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"Where you stand determines what you see, and how you live." That’s how Voices in the Wilderness members began our statement explaining why we’d decided to stay in Baghdad during the 2003 Shock and Awe bombing of Iraq. During the long war of the economic sanctions, we had stood at the bedsides of numerous mothers … Continue reading “Where You Stand Determines What You See”

Congressional Democrats are demanding more oversight over U.S. prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. In a letter released Thursday, Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi joined 170 other members of Congress, introduced legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate abuses of detainees caught during the “global war on terror.” In the minds of the … Continue reading “No New Abu Ghraibs”

With last week’s hearings on the Downing Street memos concluded, much work lies ahead. Now, the information in the Downing Street memos needs to be collated carefully with evidence from the mainstream media, on the Internet, and from other sources regarding what was going on in top policymaking circles in Washington in the preparations for … Continue reading “Fixed Is Fixed”

Forget it! That seems to be an unstated motto for American media coverage of the Iranian presidential election. The axiom comes down to: "Don’t let history get in the way of spin." Evasion smooths the way to the next war. For maximum propaganda effect, the agenda-setting must be decoupled as much as possible from clear … Continue reading “Voluntary Amnesia in the Service of War”

After last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the legal status of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the chair of the Committee, Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), says he plans to bring new legislation that would create a detention commission to allow detainees to get a hearing on their imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay. The proposal would mark … Continue reading “Behind the Congressional Gitmo Debate”

At long last, the culminating session of the World Tribunal on Iraq is upon us. As a witness providing testimony, I’m being interviewed by many outlets. Today, one of them was by reporters for one of the larger newspapers in Turkey, Yeni Safak. I’ll leave the reporters nameless, for reasons you’ll soon see. The newspaper … Continue reading “Censoring the Carnage”

I can certainly sympathize with Michigan Democrat Rep. John Conyers and various of his sympathizers, who sponsored a forum last week in the House to discuss the notorious Downing Street memo and to promote the idea that Congress should conduct an official inquiry into whether President Bush intentionally misled the nation into the Iraq war. … Continue reading “Smoking Gun Misfiring?”

The cry is going up to get us out of Iraq, and just as surely – and loudly – the counter-cry is also rising: don’t “cut and run!” The neoconservatives’ big guns are being wheeled out, with David Brooks and Max Boot – pontificating from the pages of the New York Times and the Los … Continue reading “Iraq: What Price ‘Victory’?”

Sam Gardiner has taught strategy and military operations at the National War College, Air War College, and Naval War College. He was recently a visiting scholar at the Swedish Defense College. During Gulf War II, he was a regular on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, BBC radio and television, and National Public Radio. He authored … Continue reading “The War Before the War”

Republican Congressman Walter B. Jones (famed for insisting that the Congressional cafeteria re-label French fries as “freedom fries” on its menu), a man who represents North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District, home to the Marine’s Camp LeJeune, voted enthusiastically for the Iraq war, but recently changed his mind. Last week, he became one of four congressional … Continue reading “Withdrawal: Seize the Moment”