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Suppose you are the party responsible for invading a country under totally false pretenses. Suppose you had totally unrealistic expectations about the consequences of your gratuitous aggression. What do you do when, instead of being greeted with flowers, you find your army is tied down by insurgents and you have no face-saving way to get … Continue reading “We Have Nothing to Fear But Bush Himself”

Despite the Bush administration’s insistence that, at least for now, it remains committed to using diplomatic means to halt Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program, war drums against the Islamic Republic appear to be beating more loudly here. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice assured Europeans on her trip this past week that Washington does indeed support … Continue reading “Iran War Drums Beat Harder”

Remember that Iraq election everyone was hailing last week as a triumph of democracy and a model for the region? A quagmire was transformed almost overnight into a stunning victory: when election day dawned, Iraq turned on a dime and was supposedly rendered relatively quiet. I heard one news anchor declare that only eight attacks … Continue reading “Iraq’s Dodgy Election”

ARBIL, Iraq – Fresh from their success at the polls, Iraq’s two main Kurdish political parties have put forward 72-year-old Jalal Talabani as their candidate for the presidency of Iraq. If he succeeds in winning the post, it will be a fitting coda to one of Iraq’s most colorful careers. Born into a prominent Kurdish … Continue reading “The Next President of Iraq?”

The neoconservative Project for the New American Century (PNAC) has signaled its intention to continue shaping the government’s national security strategy with a new public letter stating that the “U.S. military is too small for the responsibilities we are asking it to assume.” Rather than reining in the imperial scope of U.S. national security strategy … Continue reading “Liberals and Neocons: Together Again”

Unfortunately, it should hardly come as a surprise that it took about a day into what most of the world press called a cease-fire – though the principals were careful not to use the word – for the first fatality to occur by gunshot. According to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, "Gunfire from the Atzmona settlement … Continue reading “Dim Hopes for Peace”

Antiwar.com columnist Ivan Eland talks exit strategy with Scott Horton. Interview conducted Feb. 5, 2005. Check out Scott’s other interviews with prominent antiwar and libertarian personalities. Listen to Streaming Audio Download MP3 Ivan Eland is senior fellow and director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at The Independent Institute and assistant editor of The … Continue reading “Which Way Out of Iraq?”

Here were a few headlines from yesterday’s papers: “Bush Urges Congress Join Him on Budget Cuts” (Reuters); “President Offers Budget Proposal With Broad Cuts” (New York Times); “Bush Spending Plan Hits Social Programs” (Boston Globe); “Bush: Budget Cuts Part of Broader Economic Agenda” (Los Angeles Times); “Bush’s Budget Cuts Would Fall Near Main Street” (Christian … Continue reading “Winners and Losers in Iraq”

Bands played, children sang, millions of Iraqis turned out to vote, and the whole world hailed Iraq’s election as an historic epiphany. Success in the voting process means that Iraq will emerge as a peaceful, democratic state. America has won its war. Sorry, but I don’t buy it. Yes, millions voted. But the Kurds voted … Continue reading “More Election Juju”

Even some of President George W. Bush’s most enthusiastic conservative Republican supporters have expressed a sense of alarm over the grandiose and expansive vision of America’s mission in the world – “support[ing] the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world” – … Continue reading “A Spacey Vision for Democracy”