Antiwar.com

Are we now torturing children? A chill went down my spine as I read an account of a recent talk given by Seymour Hersh at the University of Chicago (via blogger Brad Delong): “He said that after he broke Abu Ghraib people are coming out of the woodwork to tell him this stuff. He said … Continue reading “The Torturers”

Jose Padilla was arrested two years ago at O’Hare International Airport by the FBI on a “material witness” warrant. Padilla was alleged to have met with senior al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan and Pakistan, received training in the use of high explosives, and sent back to the United States “to reconnoiter potential sites” for detonating a … Continue reading “Dirty Bomb – Not”

From Dahr’s weblog: This became a very popular saying in Iraq after the U.S. ousted Saddam Hussein. The situation continues to degrade in occupied Iraq. I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record … but the need to describe life on the ground here continues, as I see it slipping from the news … Continue reading “‘The Student Is Gone; the Master Has Arrived’”

I‘ve always liked the restful quiet of an empty classroom. Maybe this is why the large room where we wait to start mealtime duties, here at Pekin Federal Prison, feels comfortably familiar. During breaks, in the dining area, I’ve spent many hours reading, writing, studying Arabic, and staring out the window. Today, looking out the … Continue reading “Requiem for a Son Killed in Iraq”

Would Ronald Reagan have invaded Iraq? Would he have declared a doctrine of preventive war to keep any rival nation from rising to where it might challenge us? Would he have crusaded for “world democratic revolution”? Was Reagan the first neoconservative? This claim has been entered in the wake of his death. Yet, it seems … Continue reading “Was Reagan the First Neoconservative?”

How High Does the Abu Ghraib Scandal Go? Thank you for your excellent article. The terrifying and grossly illegal excuse offered by the Defense Department attorneys makes me ashamed of the legal profession – once again. The president’s powers derive SOLELY FROM THE CONSTITUTION of the United States. He cannot derive powers outside the limitations … Continue reading “”

BAGHDAD (IPS) – The Iraq issue today may never have arisen if it were not for the support former U.S. president Ronald Reagan gave Saddam Hussein. Reagan died Saturday June 5 in his Los Angeles home. Reagan’s two terms as President correspond roughly to the Iran-Iraq war, the longest conventional war of the 20th century. … Continue reading “Iraqi General: US Helped Us as We Used Chemical Weapons”

Here are some basic documents surrounding the Iraq prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere: Abu Ghraib Prison Photos (updated June 11) Justice Dept. Memo Justifying Torture, Aug. 1, 2002 (Released June 13) Pentagon Memo Legitimizing Torture from March 6, 2003 (Released June 9) Sworn Statements by Agu Ghraib Detainees (May 22) Video of … Continue reading “Iraq Prison Scandal Resources”

Near the main office of Moqtada Al-Sadr, in the part of Baghdad known as Sadr City, followers of the rebel cleric continue to fight the U.S. military despite suffering heavy losses. While the military claims to have killed more than 800 Iraqis, most of them fighters, during the last nine weeks in the sprawling urban … Continue reading “Iraqis Grow Weary of War, but Mehdi Army Pledges to Fight On”

A story is told in southern Xinjiang about the first carpet weaver, a princess named Gulem. One day, her father, the king of his realm, was hunting in the forest with his court advisors. A little bird flew from branch to branch following the king and singing into his ear. The king demanded that his … Continue reading “The End of a Golden Age in China”