Roots of Discord

It is often said that the roots of the conflicts in the Middle East, which many U.S. diplomats seem to think can be handled with just one more full-court-press and a conference, – and we’re talking not just of disputes between Israelis and Palestinians but the larger regional hostilities – are centuries-old, even milliennia-old. There … Continue reading “Roots of Discord”

Let’s Just Scrap the Bill of Rights

If you pay attention to news about the “War on Terrorism,” you may be a bit confused about what our government is doing. One day Mr. Macho tells us we’re at war and we must put up with the intrusions of liberty that normally accompany war. The next day we’re told this “struggle” may last … Continue reading “Let’s Just Scrap the Bill of Rights”

Balkans and the Big Picture

Hollywood did it again last weekend, as the Chris Rock-Anthony Hopkins feature Bad Company revolved around preventing "Yugoslav" terrorists from blowing up New York City with a nuclear weapon. Even the film critics saw through such a pathetic plot setup. But it must have been rather embarrassing when a most unlikely suspect was arrested Monday … Continue reading “Balkans and the Big Picture”

Military Force is No Solution

Going by the signals emanating from Almaty and Singapore, and from Washington, New Delhi and Islamabad, the level of official rhetoric of India-Pakistan hostility has come down by a few decibels during the past week. This must be heartily welcomed. But the lowering of the pitch of hostility is not consistent and pervasive, nor yet … Continue reading “Military Force is No Solution”

THE AGE OF MALARKEY

In an earlier column, I theorized that when the hijackers rammed those planes into the World Trade Center, they must’ve torn a hole in the space-time continuum, opening the door to another dimension – the Bizarro World – an alternate universe where everything is grotesquely inverted. But now it seems that the Great Inversion may … Continue reading “THE AGE OF MALARKEY”

The Empire Strikes First

In a way, the news that the Bush administration is developing a new strategic doctrine that involves preemptive strikes against terrorists and states alleged to have chemical, biological or nuclear weapons could be viewed as simply formalizing what has been U.S. intervention doctrine for years now. After all, the United States did not require an … Continue reading “The Empire Strikes First”

What Are We Fighting For?

If Tories were rats being drowned in a bucket, it would be neither water nor bucket that would bother them, but whether a Clarkeite’s blanched belly bobbed to the surface first. The most recent example of this came after l’affaire Cummings, when the party’s newly appointed director of strategy choose to reveal the innermost thinking … Continue reading “What Are We Fighting For?”

LIVING IN A SOVIET AMERICA

A C-Net news item, with the ominous title of "FBI digs deeper into the Web," details how the feds will be tracing the digital trails people leave as they surf the internet, and reports the outrage of civil libertarians. The new guidelines giving the Justice Department the formal authority to monitor the online activities of … Continue reading “LIVING IN A SOVIET AMERICA”

TURN TOWARD THE LEFT

A Note from the Author: This is a continuation of my Wednesday column on the formerly libertarian Cato Institute’s complete capitulation to the war hysteria, and is best read in that context. To summarize briefly: in endorsing Attorney General John Ashcroft’s decision to start "monitoring" political groups for evidence of subversive activities, I wrote, Cato … Continue reading “TURN TOWARD THE LEFT”