded in the latest attacks. The figure includes the news casualties from Wardek. U.S. ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill promised the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. will stick to its drawdown timetable despite recent violence.
read moreObama’s Turning Point
No Escape From Guantánamo: The Latest Habeas Rulings
Federal Prosecutors Say Blackwater ‘Specifically Intended to Kill’ Civilians
A month ago, most major, corporate media outlets ignored the sworn statements of two former Blackwater employees, one of whom -- identified in court papers as John Doe #2 -- alleged that the company's owner Erik Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader...
Wednesday: 44 Iraqis Killed, 61 Wounded
Updated at 11:01 p.m. EDT, Sept. 9, 2009
At least 44 Iraqis were killed and 61 more wounded in attacks, including a significant bombing in a Kurdish village. Meanwhile, two Saddam-era officials were acquitted of war crimes involving the deaths of two British soldiers during the U.S.-led invasion, even as yesterday’s U.S. servicemember deaths have left planners wondering about the feasibility of the U.S. drawdown. Also, Iraqi and Syrian diplomats met behind closed doors in Cairo but failed to resolve tensions over Syria allowing foreign fighters entry into Iraq.
read moreThinking Outside the Herd
You'd like to think that some buffalo at the back of the herd, following all those thundering bulls with balls, Jonathan Livingston Buffalo maybe, is thinking, in response to the shrieking of crazed humans: "Wait a minute…" OK, so we're having...
Measuring a War Gone to Hell
Here may be the single strangest fact of our American world: that at least three administrations – Ronald Reagan's, George W. Bush's, and now Barack Obama's – drew the U.S. "defense" perimeter at the Hindu Kush; that is, in the rugged, mountainous lands of...
Men With Guns, in Kabul and Washington
For those who believe in making war, Kabul is a notable work product. After 30 years, the results are in: a devastated city. A stale witticism calls Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai "the mayor of Kabul." Now, not even. On block after block in the Afghan...
