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Richard Clarke scored well with the 911 families when he apologized for the government’s intelligence failure. But why stop there? As this column is written, 590 US service men and women have died in the invasion and occupation if Iraq. Their families are due an apology. Another 3,000 or so have been wounded, some permanently. … Continue reading “911 Incongruities”

Forgive this quote, but it’s eloquent and wonderfully apt today with respect to Iraq: The man of system…is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it. … Continue reading “The Education of Fred Barnes”

World War II plays a major role in our conception of human history, because, unlike the senseless carnage of World War I, it stands for an ideological struggle between Good and Evil. Whereas the Allies – Britain, the USA and even the Soviet Union – stressed, at least formally, their commitment to the humanistic values … Continue reading “Who Won World War II?”

The murder of Hamas’ spiritual leader, Sheik Yassin, makes perfect sense as long as you understand Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s strategy. That strategy is to make peace impossible. For three years, Sharon has done everything to prevent peace. He himself provoked the new uprising, re-invaded the occupied territories, destroyed the Palestinian Authority, forced Yasser … Continue reading “US Complicity in Israel’s Misdeeds”

For 30 months, 9/11 was a huge political blessing for George W. Bush. This week, the media halo fell off. Within the space of a few days, culminating with his testimony to the Sept. 11 commission Wednesday afternoon, former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke did serious damage to a public-relations scam that the White House has … Continue reading “The Media Politics of 9/11”

Where are the weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East? Ask Mordechai Vanunu. He knows, all too well. On March 24, 1988, Vanunu was convicted of treason by an Israeli court for revealing the existence of Israel’s secret nuclear arsenal at the Dimona facility, where he worked as a technician. Imprisoned since that time, … Continue reading “The Main Danger to Peace”

Dick Clarke’s testimony before the 9/11 Commission turned into a political ping pong match, with John Lehman, former secretary of the navy, insisting that Clarke has a “real credibility problem.” I read Clarke’s book while traveling the past couple of days, and found it anything but a liberal tract. Clarke comes across as a principled … Continue reading “Clarke Smeared by Neocon Slime Machine”

You might think, if only for the sake of increasing the entertainment value if not for the perhaps more worthy goal of getting a wider array of viewpoints, that they would include a wild card or two on some of these dreary government commissions – especially on something so important as how the United States … Continue reading “A Pride of Wrong Answers”

The events in Madrid should be proof enough that Australia has no choice but to follow Washington – George Washington, that is. In 1796, George Washington penned his farewell address in which he expressed what was known as the “Golden Rule” of American foreign policy. At the time, Europe was the America of today: powerful, … Continue reading “Australia Must Follow Washington”

“It all began when the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989, effectively ending the Cold War and prompting the Pentagon to undertake a search for a new set of principles, in part to prevent Congress, then controlled by the Democrats, from slashing the defense budget. The key participants were Cheney, Wolfowitz and Colin Powell … Continue reading “Was It All Planned? Iraq and Empire-Builders”