Category: Uncategorized

ARBIL – Tensions in the northern Iraqi city Kirkuk have reached breaking point after Arab parties announced they will boycott the election Jan. 30. The boycott is potentially explosive. The Arab population of Kirkuk was settled there largely as a move by the Saddam regime to dilute the Kurdish strength in this oil-rich region. Kirkuk … Continue reading “Cracks Surfacing Fast in Iraq’s North”

In the United States, the long-awaited Jan. 30 Iraqi election, assessed below by Dilip Hiro, might be labeled the “until” election or, more recently, the “in-the-days-before” election. Since “sovereignty” was turned over to the interim Iraqi government last June (a previous “until” event), American officials have been predicting – and American press and TV reports … Continue reading “The Iraq Election: Another Dead End?”

The International Crisis Group – ICG for short (though they’ve recently decided to shun the acronym) – has long been a player on the Balkans scene, deployed first as rhetorical support for the Clinton regime’s interventions, then as a pressure group to ensure the preservation of their pet policies under the reign of Bush II. … Continue reading “The ICG Strikes Again”

Riding over opposition from its Democratic members, the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday voted 10-8 to send the nomination of Attorney General-designate Alberto Gonzales to the full Senate for confirmation, possibly as early as next week. In another widely anticipated victory for President George W. Bush, his former national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, easily won confirmation … Continue reading “Rights Groups Take Rare Step of Repudiating Nominee”

ARBIL – Ahmed Khani sips his tea as he reclines in a high-back leather chair, a sepia-toned portrait of the father of Iraqi Kurdish nationalism, the late Mullah Mustafa Barzani behind him. In the portrait, Barzani wears military fatigues and the traditional Kurdish headscarf. Khani is wearing a suit. Ahmed Khani is the deputy local … Continue reading “Kurdish Parties Eye Independence”

BRUSSELS – The European Union restored ties with Sudan Tuesday and offered 50 million euros ($65 million) in aid to help boost a peace agreement after the end of one of Africa’s longest-ever civil wars. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development signed the accord with Sudanese … Continue reading “EU Resumes Aid to Sudan”

A few days ago, during an interview, I was asked to provide comments regarding the inspector general’s (IG) report into my allegations, and I was asked whether or not I agreed with the report’s conclusion that the FBI did not take my reports and allegations seriously, although they were supported by facts, evidence, and other … Continue reading “Demand Accountability”

  Watch Ron Paul deliver this speech to the House of Representatives on video.     America’s policy of foreign intervention, while still debated in the early 20th century, is today accepted as conventional wisdom by both political parties. But what if the overall policy is a colossal mistake, a major error in judgment? Not … Continue reading “What if It Was All a Big Mistake?”

In a democracy, we are supposed to have choices. Our Constitution gives us those choices. Our Constitution is founded on the highest order of morality. As a soldier, my husband, Sgt. Kevin Benderman, has a sworn duty to defend his country and its Constitution. As a soldier, my husband therefore has a sworn duty to … Continue reading “My Husband Is Defending Democracy”

On Jan. 17, the Cryptome Web site posted a remarkable document that affords us a glimpse inside the secret war now taking place all around us. I refer, of course, to the war on terrorism, which, we’ve all been informed, will be a “generational” struggle, the outcome of which is uncertain – and, what’s more, … Continue reading “The Shadow War”