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Have the terrorists put something in the water that is causing Americans to behave, uh, irrationally? After reading Peggy Noonan’s recent column in the Wall Street Journal, you have to wonder. Poor Peggy: there she was, standing in Rockefeller Center, contemplating the burden of Atlas holding up the world. No doubt profound thoughts were being … Continue reading “NOONAN’S MADNESS”

As the anthrax scare spread to Washington, D.C., they emptied out the Capitol Building, and the House of Representatives hiked up their skirts and skittered back to their home districts. Newsrooms across the nation instituted strict security measures as NBC and CBS were hit by bio-terrorists. As of this writing, 40 people in New York, … Continue reading “THE HALLOWEEN WAR”

REACTION BY FORMULA By now only a complete hermit could remain unaware of the events of September 11, 2001. A criminal attack by terrorists killed 5,000-6,000 Americans on American soil. No American likes that sort of thing, but there was bound to be some dispute over what to do about it.The government immediately credited the … Continue reading “Not Exactly World War II,”

I can understand a libertarian deciding that the war we are in is virtually inevitable, and that to argue against any kind of retaliation in the wake of the terrorist destruction of September 11 is fairly fruitless right now. I can understand a decision to pick and choose one’s propaganda targets of opportunity as the … Continue reading “Wartime Resignation or Endorsement?”

I get a lot of letters, in such volume that I can’t possibly answer all or even most of them: but occasionally one arrives that strikes at the very heart of an issue, and sets me to thinking – like this thoughtful and heartfelt missive from Alan Lewis, published in today’s “Backtalk.” I deal with … Continue reading “THE MUSHARRAF SOLUTION”

Americans have been sold a fantasy by their government and by the "experts" on television. The fantasy is that our government will flex its muscles overseas, make demands, kill a lot of people, demonstrate that we don’t tolerate terrorism, "bring the terrorists to justice," and end terrorism forever. But for decades, our government has been … Continue reading “Do We Choose Death or Peace?”

Dennis Ross, former envoy to the Middle East in the Clinton administration and in Arab eyes an incarnation of the blind American support for Israel, has published a column in the New York Times entitled “Bin Laden’s Terrorism Isn’t About the Palestinians.” Ross writes: “In 1990, Saddam Hussein claimed that he had invaded Kuwait to … Continue reading “Who Cares About the Palestinians?”

What Bush Said "How do I respond when I see that in some Islamic countries there is vitriolic hatred for America? I’ll tell you how I respond: I’m amazed. I’m amazed that there’s such misunderstanding of what our country is about that people would hate us. I am – like most Americans, I just can’t … Continue reading “What Bush Should Have Said”

I went to a peace rally the other day, and, I’ll tell ya, it was almost enough to turn me into a warmonger. The event, which took place in San Francisco’s Dolores Park, and was organized by the “International A.N.S.W.E.R.” (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition – a front group for the … Continue reading “THE PEACENIKS”

I am one of many deeply conflicted ex-activists who worked to stop the war on Vietnam but isn’t (at least as of October 10) quite sure how to act in the current situation. Let’s get the bona fides out of the way first. In the 1960s and early-1970s, I was involved majorly in the anti-war … Continue reading “A Conflicted Activist Speaks Out”