Category: Uncategorized

From Dahr’s weblog: Several of us are sitting in the hotel room having lunch, watching the news trying to keep up with the violence daily engulfing Iraq. Let me give you a quick rundown from the last 24 hours. Late last night fighting continued in Sadr City between the Mehdi Army and occupation forces … … Continue reading “Violence Engulfing Iraq”

I thought it was terrible. I was wrong. It is far, far worse! These words sum up my feelings at that moment. I was standing on a hill overlooking the infamous Kalandia checkpoint. Below me was a narrow road, packed with Palestinians in the blazing sun, 30 degrees centigrade (86 F) in the shade (but … Continue reading “A Nightmare Come True”

DAMASCUS – Kurds within Syria are beginning to demand increasing recognition in the face of the autonomy enjoyed by Kurds within Iraq. Kurds number about 1.5 million in a Syrian population of 17 million. A total of 20 million Kurds are scattered across several countries. Turkey has about half the Kurd population, Iraq about five … Continue reading “Kurd Unrest Spreads to Syria”

NEW DELHI – India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which lost power in recent elections, is in crisis after its leader, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, blamed his government’s poll defeat on the party’s failure to rein in the anti-Muslim pogrom in western Gujarat state in 2002. Vajpayee made the admission at the hill resort … Continue reading “Pro-Hindu Party Faces Split over Anti-Muslim Pogrom”

KARACHI – Conservative opinion holds the Great Communicator Ronald Reagan, who died this month at 93, to be a great U.S. president. His greatness largely comprises his ability to convince his country’s people, or a majority of them, that he stood for freedom and democracy and that communism was the worst of evils. He certainly … Continue reading “Reagan’s Blowback in Central Asia”

A Wall Street Journal article last week detailed a Department of Defense memo that discusses the legality of interrogation and torture methods in the wake of events at Abu Ghraib. The document reportedly advises that the president has authority to order almost any action, including physical or psychological torture, despite federal laws to the contrary. … Continue reading “Torture, War, and Presidential Powers”

KABUL – On the flight out of Dubai, an item in the pockets of the passenger seats removes all doubt about the airplane’s destination: along with the laminated sheet detailing aircraft safety procedures is a brochure from the United Nations Landmine Action Service explaining how to avoid death or injury from the explosive devices in … Continue reading “Afghanistan Has Everything but Peace”

MONTREAL – One week from now, seven days before voters take part in one of the closest elections in recent Canadian history, a window will open onto a crime that appalled and captivated people throughout this country and worldwide. But until the inquiry starts June 21 into the case of Maher Arar – a Canadian … Continue reading “Torture and Terror Influence Canadian Election”

Would Ronald Reagan have invaded Iraq? Would he have declared a doctrine of preventive war to keep any rival nation from rising to where it might challenge us? Would he have crusaded for “world democratic revolution”? Was Reagan the first neoconservative? This claim has been entered in the wake of his death. Yet, it seems … Continue reading “Was Reagan the First Neoconservative?”

I‘ve always liked the restful quiet of an empty classroom. Maybe this is why the large room where we wait to start mealtime duties, here at Pekin Federal Prison, feels comfortably familiar. During breaks, in the dining area, I’ve spent many hours reading, writing, studying Arabic, and staring out the window. Today, looking out the … Continue reading “Requiem for a Son Killed in Iraq”