Charley Reese

Well, it should be two strikes and you’re out for the foam-at-the-mouth warmongers. It should come as no surprise that the same people who ranted and raved for war with Iraq were also ranting and raving for war with Iran. Their much-touted weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were nonexistent, and now it turns out … Continue reading “Two Strikes”

Don’t bet on peace coming out of President Bush’s much-belated efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For one thing, the people whom the Palestinians elected to represent them are excluded. President Bush, hypocrite that he is, blathered about democracy, then changed his tune when Hamas won the last election. He cut off all aid to … Continue reading “Don’t Expect Peace”

It is long past time for American politicians to quit carrying water for the state of Israel and its powerful U.S. lobby. Congress’ craven obedience to the lobby is a disgrace. America’s strategic interests in the Middle East lie with the Arab countries. Israel is a strategic and economic liability. The U.S. government’s slavish support … Continue reading “Cut Israel Off”

The pro-war crowd has been emphasizing the recent drop in American casualties in Iraq, measured by the month, but the fact remains that 2007 has been the most lethal year of war for Americans, and it’s not over yet. At this writing, 853 Americans have died in 2007, which tops the previous record of 849 … Continue reading “A Lethal Year in Iraq”

I had been thinking recently that I might start a business that would export fruitcakes to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. That was the most appropriate export I could think of. But the president has put the kibosh on that idea with his tough new sanctions. Despite always being described as tough, sanctions imposed by Congress … Continue reading “The Fruitcake Trade”

It’s fun sometimes to collect current clichés, which are worn-out uses of the language, such as "at the end of the day." Why can’t we just say at twilight or after the sun sets? Another cliché is "you can run but you can’t hide." Osama bin Laden has disproved that, and indeed there are literally … Continue reading “Killer Clichés”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has apparently promised some wealthy Armenian-American backers in her district that she would bring to a vote a resolution condemning the massacres of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide. It was that. You don’t kill 1.2 million people out of a population of only 1.6 million by accident. … Continue reading “Here’s Hoping Pelosi Peeves the Turks”

I have no idea whether the president will order an attack on Iran. Seymour Hersh, a reporter I respect, says the Bush administration has decided it would be easier to sell an attack on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards than on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Certainly all of the negative comments about Iran that are coming from … Continue reading “Making the Same Mistake Twice”

Ernest Hemingway explained the problem many years ago. The first thing politicians do to hide their mismanagement, he said, is inflate the currency; the second thing they do is go to war. Our currency has been inflated and we are at war. The demonization of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which you saw take place … Continue reading “US Politicians, Not Ahmadinejad, Have Blood on Their Hands”

If the invasion of Afghanistan had been a success, we would not still be fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. If the invasion of Iraq had been a success, we would not be fighting there. Two invasions of practically defenseless countries with obsolete weapons and decaying infrastructures have to be termed failures. Both the … Continue reading “Ditch the Empire, Stick to Commerce”