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George W. Bush took a terrible pummeling in Thursday night’s debate, as John Kerry took off the gloves and let him have it on the issue of the war. But was it a knockout punch? Kerry only fumbled around for a few minutes as he got his bearings after Jim Lehrer’s uninspiring initial question: "Do … Continue reading “Kerry Cleans the President’s Clock”

Several high-profile FBI investigations, in which substantial progress has been made, may well have been put on hold by the Bush administration for political reasons. That is, it has been alleged to me that the White House may have leaned on the FBI – not to drop the investigations but to postpone some key arrests … Continue reading “Justice Delayed by Politics?”

ROME – "Shukran, shukran gesilan, ma salama (Thank you, many thanks, see you later)," Italian aid workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta said after being freed this week in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The women, who work for the Italian non-governmental organization (NGO) "A Bridge to . . ." were kidnapped by militants on Sept. … Continue reading “A Ray of Hope in Iraq’s Hostage Crisis”

“I was at a rap concert the other night,” said a 17-year-old neighbor last night. “And they were saying all kinds of crazy things, like ‘Bush is a baby-killer.’” He rolled his eyes and laughed. I asked him, “Well the truth is that children and infants have been killed this very week – did you … Continue reading “As I Lay Crying”

Insufficient security forces and a lack of election observers, combined with regional warlords backed by the United States, continue to threaten the upcoming presidential election in Afghanistan, says a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). Local citizens feel the warlords pose a greater threat to their safety than forces of the former ruling Taliban, … Continue reading “US-Backed Warlords Threaten Afghan Elections”

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australia’s John Howard may have a reputation in their respective countries for being the lapdogs of the American president – in Blair’s case, two of them so far. But no national leader in the world has demonstrated such sycophancy to the Emperor as the recently elected Boris Tadic, the … Continue reading “‘Most Humbly Yours…’”

It’s not an "if." It’s a "when." Pentagon officials have indicated that they plan to send as many as 15,000 additional troops during the first four months of 2005, and the President George W. Bush continues to insist "we will stay the course" until Iraq is stabilized. (I do wish his advisers would provide a … Continue reading “High Time for Bush to Tell the Truth”

BAGHDAD – The Bible suggests that the Iraqi marshlands were once the Garden of Eden. But the garden, if it ever existed, is long gone, and so, mostly, are the marshlands. These marshlands once spread over 20,000 sq. km (7,722 sq. mi.) in the south of Iraq. They formed around the basin where the Tigris … Continue reading “‘Garden of Eden’ Has Become a Mess”

The sign of a civilized society is the sanctity it accords human life. According to the Talmud, “To save one life is like saving the world.” You needn’t be religious to live by this maxim. You must, however, be observant of the most precious thing on earth: the life of an innocent human being. As … Continue reading “After Their Heads Roll, America’s Dead Remain Faceless”

The war in Iraq is becoming more and more vicious. Attacks on coalition forces have escalated. Americans are now dying at a rate of over two per day. Iraqi police and militia are suffering major casualties from the constant attacks. Neither presidential candidate has proposed a way out of this morass. Why has the insurgency … Continue reading “A Win/Win Exit Strategy”