Jim Lobe

One year after President George W Bush declared an end to “major hostilities” in Iraq, public opinion there and in the United States is beginning to converge, as people in both countries increasingly agree that the US invasion and occupation might not have been such a good idea after all. That is one conclusion of … Continue reading “US, Iraqi Views of Occupation Converging”

After two years of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court is finally set to decide whether the executive branch of the US government may detain alleged “enemy combatants” indefinitely without any judicial review of their status. Three cases – one of them argued before the nation’s highest court last week and the other two due to … Continue reading “‘Enemy Combatants’ Finally Before Supreme Court”

One year after invading U.S. and British forces consolidated their control over Iraq, the administration of President George W. Bush appears to be back at Square One, if not in negative territory, over how to ensure that control in the short to medium term. The problem, however, is that the administration lacks any comprehensive strategy … Continue reading “US Starting From Square One in Iraq, One Year Later”

U.S. public perceptions about former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s alleged ties to al-Qaeda and stocks of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) continues to lag far behind the testimony of experts, boosting chances that President George W Bush will be reelected, according to a survey and analysis released Thursday. Despite statements by such officials as the … Continue reading “Majority Still Believe in Iraq’s WMD, al-Qaeda Ties”

While the United States does not look quite yet like the "pitiful, helpless giant" that tortured Richard Nixon’s imagination during the Vietnam War, the past week’s events seem to have moved it very much in that direction. The week, which was supposed to culminate in celebrations of the first anniversary of Baghdad’s "liberation" by U.S. … Continue reading “One, Two, Many Messes”

Neo-conservatives close to the administration of President George W Bush are pushing for retribution against Iran for, they say, sponsoring this week’s Shiite uprising in Iraq led by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Despite the growing number of reports that depict the fighting as a spontaneous and indigenous revolt against the U.S.-led occupation, the influential neo-cons … Continue reading “Neocons See Iran Behind Shi’ite Uprising”

One thing that can be said about U.S. neo-conservatives is they do not lack for ambition. “We need an Islamic reformation,” Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz confided on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq last year, “and I think there is real hope for one.” Echoing those views one year later, another prominent … Continue reading “Neocons Seek Islamic ‘Reformation’”

Six months before scheduled parliamentary elections, the U.S.-backed government in Kazakhstan is harassing the political opposition, and undermining prospects for a free and fair choice, according to a new report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report, “Political Freedoms in Kazakhstan,” describes a campaign of government harassment carried out primarily by filing arbitrary … Continue reading “US Ties Bolster Kazakhstan’s Soviet-Style Leader”

With U.S. Marines effectively locking down the defiant city of Fallujah in the rebellious "Sunni Triangle," other US military forces in Iraq opened a new front Monday to quash an apparent uprising by a Shiite militia in Baghdad and the south, in what some experts warn could be a major turning point in the year-old … Continue reading “Shi’ite Uprising Signals Double Trouble for US”

April Fools’ Day is traditionally one of good-natured mischief, but not this year. Indeed, U.S. President George W. Bush’s trademark smirk, which normally fits the day’s spirit almost to a T, was nowhere to be seen Thursday. The reason was clear enough: Iraq suddenly, if gruesomely, recaptured the headlines with Wednesday’s horrific killings of four … Continue reading “Fallujah Deflates Washington’s Optimism”