Mark Rothschild

On Wednesday, December 6, 2006, the Iraq Study Group finally presented its much-anticipated report on Iraq to the President and the country. It seems the President needs advice, and so he welcomed the formation of the Iraq Study Group when it was formed last March. The Group has been described as a team of elder … Continue reading “The Iraq Study Group: None Dare Call It Treason”

Hussein Soyan was formerly a candidate for president of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. He attended the May 2003 Somali National Peace and Reconstruction Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, where debates on reconciliation and mediation between warlords helped lead to the present Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. However, the still-forming Transitional Federal Government of Somalia … Continue reading “Back in Somalia: An Interview With Hussein Soyan”

What is the truth about the charge that “banned weapons” (such as the napalm-like white phosphorus) are being used in Iraq – specifically that they were used during the November 2004 Battle of Fallujah? The U.S. Department of State has addressed this through its “Truth Squad” Web site, which debunks “misinformation” and anti-American slurs. The … Continue reading “Who’s Misinforming Whom About White Phosphorus?”

This is a story about the death of Amada Saria. Amada was the younger sister of Mr. Sam Saria, an engineer from Connecticut. Sam first came to this country in 1986 to study at the University of Connecticut. He stayed on to become a U.S. citizen, marry, and raise a family. Sam and his wife … Continue reading “The Unnoticed Death of Amada Saria”

"Old Europe" is blocking U.S. efforts to find an exit strategy for Iraq. Further evidence emerged on Thursday that Old Europe holds the only key to the door from Iraq marked "Exit," but don’t expect to see it used any time soon. After the reconquest of Fallujah (Fallujah II), the field for American military options … Continue reading “Plenty of Strategy, Just No Exit”

Less than two weeks after Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez abruptly removed Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski from her command of Abu Ghraib prison, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, Sanchez’s chief deputy, convened a meeting at which certain legal issues emerging at the prison were discussed. It was late in November of 2003, and Karpinski was still … Continue reading “Karpinski Was ‘Set Up,’ but Sanchez Takes the Fall”

Pictures of a dead Iraqi prisoner from Abu Ghraib, packed in ice and bound with duct tape have become infamous. Today, other photos came to light showing an additional victim of US Army interrogations at Abu Ghraib. The dead man has been tentatively identified. His name is Manadel al-Jamadi. Mr. Jamadi is the second dead … Continue reading “The Face of Torture”

Pentagon officials apparently lied to reporters last Friday when they said that the top US general in Iraq had not permitted the use of banned interrogation techniques such as stripping prisoners, sleep deprivation, un-muzzled military dogs, and “environmental manipulation.” Speaking from the Pentagon briefing room on Friday, officials claimed that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez had … Continue reading “Pentagon Lied to Reporters About Interrogations”

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld quietly left Washington yesterday, flying first to Kuwait, and then on to Baghdad. Rumsfeld was accompanied by only a few reporters, Pentagon lawyers, and Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After arriving in Baghdad, Rumsfeld immediately met with the commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez. … Continue reading “Rumsfeld, Sanchez ‘Pow-Wow’ in Iraq”