If a restaurant, dry cleaner, or home-repair business provided inferior goods or shoddy services, it is likely that the concern would go belly-up. Yet when the U.S. government makes a blunder, the more its citizens reward its failure with further money and authority....
The State Perpetuates Itself
Decline and Fall
Is America going the way of Rome? David Walker, the comptroller general of the U.S., has issued a report that basically answers in the affirmative: "The U.S. government is on a 'burning platform' of unsustainable policies and practices," Walker avers,...
US Blames Iran for Casualties from Its Own Attacks
When a top U.S. commander in Iraq reported last week that attacks by Shi'ite militias with links to Iran had risen to 73 percent of all July attacks that had killed or wounded U.S. forces in Baghdad, he claimed it was because of an effort by Iran to oust the United...
Wednesday: 87 Iraqis Killed, 44 Wounded
Updated at 11:45 p.m. EDT, Aug. 15, 2007A day after a coordinated bomb attack in the Sinjar region, the casualty count continues to mount. The death now stands at more than 500 dead and 375 wounded, making it the deadliest attack of the war. In the latest attacks, at...
What to Do With Cheney?
Bush and Cheney have little to lose from spreading the war, but the Republican Party has very much to lose. Its only way out is to impeach Cheney. That would bring Bush back to reality and alleviate the main pressure upon him to expand the wars. A new war, $5/gal....
Tuesday: 572 Iraqis Killed, 6 GIs; 1562 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 10:14 p.m. EDT, Aug. 21, 2007At least 572 Iraqis were killed and 1562 more were wounded in the latest round of attacks, which included a major coordinated bombing in northern Iraq. Also, six GIs were killed and three more were wounded in separate events....
Neolibs and Neocons,
United and Interchangeable
When it comes to foreign policy, particularly as it relates to the Middle East, there is not a whole lot of separation between the Democratic and Republican Parties. Republicans tend to be more bellicose in their statements, but Democrats have more than made up for...
Escalation by the Numbers
Someday, we will undoubtedly discover that, in the term "surge" as in the president's "surge" plan (or "new way forward") announced to the nation in January was the urge to avoid the language (and experience) of the Vietnam era. As there were to be no...
A Law and Order Spinoff You Don’t Want to Miss
The successful TV franchise Law and Order has spun off a number of niche crime dramas over the years: Special Victims Unit, which deals with sexual predators; Criminal Intent, which concerns high-profile murders; and Trial by Jury, which takes viewers into the...
Iran Ties Weaken Iraqi Government Further
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's increasing ties with Iran have triggered a splintering of his government. Several groups, both Sunni and Shia, have followed the Sunni al-Tawafuq bloc (Iraqi Accord Front) in quitting the U.S.-backed government. But...


