When Napoleon ordered the abduction and murder of a political opponent in 1804, his foreign minister, Count Talleyrand, commented: "That was worse than a crime; it was a mistake." Apparently, the wisdom of Talleyrand was not limited to the time. The public opinion in...
Lebanon the Wrong Model for Iraq
Increasingly desperate to find a winning formula in Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney and other Bush administration officials are promoting Lebanon as a political model for Iraq. Agreed, the situation in Iraq is looking more and more like Lebanon but not the...
Bush Gains on Kerry for Arab-American Vote
Despite the worsening situation in Iraq and the continued impasse between Israel and the Palestinians, U.S. President George W. Bush has cut Sen. John Kerry's previously substantial lead among Arab-American voters in four key swing states, according to a new survey...
A Kosher-Stamp on Murder
Two shocking manifestos were published this week. Both call for comment. One of them declares that dismantling the settlements in the Gaza Strip is a "crime against humanity." It does not mention that they were set up on the land reserves of a million...
Motive for Baghdad Helicopter Massacre a Mystery
The US military has offered at least two distinct explanations for killing 13 people and wounding at least 60 others, including children, early Monday morning on Haifa Street in a residential area of central Baghdad. What the Army first explained as a routine...
Doomed to Winning Lost Victories
Last week, I attended and spoke at a conference on armor in urban operations, put on by the U.S. Army Armor School at Ft. Knox, Ky. In listening to the other presentations, the question I was asking myself was, "What are these guys learning from combat in Iraq...
Douglas Feith: Portrait of a Neoconservative
Douglas Feith serves as the number three civilian in the George W. Bush administration's Defense Department, under Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. Undersecretary for Policy Feith previously served in the Reagan administration, starting off as Middle East...
UN Official Blames Burma’s Junta for Impoverishing Villagers
BANGKOK - A United Nations official is blaming the Burmese military government's restrictive agriculture policies for driving villages in two border regions of the country into further poverty. The government restricts the free movement of agriculture products in...
Understanding America’s Terrorist Crisis: What Should Be Done?
The Independent Institute VHS, 106 min., $18.95 This forum was sponsored by the Independent Institute and Harper's magazine in April 2002, almost a year before the Iraq invasion. In a sign of how little has been resolved since, the subject matter remains fresh. David...
The Age of Mercenaries Not Over in Africa
JOHANNESBURG – Debate about the role played by mercenaries in Africa has been revived in recent months, following the arrest and subsequent sentencing of 68 men accused of plotting to overthrow Teodoro Obiang Nguema, president of the tiny, oil-rich state of...


