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"Beatings will continue until morale improves." – Modern American joke This week, the heat under the bubbling Balkans cauldron has been stoked by the Hague Inquisition, and more so than usual. In addition to the obligatory quota of Serb generals, among the 10 new indictments it just issued were the commander of Bosnian Muslim forces … Continue reading “Consequences of the Hague Inquisition”

If you’ve been listening to the story-line composed by American officials promoting the Bush administration’s foreign policy, you might have concluded that two recent international developments are all part of the Freedom Narrative. The two developments are the Chinese opposition to the security accord between Washington and Tokyo that announced for the first time that … Continue reading “Get Real, America”

“Many parents have experienced the eerie intuition that tells them their child is in danger.” – Jesus on Parenting “Mom, there’s this test we’re supposed to take tomorrow,” my daughter told me one night last year, “but I have a funny feeling about it. Our guidance counselor came in and said that the school would … Continue reading “10 Ways to Protect Your Child From the ASVAB”

Listen to Scott’s interview with Eric Margolis stream download mp3 When Seymour Hersh last appeared on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, he explained the administration’s foreign policy agenda to host Jon Stewart. After noting that this agenda was the work of the “neoconservatives, the Wolfowitzes, the people who work at the Pentagon, the civilians,” and … Continue reading “Bush Keeps Fueling the Fire”

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a U.S. citizen accused of plotting with al-Qaeda to assassinate President George W. Bush, will remain in jail pending trial. That was the ruling yesterday by a federal magistrate in Alexandria, Virginia. And part of his reasoning may be found in a most unlikely place: a provision in the intelligence reform … Continue reading “Bail Denied in ‘Rendition’ Terror Case”

The broader implications of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was seen by many as the embodiment of the Lebanese people’s efforts to rebuild their country in the aftermath of its 15-year civil war, are yet to unfold. A Sunni Muslim, Hariri reached out to all of Lebanon’s ethnic … Continue reading “All Set for War With Syria”

It is often pointed out that presidents get too much praise and blame for the economy, since the domestic economy has its own rhythms. We are now going to see everything that happens in the Middle East attributed to George W. Bush, whether he had much to do with it or not (usually not). What … Continue reading “Lebanon: Background and Forecast”

The Feb. 15 Christian Science Monitor describes a situation that, to anyone familiar with American-Turkish relations in the post-World War II period, is almost beyond imagining: an American attack on Turkey. According to the Monitor‘s story, "The year is 2007. After a clash with Turkish forces in northern Iraq, U.S. troops stage a surprise attack. … Continue reading “Turkey Imagines the Unimaginable”

Here’s the strange thing. In the decade that followed the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, nuclear weapons more or less disappeared from American sight – despite a near-nuclear war in South Asia, despite the fact that the U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals continued to sit in place without particular justification or obvious “mission.” Those potentially … Continue reading “Attacking Iran: I Know It Sounds Crazy, But…”

Why pick a military town as the site for an antiwar rally? As a veteran and a resident of Fayetteville, N.C. near Ft. Bragg, I can think of at least 50 reasons. Each of those reasons has a name and each were members of our community prior to their deaths in Iraq.  Some may argue … Continue reading “Recruiting Iraq Vets Against the War”