Antiwar.com

(With Arkan Hamed) BASRA – New footage of British soldiers beating up young Iraqi men in Amarah in 2003 and the release of more photographs of atrocities by U.S. soldiers against Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib prison have spread outrage across Iraq. The timing of the new images is potent, in the wake of violence … Continue reading “Iraq: Outrage Spreads Over New Images”

Contract mismanagement and possible corruption in the Iraqi government are fueling a crisis over international gasoline delivery into Iraq. Citing a mountain of unpaid bills, the governments of Turkey and Saudi Arabia have shut off gasoline exports to Iraq. With its options dwindling and beleaguered Iraqis demanding fuel, Baghdad has begun to negotiate with its … Continue reading “Iraq’s Gas Pumps Buried Under Mountain of Debt”

Jonathan Schell, who lives in downtown New York City, began writing his “Letter from Ground Zero” column – still unnamed – almost before the white dust storm of 9/11 had settled. The first of what would become almost four-and-a-half years of such columns – piercing, questioning, thoughtful – appeared the next week in The Nation … Continue reading “Farewell to Ground Zero”

More Photos Surface (updated June 11) (Warning: Graphic Photos Below) The Washington Post has released new photos along with new information about the use of dogs on prisoners. An unmuzzled dog appears to be used to frighten a detainee at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Two military dog handlers told investigators that intelligence personnel ordered … Continue reading “Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos”

Last week’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference signaled the transformation of American conservatism into brownshirtism. A former Justice Department official named Viet Dinh got a standing ovation when he told the CPAC audience that the rule of law mustn’t get in the way of President Bush protecting Americans from Osama bin Laden. Former Republican congressman … Continue reading “Conservatives Endorse the Fuhrer Principle”

The best thing you can say about Vice President Dick Cheney’s recent "hunting incident" is that, to the relief of members of his family, Cheney didn’t shoot himself in the foot. Unfortunately, you cannot say the same thing about the policies that officials in Washington and Jerusalem seem to be devising these days as part … Continue reading “A Perfect Geopolitical Storm Taking Shape”

“In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson All over the country, and even in the press, the U.S. Constitution is being discussed in regards to the president’s war powers. This is apparently a … Continue reading “As Long as We’re Talking About the Constitution…”

WASHINGTON – Despite reports of growing tensions and even occasional clashes between Islamists and nationalists, the predominantly Sunni insurgency in Iraq appears increasingly united and confident of victory, according to a new report released here Wednesday by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG). The 30-page report, based primarily on an analysis of the public communications … Continue reading “Report: Sunni Insurgents Increasingly Unified”

As Washington’s dependence on African oil intensifies, some analysts predict the region will increasingly play host to confrontations between U.S. forces deployed there and various insurgent groups, predominantly Islamic extremists. Currently, African oil accounts for 12 percent of the United States’ total yearly consumption. During the next 10 to 15 years, the amount is projected … Continue reading “US Funding Doubled for ‘Anti-Terror’ Forces in Africa”

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr should be given some kind of award for the most outrageously off-target reporting on the newly released photos and videos of U.S. torture and abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. In her numerous appearances during the morning news cycle on CNN after the images were first broadcast … Continue reading “CNN Blames the Photos,
Not the Torture”