Phantom Fury, Phantom Victory

With Monday's launch of "Operation Phantom Fury" to regain control of the key insurgent-dominated Sunni city of Fallujah, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush appears to be moving toward another "phantom victory" in its broader quest...

read more

Palestinians Struggle to Find Leadership

RAMALLAH - The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah is struggling to organize itself in the absence of veteran leader Yasser Arafat. His duties have been divided between Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas. But the old leader may throw a...

read more

Resistance Over Fallujah Builds in Baghdad

BAGHDAD - The anger building up in Baghdad over the imminent attack on Fallujah is a warning that U.S. forces could start more than they can handle. The sharp increase in attacks on U.S. and allied forces has been only the most violent form of rising hostility. But it...

read more

Legal Know-How Absent at Gitmo?

Four months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisoners held at a special jail at Guantanamo Bay in the U.S. "war on terrorism" have the right to challenge their detention to an independent forum, the legal process appears far from fair, according to...

read more

EU, US Pressure on Iran Could Backfire

TEHRAN - Diplomats might be optimistic about a breakthrough with Tehran over its nuclear program after weekend talks between Tehran and three European Union heavyweights, but realities are more complicated, since many Iranians say their country has a legitimate right...

read more

There Is Life After Arafat

RAMALLAH - Ramallah moves to the slow and heavy rhythm of any Muslim town in the Middle East during the fasting month of Ramadan. The only sign of anything amiss with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is the permanent vigil that the world press holds outside his ruined...

read more

Carnage and Martial Law

"The Marines that have been killed over the last five months have been killed by a faceless enemy. The enemy there has a face, and it's called Satan, and it lives in Fallujah." These are the words of U.S. Marine Colonel Gary Brandl as he speaks of the imminent attack...

read more

Neocon Agenda: Iran, China, Russia, Latin America…

An influential foreign-policy neoconservative with long-standing ties to top hawks in the administration of President George W. Bush has laid out what he calls "a checklist of the work the world will demand of this president and his subordinates in a second...

read more

Aid Agency Exit Leaves Iraq Further Isolated

MONTREAL - The withdrawal from Iraq of aid agency Doctors Without Borders will further isolate the nation at a time when it should be reestablishing links with the international community, says a doctor with vast experience in the war-torn country. The organization,...

read more