Four Years Into Afghan Campaign, Perils Abound

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the launch of U.S. military operations against the Taliban regime, Afghanistan presents a mixed picture, according to experts here. The relative stability of the government of President Hamid Karzai and last month’s successful voting for national and regional legislatures offer grounds for some satisfaction on the part … Continue reading “Four Years Into Afghan Campaign, Perils Abound”

In Defense of Lew Rockwell

Recently, Jacob Laksin over at the dreadful FrontPageMag.com snapped at Lew Rockwell, the libertarian-minded editor of the popular LewRockwell.com, for aligning himself with the most "unhinged elements of the far left." I mean really, you’ve got to laugh out loud when saps like Laksin get all huffy over trivial matters. Come to think of it, … Continue reading “In Defense of Lew Rockwell”

The Triumph of Ideology Over Reality

Not content with the terrorist-breeding instability he caused by invading Iraq, President Bush is plotting with Israel to repeat the disaster in Syria. The diplomatic editor of the London Telegraph reports (Oct. 5) that the U.S. is aiming at Syrian "regime change." The British newspaper quotes Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying that a … Continue reading “The Triumph of Ideology Over Reality”

The Revolution Wasn’t

Serbia, Five Years Later The Official Truth goes that five years ago on the streets of Belgrade, the disaffected citizenry of Serbia rallied in support of the Democratic Opposition (DOS), charged the parliament, and forced the hated dictator Slobodan Milosevic out of power: a glorious, democratic revolution. As usual when it comes to the Balkans, … Continue reading “The Revolution Wasn’t”

Backtalk, October 6, 2005

The Greatest Strategic Disaster in US HistoryYour views are so shocking, one wonders what your evidence is. One story that has not appeared anywhere else in the news is that contained in the New Yorker "Talk of the Town" this week. It concerns the lengths important figures have had to go to warn people that … Continue reading “Backtalk, October 6, 2005”

White House Losing Ground on Prisoner Treatment

Despite strong opposition from the Pentagon and the White House, the Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate is coming under growing pressure to set specific standards for the “humane” treatment of detainees taken in Iraq and elsewhere in the George W. Bush administration’s “war on terror.” That pressure is being focused on proposed amendments, first … Continue reading “White House Losing Ground on Prisoner Treatment”

Our Kurdish Problem

It didn’t take long for the “liberated” Iraqis to turn on each other. While no one expected the Sunni Arabs of central Iraq to take the de-Ba’athification of the country lying down, the Iraqi “constitution” had barely been printed up and distributed before large cracks began to appear in the edifice of the nascent Iraqi … Continue reading “Our Kurdish Problem”

From DaNang to Tal Afar, Bring ‘Em Home

A review of David Cortright’s Soldiers in Revolt (Haymarket 2005) Of all the antiwar buttons I could wear, the only one I choose to pin on my coat or backpack is one that reads “I Support the Iraq Veterans Against the War.” Not only does this express my opposition to the war, it also serves … Continue reading “From DaNang to Tal Afar, Bring ‘Em Home”

Pleading Incompetence

No one – including the Iranians at their (nonexistent) equivalent of our Los Alamos Laboratory – can make a nuclear weapon until they have managed to acquire multi-kilogram quantities of almost pure uranium-235, uranium-233, or plutonium-239. For that reason, the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons required all signatories not already having nuclear weapons to … Continue reading “Pleading Incompetence”