Things are always complicated. In the Washington Post, for instance, James Mann, author of Rise of the Vulcans, recently suggested that it was far "too simplistic" to claim "the appointment of Robert M. Gates to replace Donald Rumsfeld [represents] the triumph of Bush...
In September 2002, Arab League head Amr Moussa warned that an invasion of Iraq would "open the gates of Hell" in the Middle East. Four years later, with those gates – at least in Iraq – open wide enough to drive a tank through, the look of the Bush...
Last Wednesday, the president held a news conference in the wake of that election thumpin' in which he announced the sacking of Donald Rumsfeld, made (strained) jokes, pledged himself to bipartisan good feelings, and even volunteered to recommend some "Republican...
Here we are just days beyond the strange event that passes for an election in our country. Election Day now turns out to be just the almost-last step in a grueling season of serial elections called "opinion polls," whose fluctuations are meant to tell us ahead of time...
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, an armistice was signed that ended World War I, the first great bloodletting of the twentieth century, "the war to end all wars" that proved but the prelude to World War II. Now, here we are at the 11th day...
The wave – and make no mistake, it's a global one – has just crashed on our shores, soaking our imperial masters. It's a sight for sore eyes. It's been a long time since we've seen an election like midterm 2006. After all, it's a truism of our politics that...
Are we really surprised? The Saddam Hussein verdict, scheduled for Oct. 16 and then suddenly delayed last month (supposedly because the Iraqi special tribunal needed more time) to Nov. 5, the last news cycle before the U.S. midterm election, has now come in, and the...
The evil nature of our enemies has, it turns out, certain advantages – at least when secret imprisonment and torture are at stake. The Bush administration has proved adamantly unwilling to talk to, or deal with, the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,...
It's hard even to remember anymore the true state of the U.S. military as the Vietnam War ground toward its bloody end. By the late 1960s, the statistics flowing back to Washington about the American war machine were enough to give any general nightmares. Drug-taking...
While the Iraqi catastrophe – and whether we are about to be at a post-midterm election "tipping point" in that country – preoccupies Americans, an older Bush administration Afghan "success" story has sprung enough holes to sink the Titanic and looks to be...
