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His name is Clare Callan. He is a feisty 85-year-old former congressman from rural Nebraska. And he is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that Pres. George W. Bush had no legal authority to go to war in Iraq. Callan does not see himself as some kind of Don Quixote, haplessly tilting at windmills. … Continue reading “Retiree Doggedly Pursues Legal Challenge of Iraq War”

It seems the mark of a superior politician is the inherent inability to admit to a mistake. Bush has certainly proven he is no exception. When asked last week by Barbara Walters whether going to war in Iraq was worth it considering that no weapons of mass destruction were found, Bush replied, "Oh, absolutely." Bush’s … Continue reading “Know Bush by the Company He Keeps”

One doubts that there were enough memorable phrases or stirring lines to make President Bush’s second inaugural address one of those that will be remembered for years. Nonetheless, it was a remarkably frank speech that offered citizens a reasonably honest look at how the president views his role over the next four years. That it … Continue reading “What Chance for Reality?”

KIRKUK – It is Eid al-Athad, one of the holiest days in the Muslim calendar. It marks the day when Abraham saved his son Isaac from sacrifice after a lamb was offered up instead. Earlier in the morning most families have killed a sheep for the holiday. Kurdish residents of Kirkuk later went door to … Continue reading “Kirkuk at the Crossroads”

Kicking off his second four-year term, President George W. Bush Thursday delivered an inaugural address filled with the righteous resolve and soaring rhetoric that are music to his core constituency but will almost certainly grate on the nerves of almost everybody else, both here and abroad. The speech, which was studded with religious references, was … Continue reading “Bush: The Crusade Must Go On”

Midway through his inaugural address, when the president proclaimed "the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world," I wondered if Bush or his speechwriters knew or cared how alien this ultra-revolutionary rhetoric would seem to conservatives of the old school – and soon had my answer: "Because we have acted in the great liberating … Continue reading “W and Dostoevsky”

The latest polls show that most Americans are critical of the war in Iraq. But the option of swiftly withdrawing all U.S. troops from that country gets little media attention. So far this year, many news outlets have lapsed into conjecture on what George W. Bush has in mind for the Iraq war. At the … Continue reading “Time to Talk Withdrawal”

“Mr. Bush said there was no need to hold any of his officials accountable for mistakes or misjudgments in prewar planning or managing the aftermath…The [Washington Post] asked Mr. Bush why no one had been held responsible for wrong information about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or mistakes made after the US-led war. “‘Well, … Continue reading “Bush: Unfazed … or Unhinged?”

ARBIL – My journey back to Iraq began, as most trips to the north of the country do, at the airport in Diyarbakkir, the largest Kurdish majority city in Turkey. From there it’s a four-hour taxi ride to the border, provided you don’t get stopped by the Turkish army, whose war with Kurdish separatists was … Continue reading “Welcome to Kurdistan”

In her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "Condi" Rice personified the Bush administration’s delusion-based "war against terror." Whenever a senator’s question penetrated to the harsh reality, Condi waffled and evaded, choosing to protect at the expense of her reputation the neocon delusion that invading Iraq was the "right thing to do." Exasperated, … Continue reading “Dying for Sycophants”