Category: Uncategorized

Recently, I wrote once again about the spread of torture as a way of life in the Bush administration’s offshore imperium. I offered my version of a national “self-portrait” for the New Year (“American Gothic”) and considered the latest torture news, now practically pouring through leaks in the Washington and Pentagon bureaucracy. While I was … Continue reading “What Is Wrong With Torture”

During the presidential campaign last year, when John Kerry tried to be a bigger imperialist than George W. Bush, he chose the Balkans as his battleground. Here was a jewel in the crown of Clinton’s “humanitarian interventionism,” neglected by Bush as he went gallivanting about the Middle East, that candidate Kerry promised to resurrect to … Continue reading “A Broken Promise”

As George W. Bush prepares to be sworn in for his second term as U.S. president, a strong majority of the world’s people are concerned his tenure is likely to produce more setbacks to the cause of world peace and security, according to a major international poll released Wednesday. The survey of nearly 22,000 people … Continue reading “Survey: Benevolent Hegemony Not Appreciated”

LONDON – The court martial of three British soldiers for abuse of Iraqi prisoners has established that a soldier is only as bad as the photographs of the abuse that get taken. Three British soldiers face court martial over abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Which means only three among more than 65,000 British soldiers who have … Continue reading “For UK Troops, Abuse Only Happens if Photographed”

Iran’s defense minister was pretty cocky the other day: “‘We are able to say that we have strength such that no country can attack us because they do not have precise information about our military capabilities due to our ability to implement flexible strategies,’ Shamkhani told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony to present … Continue reading “Exporting Democracy
– or Terrorism?”

CAIRO – Iraq’s neighbors have begun to worry seriously about its national election scheduled for Jan. 30. Almost every day, a regional leader speaks out in favor of the vote because the alternative could be worse. High-ranking officials from Egypt, Jordan, and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council have recently called for voter participation. "I hope … Continue reading “Iraq Election Worries Neighbors”

After Arafat As Oscar Wilde once said, there are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. Israel is now facing the latter tragedy. For years on end, we knew what we wanted: we wanted Arafat dead. Not that we just sat and waited for … Continue reading “The Threat of Peace”

Will the Bush presidency end as did Wilson’s? Will George W. Bush be defending to his dying day, against the pitiless evidence of events, his “global democratic revolution”? Contingent upon what happens in Afghanistan and Iraq, that may well be his fate. For, as Bush’s strength is Wilson’s strength, his flaw is Wilson’s flaw. Both … Continue reading “Does Wilson’s Fate Await Bush?”

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military is resorting to collective punishment tactics in Iraq similar to those used by Israeli troops in the occupied territories of Palestine, residents say. Military bulldozers have mown down palm groves in the rural al-Dora farming area on the outskirts of Baghdad, residents say. Electricity has been cut, the local fuel … Continue reading “US Military Resorting to Collective Punishment”

"The soldiers are doing strange things in Fallujah," said one of my contacts in Fallujah who just returned. He was in his city checking on his home and just returned to Baghdad this evening. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he continued, "In the center of the Julan Quarter they are removing entire homes which have … Continue reading “What Is the US Trying to Hide in Fallujah?”