Entangling Alliances Distort our Foreign Policy

As President Bush addressed the United Nations last week, I could not help thinking we have become incredibly mired in the "entangling alliances" another President George – George Washington – warned against. Sadly, many in Washington and the media seem to consider UN approval of our war plans far more important than a congressional debate … Continue reading “Entangling Alliances Distort our Foreign Policy”

How to Destroy America in One Easy Lesson

President Bush now seems hell-bent on a plan that could easily lead to a nuclear strike against America – a strike that could cause a disaster many times worse than the World Trade Center attack. Over and over Mr. Bush has said he’ll do whatever is necessary to remove Saddam Hussein from Iraq. (“I’ve made … Continue reading “How to Destroy America in One Easy Lesson”

ATTACK OF THE GREED-HEADS

No wonder all those crunchy-granola kids hate capitalism, or think they do. Getta loada this from today’s [September 15] Washington Post: "Although senior Bush administration officials say they have not begun to focus on the issues involving oil and Iraq, American and foreign oil companies have already begun maneuvering for a stake in the country’s … Continue reading “ATTACK OF THE GREED-HEADS”

House Iraq Hearings – Only War Party Allowed to Testify

p> The House Committee on International Relations is holding hearings this Thursday on the question of whether we ought to invade Iraq – and only one side, the pro-war side, is going to be heard. Here is a list of the witnesses: Richard Perle – a chicken-hawk of the first order, who has been all … Continue reading “House Iraq Hearings – Only War Party Allowed to Testify”

The Ghost of Henry Cabot Lodge

I am not actually going to say much about Henry Cabot Lodge here. He is useful, however, as a symbol of one particular approach to U.S. imperial policy. Lodge was an influential Senator (R., Massachusetts), a crony of Theodore Roosevelt and other high-toned turn-of-the-20th-century Republican imperialists. He was thus one of the architects of what … Continue reading “The Ghost of Henry Cabot Lodge”

Don’t Ignore Conservative and Liberal Antiwar Groups

Not long ago, an Off-Broadway play opened with the tantalizingly relevant title, Now That Communism is Dead My Life Feels Empty! I thought immediately of the writer Mark Danner’s perceptive remark that this country is "marooned in the Cold War." Today we see that in the hearts and minds of Washington’s relatively small but very … Continue reading “Don’t Ignore Conservative and Liberal Antiwar Groups”

Deciphering the Chinese Smile

On the anniversary of 9/11, newspapers throughout China ran front page photos of the burning Towers – many with an inset depicting mourning Americans. Articles focused on America’s War on Terrorism, the anguish of the victims’ familis and the few Chinese nationals that died in the attack. The newspapers tended to be very sympathetic toward … Continue reading “Deciphering the Chinese Smile”