Category: Uncategorized

Now that President Bush has been reelected and Franks-Bremer-Tenet awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Washington Post has apparently decided to spill the beans about the true “weapons of mass destruction” threat. In particular, Dafna Linzer spilled the beans about the nuke threat and John Mintz about the chem-bio weapons threat. You ought to … Continue reading “Overblown Threats”

The idea that today’s conservatives are in any way defenders of individual liberty, the free market, and what Russell Kirk called “the permanent things,” i.e., the sacred traditions that have accumulated over time to constitute the core of our Judeo-Christian culture, is no longer a defensible proposition. Instead, what used to be called the conservative … Continue reading “Today’s Conservatives
Are Fascists”

‘Staying the Course’ Won’t Do The article by Pat Buchanan is EXCELLENT. As a lifelong antiwar protester, it is heartening to read that even the Republican party behind the mess in Iraq has concrete doubts about the direction we are taking. My husband is enlisted in the U.S. Army, has served for 20 years, and … Continue reading “Backtalk, January 1, 2005”

It is as if I am in a nightmare that never ends. The nightmare is about Vietnam, but it is also about Iraq and Afghanistan. I seem to be in a time warp, and over and over every day and night I see not Iraq, but Vietnam. I see the same kids dying the same … Continue reading “A Vietnam Grunt Looks at Iraq”

We move into a new year of imperial ambitions. Perhaps it is time to take stock of some of the assumptions that lie behind the imperial enterprise in order to understand why, at least on the basis of its own stated goals, the empire is unlikely to be successful. It wouldn’t be a bad idea … Continue reading “Confused About Democracy”

“The curious incident is the barking of the dog,” Sherlock Holmes remarked. “But the dog did not bark!” exclaimed Dr. Watson. “That is the curious incident!” This week’s curious incident concerns the wreath of Tony Blair. The wreath that he did not lay on the grave of Yasser Arafat. Elementary, dear Watson. Blair did go … Continue reading “The Wreath Blair Didn’t Lay”

Gary Samore – who served on President Clinton’s National Security Council staff – told an audience last week at the United Arab Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research: "I think if negotiations between Iran and the Europeans fail – and Iran resumes its enrichment program – I think there is a real risk of … Continue reading “Bay of Pigs Redux?”

If 2003 was the year of the liars, as I opined last year, then 2004 was the year of the war criminals, starting with Time magazine’s designated Man of the Year, criminal-in-chief George W. Bush. It was Bush who presided over the torture and abuse not only at Abu Ghraib but in U.S.-run dungeons from … Continue reading “The Great Crime Spree of 2004”

CAIRO – Iraq’s main Sunni political movement, the Iraqi Islamic Party, has announced it will boycott U.S.-sponsored elections to be held Jan. 30. The head of the party, Mohsen Abdel Hamid, told reporters in Baghdad Monday his decision was motivated by the refusal of authorities to postpone elections for six months to ensure broader participation. … Continue reading “Why Arab Leaders Love the Iraqi Election”

During the 1970s, the apartheid government of South Africa sought to bolster its claims to legitimacy by allowing elections in the bantustans – the equivalent to today’s walled-in Palestinian communities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The thought was that if people elected local officials, even to hold largely ceremonial offices, then the … Continue reading “Palestine: Elections Without Democracy”