There is much to be said for the political allusions and messages of the Star Wars epic now that we are able to see it completely. In both very broad and very particular ways, there are stunning and prescient allegories to our own time. With episodes I and II, we...
Afghanistan: An Imperial Dilemma
Afghanistan, where in recent weeks U.S. troops have been killed at a higher rate than in Iraq, has evolved into something of a classic imperial dilemma for the United States. The administration desperately wants to put the best possible face on the situation there,...
Tragedy Fuels Calls for End to Chile’s Compulsory Military Service
SANTIAGO -The loss of more than 40 young soldiers in a snowstorm in southern Chile late last week has sparked a fierce debate on the country's compulsory military service. Twenty-one bodies have been found so far, and the search for the remaining 19 continued Tuesday...
Give Rumsfeld the Pinochet Treatment, Says US Amnesty Chief
If the administration of President George W. Bush fails to conduct a truly independent investigation of U.S. abuses against detainees in Iraq and elsewhere, foreign governments should investigate and prosecute those senior officials who bear responsibility for them,...
US Ramps Up Arms Supplies to Repressive Regimes
The United States has accelerated arms sales to some of the world's most repressive and undemocratic regimes since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, according to a new report from leading arms trade researchers. The report, from the Arms Trade...
Rights Groups Assail US Govt Torture Report
Civil rights groups are accusing the U.S. government of failing to admit the extent to which abuse of non-citizens in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, Iraq, and its base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, violates the international treaty against torture. At issue is a report...
Fujimori the Fugitive Poised for a Comeback?
LIMA - Former president Alberto Fujimori is back in the media spotlight in Peru, amid announcements that he is not only planning to return from exile in Japan, but also has his eye on running in the 2006 presidential elections despite the fact that he is a...
House Kills First Vote on Iraq Withdrawal
The House of Representatives voted down a measure, by a 128 to 300 vote, that called on President Bush to devise a plan for a withdrawal from Iraq. It came in the form of an amendment to the $491 billion budget for the Pentagon that was passed on Wednesday night. But...
Poverty and the Seeds of Terrorism in Our Own Back Yard
In 2001, I spent several weeks trekking through remote villages in the highlands and rainforests of Ecuador. It was the same summer that the Bush administration announced the Andean Regional Initiative (ARI), an expansion of policies started under the Clinton...
Bolton Confirmation Would Shatter Intelligence Analysts’ Morale
Few have more at stake in the expected Senate approval of John Bolton to be U.S. representative at the UN than the remnant of demoralized intelligence analysts trained and still willing to speak truth to power. What would be the point in continuing, they ask, when...


