Recent developments in Northern Iraq may lead to the division of post-Saddam Iraq along ethnic lines. Kurds plan to turn their tactical gains from their role as unflinching U.S. allies in ousting Saddam Hussein into a strategic and historic one a Kurdish...
America, Iraq, and Presidential Leadership
The enduring accomplishments of our nation's leaders are those that are grounded in the fundamental values that gave birth to this great country. As our Founders so eloquently stated in the preamble to our Constitution, this nation was founded by "We the...
Back to the Balkans?
Is the Balkans back in Washington vogue? After a couple of seemingly isolationist years (that were, of course, nothing of the sort) when the limelight was on the Middle East, there's been a renewed push by the forces of punditry to get the peninsula back on the...
Mass Demonstrations by Women, Others, Against Sudden Islamization of Iraqi Law
The Baghdad/London daily az-Zaman reports that there were widespread demonstrations on Tuesday by women against the order decreeing abolition of Iraq's uniform civil codes in favor of religious law, which they say "repeals women's rights" in Iraq. This story appears...
Understanding Fourth Generation War
Rather than commenting on the specifics of the war with Iraq, I thought it might be a good time to lay out a framework for understanding that and other conflicts. The framework is the Four Generations of Modern War. I developed the framework of the first three...
George W. Bush, Pod Person
The New York Times's newest neocon columnist, David Brooks, laptop bombardier Max Boot and others who have taken offense at the neocons-hijacked-the-White House meme have indignantly asked: doesn't the President have a mind of his own? Plainly, now, the answer is a...
A War in Search of a Reason
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Neocons’ Manual for Global Warmongering
If hard-core neo-conservatives Richard Perle and David Frum had their way, the Bush administration would be issuing ultimatums on virtually a daily basis. In their new book, An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror, Perle, the well-connected former chairman of the...
The Crumbling Case for War
It is a little frustrating to write that the main hope is that the American people will be more vigilant the next time a president and his administration put on a full court press on behalf of a dubious war. At this time, however, it is probably the best we can hope...
Note to David Brooks: That Joke Isnt Funny Anymore
Newsflash: Whoopi Goldberg isn't Jewish. Neither is Donald Rumsfeld. Whew! Now I can criticize both without being an anti-Semite. Or maybe not. After all, Ms. Goldberg is part of the Hollywood elite, and by "Hollywood," I obviously mean Jerusalem. Mr. Rumsfeld may be...


