Antiwar.com

A Young Man’s Death in IraqHello Mr. Engelhardt, I read Mr. Christensen’s account of the loss of his young friend in the Aug. 14 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. I was very moved by it, and reread it several times. It provoked a series of issues that I feel are being inadequately addressed in … Continue reading “Backtalk, August 22, 2005”

Countries that rely on "diplomatic assurances" that other countries will not torture transferred prisoners "are either engaging in wishful thinking or using the assurances as a figleaf to cover their complicity," charges a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). "There is substantial evidence that in the course of the global ‘war on terrorism,’ an … Continue reading “The Ugly Truth About Prisoner ‘Rendition’”

Is realism finally, definitively, back in the driver’s seat of U.S. foreign policy? That’s the conclusion featured this week on the op-ed page of the nation’s most influential newspaper, the New York Times, in a column by the managing editor of the nation’s most influential foreign-policy journal, Foreign Affairs, published by the nation’s most influential … Continue reading “Realists Taking Over in Washington?”

Not being as intimately acquainted as some others seem or claim to be with the ineffable methods and motives of the universe, I would hardly say that it is providential that Cindy Sheehan had to leave Crawford to be with her mother in Los Angeles, who had a stroke. But it will be interesting and … Continue reading “A Real Peace Movement?”

Did you see where Russia and China are conducting "unprecedented" joint military exercises "involving air, sea and land forces"? Two countries possessing intercontinental ballistic missiles tipped with thermonuclear warheads! Thousands of them! All aimed at us! Some concerned observers suppose the Sino-Russian exercises were meant to forestall a threatened pre-emptive nuke attack by Bush-Cheney on … Continue reading “Sino-Russian Guarantees?”

Ray McGovern works for Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC, and is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. On Wednesday, he arrived home in Arlington, VA, after five days in Crawford, and shared these remarks with 300 neighbors at the close of a candlelight … Continue reading “There is Such a Thing as ‘Too Late’”

As I watched the extensive, plainly sympathetic coverage of Jewish settlers being evicted from their Gaza homes, I couldn’t help but take note once again of the striking double standard applied by American news media as well as the U.S. government. I cannot recall any sympathetic coverage of Palestinians being evicted from their homes. No … Continue reading “Gaza Evacuation Should Be Americans’ Last Straw”

The day after Wednesday night’s nationwide vigils, the big headline at the top of the MoveOn.org home page said: "Support Cindy Sheehan." But MoveOn does not support Cindy Sheehan’s call for swift withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Many groups were important to the success of the Aug. 17 vigils, but the online powerhouse MoveOn … Continue reading “MoveOn’s Soft Stance on Iraq”

Has the U.S. public lost so much confidence in the George W. Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war that its current strategy – to the extent one actually exists – is unsustainable? With President Bush himself besieged by antiwar protesters on his seemingly endless and ill-timed vacation at his Texas ranch, that appears to … Continue reading “Has the ‘Tipping Point’ on Iraq Been Reached?”

It’s amusing to watch the utter powerlessness of the neocon attack machine as they try – without success – to smear Cindy Sheehan. Matt Drudge is heaving spittle at his computer screen, and Karl Rove must be having nightmares about this courageous albeit heartbroken housewife from Vacaville as she faces down his attack dogs and … Continue reading “Antiwar Populism:
The Floodgates Open”