Why Are We Meddling in the Ukraine?

I strongly oppose H. Res. 339, a bill by the United States Congress which seeks to tell a sovereign nation how to hold its own elections. It seems the height of arrogance for us to sit here and lecture the people and government of Ukraine on what they should do and should not do in … Continue reading “Why Are We Meddling in the Ukraine?”

Mideast: The Iraqi Connection

Why is the Bush administration, after a period of benign neglect, suddenly interested in mediating the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian dispute? It’s hardly a news flash that it’s mainly because the administration is just itching to attack Iraq. But how realistic is the idea that the United States can play deus ex machina in the Middle East … Continue reading “Mideast: The Iraqi Connection”

What Are We Fighting For?

As a commentary on how quickly the original rationale for this war has been abandoned, Maureen Dowd dubs the Evil One “Osama bin Later,” or, alternatively, “the One Formerly Known as Evil,” as the President declares: “I am truly not that concerned about him.” Yesterday bin Laden was the epitome of Pure Evil – today … Continue reading “What Are We Fighting For?”

God, It’s Great To Be American!

There’s nothing like being in the safe hands of the Bush administration. I mean, how embarrassing for those poor people in Zimbabwe, dealing with their rigged presidential election. Imagine the shame of knowing opposition voters had been systematically disenfranchised, and that the Supreme Court had stepped in to support a specific presidential candidate. That could … Continue reading “God, It’s Great To Be American!”

God, It’s Great To Be American!

There’s nothing like being in the safe hands of the Bush administration. I mean, how embarrassing for those poor people in Zimbabwe, dealing with their rigged presidential election. Imagine the shame of knowing opposition voters had been systematically disenfranchised, and that the Supreme Court had stepped in to support a specific presidential candidate. That could … Continue reading “God, It’s Great To Be American!”

Twenty Years On

When, twenty years ago, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands – subjecting their British inhabitants to the severest tyranny imaginable (they made them drive on the right hand side of the road) – many Reagan administration officials found themselves in the rare position of agreeing with Mario Vargas Llosa, in that they too felt surely this … Continue reading “Twenty Years On”

Big Bill Is Watching You

A couple of weeks ago Norman Podhoretz gave a speech to the American Enterprise Institute annual dinner: speaking as the Grand Old Man of the War Party, Podhoretz told his audience not to be overconfident. It isn’t enough that we have the USA “Patriot” Act, which gives the government unprecedented powers of scrutiny and interdiction … Continue reading “Big Bill Is Watching You”

Postmodernism Alive and Killing

While scores of Palestinians and several Israelis are killed every day now, while one of the world’s strongest armies is bravely proving it can turn even wretched refugee camps into ashes, I feel rather uncomfortable talking about ideology. Still, I’ll do it. In a previous column I analysed several arguments of the right-wing ideology of … Continue reading “Postmodernism Alive and Killing”

Who’s Really Winning This War?

Osama Bin Laden has won the war in Afghanistan – the first big battle of the War on Terrorism. Americans are claiming victory because American bombers have devastated Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans have been killed, and the already-impoverished country is now almost completely in ruins. But most likely this is exactly what bin Laden wanted. … Continue reading “Who’s Really Winning This War?”