Student Protest Stops CIA at NYU

A planned CIA recruiting event at New York University (NYU) was canceled after the Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) called a protest demanding the CIA abandon its recruiting program at NYU. Twenty hours before the recruiting event was scheduled to begin, its organizers sent an e-mail to all those who had registered, headlined, "The CIA Speaker … Continue reading “Student Protest Stops CIA at NYU”

Too Many Friends in Undemocratic Places?

As the U.S. State Department was unveiling its third annual report on "Supporting Human Rights and Democracy" this week, four of the country’s best-known legislators came together to introduce a bipartisan bill to boost the promotion of democracy throughout the world – and signal a fundamental change in U.S. foreign policy. The ADVANCE Democracy bill … Continue reading “Too Many Friends in Undemocratic Places?”

If You Build It, They Will Kill

There’s that classic line of career advice to the confused young hero of the 1967 film The Graduate: “I want to say one word to you. Just one word… plastics.” With the perspective of a few extra decades under our belts (or beltways), that word probably should have been “arms.” After all, what a couple … Continue reading “If You Build It, They Will Kill”

Lebanon Baloney, Sliced Thin

On Tuesday, March 29, Syria informed the U.N. that it would withdraw all of its troops from Lebanon before that country holds elections later this spring. The neo-Jacobins are celebrating Syria’s eviction from Lebanon as another great victory for democracy and the Rights of Man. But given what the removal of Syrian forces from Lebanon … Continue reading “Lebanon Baloney, Sliced Thin”

Not Invented Here

The report of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction begins thusly; “On the brink of war, and in front of the whole world, the United States government asserted that Saddam Hussein had reconstituted his nuclear weapons program, had biological weapons and mobile biological weapon production facilities, … Continue reading “Not Invented Here”

Honest Intelligence Needed

The latest commission looking into intelligence failures on Iraq reports a certain consistency in the performance of the intelligence community. We are informed that we also “know disturbingly little about the weapons programs” of other countries – such as Iran. One might think this would counsel caution for a Pentagon planning to “take out” Iran’s … Continue reading “Honest Intelligence Needed”

US Soldiers Told to ‘Beat the F**k Out of’ Detainees

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is charging that U.S. Army documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that the mistreatment of detainees in Iraq was much more widespread than the government has admitted. The advocacy group also accused the Army of failing to comply with a court order to release the documents … Continue reading “US Soldiers Told to ‘Beat the F**k Out of’ Detainees”

Who’s Afraid of John Bolton?

Listen to Scott’s interview with Tom Barry stream download mp3 George Bush’s nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has provoked a storm of controversy, setting off cries of “loose cannon!” and “unilateralism!” from the more internationalist of the American interventionists. Currently undersecretary of state for arms control and international … Continue reading “Who’s Afraid of John Bolton?”

‘Dead Wrong’ and Probably Not for the Last Time

The presidential Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction released its findings [.pdf] on March 31, and the jury is no longer undecided. The intelligence community was “dead wrong” in almost all of its pre-war claims leading up to the Iraq invasion. Many of the failures that the … Continue reading “‘Dead Wrong’ and Probably Not for the Last Time”