Lessons for the Future

The resignation of David Kay, the CIA's chief weapons inspector, combined with statements he has made in connection with his resignation, puts something of a capstone on the crumbling of any remotely valid case for the recent (or ongoing, not to put too fine a point...

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Congress Cannot Be Appointed

In the months following the September 11th terrorist attacks, questions arose about whether Congress could continue to function if many of its members were killed or injured in a future terrorist attack. These concerns resulted in the creation of a commission that...

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The Axis of Ares

A recent edition of Jane's Intelligence Digest maps out the next stop on this administration's road to war: Syria. Yes, everything's going according to plan. Forget George W. Bush's "road map." The real road map, plotted by a cabal of U.S. war-hawks in 1996 for then...

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Rights Group: Iraq War Was ‘Not Humanitarian’

The invasion of Iraq was no humanitarian intervention, Human Rights Watch says in its annual report released in London Monday. The human rights organization's argument on Iraq marks the keynote essay in its annual report. The 407-page "World Report 2004: Human...

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No Stinking Empire

The Army of World War II, you might say, was the last Army of the republic. It performed great deeds, but there was not much luxury, not even for the generals and admirals. Nobody was paid much. Travel was by military plane, troop train or warship, even for generals,...

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War Party Puts Syria in Its Sights

Retired Gen. Anthony Zinni began warning that ousting Saddam Hussein, let alone invading Iraq, risked destabilizing the entire Middle East back in 1998, when he led U.S. Central Command and testified against the Iraq Liberation Act that made "regime change" official...

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Iraq: The Case for War Crumbles

Contrary to what most Americans believe, the U.S. is in deep trouble in Iraq, and its policies are adrift. Especially ominous are problems surrounding the June 30 plan for elections. If direct elections are held, the Shi’ites, with 60% of the population, will...

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Afghan Reconstruction Hinges on Opium Poppy

Poppies, from the milky sap of which opium and heroin are derived, represent a lifeline for Afghan families and day labourers around this border crossing with Pakistan. As in other parts of the country, farmers here plough their earnings from poppy cultivation into...

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