Enough already with the encomiums to Tim Russert, whose untimely death has sparked a veritable chorus of eulogies depicting him as the epitome of objectivity and the greatest of journalists. This is all coming, quite naturally, from his fellow journalists and...
Rice Midwifes Lebanon’s Latest ‘Birth Pangs’
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a surprise visit to Beirut Monday to pledge her support for an agreement giving greater political power to Hezbollah, the militant Shi'ite group that Washington still considers a terrorist organization. The Doha-brokered...
Remaking the Middle East
President George W. Bush has succeeded in convincing many of America's European allies to tighten sanctions against Iran to inhibit its nuclear program. He has also reiterated that he prefers negotiations to end the impasse with Tehran but that "all options"...
Bush Inspires Least Confidence as World Leader
While historians debate whether George W. Bush has been the worst president in U.S. history, a global consensus that he inspires the least confidence of all the world's major leaders appears to have emerged. An average of two out of three respondents in 20 nations...
Tuesday: 75 Iraqis Killed, 120 Wounded
Updated at 11:57 p.m. EDT, June 17, 2008At least 75 Iraqis were killed and 120 more were wounded in a spate of bombings and other attacks. The heaviest toll occurred at a Baghdad bus stop around dinnertime. No Coalition deaths were reported today. Meanwhile, Turkey...
You Want Change?
The pundits agree that this election is all about "change," so naturally we have two presidential nominees who present identical positions on the major foreign policy issue of the day: the looming prospect of the U.S. launching a "preventive" war...
The Greatest Story Never Told
It's just a $5,812,353 contract chump change for the Pentagon and not even one of those notorious "no-bid" contracts either. Ninety-eight bids were solicited by the Army Corps of Engineers and 12 were received before the contract was awarded this May 28...
India-Pakistan Peace Survives, Somehow
ISLAMABAD - As Pakistan stumbles toward democratization amid domestic political uncertainty, armed unrest led by Islamists along the Afghanistan border, and strained military relations with the U.S., a broad consensus in favor of the peace process with India survives...
Monday: 3 GIs, 15 Iraqis Killed; 40 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 5:56 p.m. EDT, June 16, 2008At least 15 Iraqis were killed and 40 more wounded across Iraq. Meanwhile, Amara quietly prepares for a security crackdown. Three American servicemembers were killed in separate incidents. A roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier...
Iraq: The Love Stories Are Gone
As statistics go, at least 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the occupation, now in its fifth year. Every one of them has left behind once loved ones to mourn the loss and to think of what might have been. This is the land of the Arabian Nights, and of love...


