In addition to dueling over Afghanistan (the subject of my last column), Senators McCain and Obama are trying to one-up each other when it comes to energy. Most notably, the McCain campaign recently released an ad that essentially blames Obama for $4-a-gallon gasoline...
BAQUBA - A massive military operation in Diyala province has underscored the military and political gains by the Sahwa militia, despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's earlier attempts to thwart them. Maliki has now apparently come around to involving the Sahwa...
It sounds like a very bad made-for-television movie: a mad scientist – a violent sociopath, a "nerd with a dark side," who had already tried to kill several people, is obsessed with pornography, and is fixated on a particular college sorority –...
Living Through the Age of Denial in America Engelhardt covers a lot of territory, but he engages the reader with a crisp writing style and a stunning grasp of information. His conclusion, that Americans have been living through an Age of Denial, is, alas,...
The latest series of test missiles launched by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the northern part of the Persian Gulf and the eastern Hormuz Strait has fueled new concerns over a military conflict in the region. Despite apparent diplomatic progress between Tehran...
A photographer friend of mine came to Chengdu in June to do a photo essay on a few topics of interest in Sichuan – Gong Fu in Ya An, Hakka in the suburbs of Chengdu, and of course the earthquake that had just devastated much of the province. At the airport in...
Ehud Olmert's resignation speech reached us on our way back from a demonstration. We were protesting the death of Ahmad Moussa, aged 10, who was murdered during a demonstration against the Separation Fence at Na'ilin village – the fence that robs the village of...
Nearly three years after the U.S. government failed to convict Palestinian activist and former college professor Sami al-Arian of any charges in one of the most high-profile terrorism trials following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he continues to be held in federal...
More than five years after invading Iraq as a first step toward "transforming" the Middle East, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush seems to have lost its footing – let alone its unquestioned domination – throughout the region. The...
Updated at 7:20 p.m. EDT, Aug. 4, 2008At least 21 Iraqis were killed and another 26 were wounded during a politically eventful day in Iraq. Two U.S. servicemembers were killed as well. Despite another postponement, a vote on the provincial elections may be imminent....
