From Tehran to Washington, Demagogues Rule

Ten days ago, in one of southern Tehran’s poor neighborhoods, I interviewed some voters in line to cast ballots for Iran’s next president. After a while, when an official at the polling station asked who I thought would win, I repeated the conventional media wisdom: "Rafsanjani." "It will never happen," he replied flatly. "I promise … Continue reading “From Tehran to Washington, Demagogues Rule”

Trading, Not Invading: US Hums Different Tune on Vietnam

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai is not a democratic leader – and he doesn’t play one on Fox News television. If a “[pick favorite color] Revolution” were to take place in the streets of Hanoi, one could expect that PM Khai and the other Communist Party bosses would prove to be quite ruthless in … Continue reading “Trading, Not Invading: US Hums Different Tune on Vietnam”

The Last Throes of US Dominance

Last Friday, the price of light sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange for August delivery closed 16 cents short of $60/barrel – the highest price ever and an ironic outcome for the millions of Americans who believe that cheap oil was the reason for Bush’s invasion of Iraq. Equally shocking to Americans … Continue reading “The Last Throes of US Dominance”

Backtalk June 28, 2005

Iraq: What Price ‘Victory’? Justin Raimondo recently asked: what price victory? I’m not sure victory is now what the Republicans are after, except the illusion that they are still after it. My reasoning for this comes from Karl Rove’s comments about liberals and the war effort. For those who haven’t been paying attention, Karl Rove, … Continue reading “Backtalk June 28, 2005”

Iran’s Hardliners Reinvent Themselves

TEHRAN – Promising a better life to the society’s downtrodden, the son of a blacksmith and mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinedjad, has stunned Iran by beating an establishment figure to become the nation’s new president. While Ahmadinedjad’s promises of "fighting corruption, poverty, and discrimination" appealed to the minds and hearts of millions of jobless youth … Continue reading “Iran’s Hardliners Reinvent Themselves”

The Sun Also Rises

For the first time since 1942, Japan has resumed the strategic offensive. Since the beginning of the year, Japan has claimed the island of Takeshima, now occupied by South Korea; seized control of an area in the South China Sea also claimed by Beijing; and, most ominously, announced that Tokyo might intervene militarily to defend … Continue reading “The Sun Also Rises”

Ambassador Bolton’s Agenda

It appears that President Bush is determined to make John Bolton our next ambassador to the United Nations. Why? Well, ever since the Soviet Union disintegrated, the UN and its enforcement agency – the Security Council – have more often than not thwarted what our neo-crazies wanted to do. The refusal of the Security Council … Continue reading “Ambassador Bolton’s Agenda”

A Scolding From Miss Rice

From The Washington Post to The Wall Street Journal to the Financial Times, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is being hailed for her latest public scolding of America’s Arab allies. In what columnist David Ignatius calls the “signature line” of her speech at The American University in Cairo, Rice declared: “For 60 years, my country, … Continue reading “A Scolding From Miss Rice”

Where You Stand Determines What You See

"Where you stand determines what you see, and how you live." That’s how Voices in the Wilderness members began our statement explaining why we’d decided to stay in Baghdad during the 2003 Shock and Awe bombing of Iraq. During the long war of the economic sanctions, we had stood at the bedsides of numerous mothers … Continue reading “Where You Stand Determines What You See”