I was planning to write about Blackwater and a growing distaste for contracting-out, privatizing or outsourcing various operations in wartime to "mercenaries," and I will a bit. But the topic of mercenaries got me to thinking about Machiavelli, who famously...
Updated at 12:03 p.m. EDT, Oct. 6, 2007At least 33 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 28 were wounded in the latest round of attacks, which included bombings in Kirkuk and Khalis. Also, two GIs were killed and three were wounded in separate events. Three...
This is an excerpt from Norman Solomon's new book Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State. A story could start almost anywhere. This one begins at a moment startled by a rocket. In the autumn of 1957, America was not at war ... or at peace....
When, in mid-September, General David Petraeus testified before Congress on "progress" in Iraq, he appeared in full dress uniform with quite a stunning chestful of medals. The general is undoubtedly a tough bird. He was shot in the chest during a training-exercise...
On September 16, as a car approached Nisour Square, all the folly and tragedy of the Iraq war was enacted on a Baghdad street. In the vehicle were two Iraqis: Ahmed Haithem was driving his mother, Mohassin, to the local hospital, where her husband worked as a...
The Republican Party once professed to promote fiscal responsibility. It sought to limit government growth, expected program benefits to exceed costs, and refused to give any agency a blank check. No longer. If there is a Republican Party consensus –...
Updated at 11:50 p.m. EDT, Oct. 5, 2007In an unusually active Friday, 62 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 62 more were wounded. Two incidents involving U.S. forces are the focus of controversy today as innocent civilians may have been killed. Police sources in...
Almost surely President George W. Bush will keep the American military in Iraq until he leaves office. He will kick the war down the calendar and leave it to the incoming president. So what should the president do when he or she takes office? The president can retain...
Updated at 11:57 p.m. EDT, Oct. 4, 2007As Baghdad and Tal Afar were rocked by numerous bombings, the cities of Iskandariya, Samarra, Suwayra and Hilla were plagued with assassinations. Overall, at least 68 Iraqis were killed and 112 more were wounded during the latest...
Counting to Three At least Caesar was just commenting on reality when he wrote that "all Gaul is divided into three parts." Last week, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joe Biden attempted to create reality when an overwhelming majority of the U.S. Senate voted for...
