The State of the Army, Part 1

"In Israel, every human being is a soldier, and every soldier – a human being," went a famous old saying ascribed to David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founder and first prime minister. In the pre-sound-bite era, when lengthy and complex slogans were tolerated, this was an effective phrasing to obscure the tension between Israel’s democratic self-image and … Continue reading “The State of the Army, Part 1”

Viva Berlusconi!

An international hate campaign against Italian rightist leader Silvio Berlusconi is now going into high gear. The goal: saving the Euro-communist (“center-left”) government now in power, and derailing Berlusconi’s hopes of becoming Prime Minister in the upcoming [May 13] parliamentary elections. It’s the same sort of drumbeat that greeted the rise of Joerg Haider, the … Continue reading “Viva Berlusconi!”

Getting Away with Murder?

Democrats defend him because he’s one of them: Republicans defend him for ideological reasons; liberals like Robert Scheer give former Senator Bob Kerrey, accused war criminal, a pass, but use the occasion to condemn America as the epitome of human evil; neoconservatives like Mona Charen give Kerrey a pass, and use the occasion to re-fight … Continue reading “Getting Away with Murder?”

Is Bob Kerrey a War Criminal?

Former Senator Bob Kerrey (D-Nebraska) was a presidential hopeful and a rising star in the Democratic party when, for some reason, this January he suddenly decided to drop out of politics. At the time, his decision puzzled his friends and supporters: now, they know why. For he knew that the real story about what happened … Continue reading “Is Bob Kerrey a War Criminal?”