The Pentagon’s Blank Check

Soon after the invasion of Iraq was launched, war supporters and critics alike, in a bow to the Vietnam era, began to speak referentially of the "Q-word" – for "quagmire," of course. By now, Iraq has had that administration-inspired "Q" hung firmly around its...

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Could an al-Qaeda Attack Trigger War With Iran?

Following revelations of a George W. Bush administration policy to hold Iran responsible for any al-Qaeda attack on the U.S. that could be portrayed as planned on Iranian soil, former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski warned last week that Washington might...

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Iraq and the Korean ‘Model’

Any doubts that the U.S. is engaged in a colonial adventure in Iraq – because we're "liberators," not imperialists – ought to be permanently dispelled now that top administration officials are holding up the "Korean model" as a framework...

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Aide’s Sentence Caps Star-Crossed Year for Cheney

Tuesday's sentencing to 30 months in prison of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby by a federal judge for lying to government investigators about his role in leaking the identity of a CIA operative marks the latest in a series of blows to Vice President Dick Cheney....

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Korea the Model

The Bush administration has decided its new model for a long-term solution in Iraq is Korea. It's an attempt to stifle the inevitable comparisons of the Iraq quagmire to Vietnam and a way to justify the eventual reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq (to take the heat off...

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Backtalk, June 5, 2007

Pakistan Is Going Down the Road of the Shah's Iran Political commentators generally tend to misrepresent the position of Islamists in Pakistan. Being close to Pakistan and actively observing the current events it becomes quite obvious that despite the post-Sept. 11...

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