Category: Uncategorized

Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that interim Afghan prime minister Hamid Karzai was the darling of Washington? There he was during President Bush’s State of the Union address, making a fashion statement that was lovingly analyzed by various fawning commentators – the cape, hat, shirt and trousers were apparently characteristic of different regions … Continue reading “Consorting With the Axis of Evil”

"Everything has changed" – it’s the bromide of the season, and it’s horribly true. Things have gone from bad to worse to downright intolerable in the first weeks and months of World War III. What started out as a finely-tuned, focused hunt for the Evil One has turned into a free-for-all against the Axis of … Continue reading “How Everything Changed”

The U.S. began bombing Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. The strikes were aimed at locations where suspected al Qaeda terrorists were. The Bush administration, in an attempt to convince everyone that the U.S. was not at war with the Afghan civilian population, dropped humanitarian food packages from cargo planes at the same time U.S. fighter … Continue reading “The Fog of War”

Let me tell you a story. Or rather, why not let Prof. James D. Miller, writing for National Review Online, tell you one, since he does it so much better than I could: "America should not even pretend to care about the rights of dictators. In the 21st century the only leaders whom we should … Continue reading “Terrorism, at Home and Abroad”

In an apparent attempt to prepare for action against Iran, President Bush in his State of the Union address declared, “Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people’s hope for freedom.” Someone at the State Department ought to inform Bush that Iranian President Khatami has twice been … Continue reading “Demonizing US Enemies”

President Bush’s State of the Union speech confirms what we have long maintained on this website: the “war on terrorism” is not a defensive operation, but a war of conquest. In the wake of 9/11, we endorsed a limited police action narrowly aimed at getting the perpetrators and bringing them to justice: the title of … Continue reading “Never Mind Osama”

If anyone had any illusions concerning China’s WTO membership, recent events should have dispelled them. Drooling suits are now wiping themselves clean and taking a good look at semi-accurate translations of semitransparent regulations the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) released earlier this month concerning the import of soybeans. The issue of … Continue reading “Soybeans”

Some might argue that I should be grateful at having my prejudices confirmed. But there’s plenty of evidence on the historical record. I could have lived a long time – a lifetime, perhaps? – without a contemporary, up-to-the-minute demonstration of the old Bournean adage that war is the health of the state. My preferences aside, … Continue reading “State of the Union at War”

It is hardly unusual for all sides of a given controversy to miss the central point; it’s what most of us do most of the time. But the skirting of salient issues surrounding the prisoners being held at the American Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba seems more egregious than usual. I doubt if the prisoners … Continue reading “Guantanamo and Geneva: The Missing Questions”

My recent column on the "warbloggers" raised a lot of hackles, as well as provoking some interesting arguments. Dealing with the latter first, we have Jim Henley of "Unqualified Offerings" – a consistently interesting and well-written blog – telling me to "aim at the target, please." Henley wants to know: "Why does Justin Raimondo spend … Continue reading “‘Crony Capitalism’ & War”