Now that George Bush has quit pretending to weigh the pros and cons of war, and has issued an unacceptable ultimatum to Saddam Hussein, we can expect the war to begin before the week is out. Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman was first out of the box with the slogans of...
Making Lemonade
I write before President Bush's address, on the assumption that it will offer an ultimatum that will trigger war within days, without offering justifications that persuade me this war is necessary, justifiable or constitutional. So what do we do once the war begins?...
An Aural MOAB for the Middle East
Before the ink on President Bush's new budget had dried, one man was already uncorking some bubbly. No, it wasn't Mitch Daniels. It was Norman Pattiz, Middle East Director at the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the federal panel responsible for beaming American...
This Isn’t About You
As we shiver in the shadow of war, waiting to be shocked and awed by the malevolent magnificence of militarism in action, some in the antiwar movement are calling for "direct action." What this amounts to is what happened the other day in downtown San...
Soft Power Moves Abroad
Jiang is putting the pieces into place to solidify not only his legacy, but the ideas of Old Deng and the position of his protégé, Hu Jintao. The 10th National People's Congress this month was a showcase for the New Generation of leaders and Jiang's...
India, Pakistan in Diplomatic Maze Over Iraq
Just a day before United States President George W. Bush delivered a fresh diatribe against Iraq in his State of the Union address, India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee did something unexpected. He appealed to the Great Powers to show "great...
What’s It All About, Ari?
In the midst of a furious debate over the key role of pro-Israel ideologues in pushing us into war, the FBI has announced it is looking into the possibility that "a foreign government is using a deception campaign to foster support for military action against Iraq."...
Death of a Manager
"I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." - (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene II) Two shots one in the chest, one in the stomach abruptly ended the reign of Zoran Djindjic at lunchtime Wednesday, as a yet unidentified sniper...
Postwar Blues
They're already awarding contracts for the "reconstruction" of Iraq. But who will reconstruct our old republic, once it morphs into an empire? As they test weapons of mass destruction in the midst of one of the most populated states in the union, flexing...
The Limits of Conservatism
Even I was beginning to worry if I was going to be proven wrong: for the entire nine years that Tony Blair has been leader of the Labour party, I\'ve guaranteed everyone who\'d listen that \'Clare Short will do the dirty on Tony Blair\', and nothing much happened. She...


