Trust Us, We’re the Government

Attorney General John Ashcroft has embarked on a bizarre promotional tour to counter growing public opposition to the Patriot Act. The administration clearly is worried by recent votes in Congress to limit the scope of the Act, votes that reflect the willingness of even GOP loyalists to buck the president on the issue. So Mr. … Continue reading “Trust Us, We’re the Government”

Terrorism and Iraq: The Link Is Real Now

Perhaps you have to hand it to some of the more creative war supporters. A few people in the blogosphere and the oped world are trying to spin the ongoing troubles with guerrilla attacks and truck bombs at the UN headquarters into an advantage for the United States. The fact that radical Islamist and Arab … Continue reading “Terrorism and Iraq: The Link Is Real Now”

THE WAR PARTY UNMASKED

The case of Christopher Hitchens is emblematic of so many things: how success can ruin a writer, how far an aristocratic British accent can get you on the American scene, how Trotskyism can morph into Rumsfeld-ism without any visible exertion. The former features editor of the Socialist Worker newspaper is today the Court Polemicist of … Continue reading “THE WAR PARTY UNMASKED”

In a Blackout, Dimwits Are Easy to Spot

It’s been a strange two weeks since I wrote a column. I skipped last Monday’s installment because my girlfriend, O., was due to return the preceding Friday after spending the summer abroad with family. (She’s a legal resident, Mr. Ashcroft, and from a coalition country, no less). After arriving in New York that afternoon, she … Continue reading “In a Blackout, Dimwits Are Easy to Spot”

Gulf War Vets Sue Saddam’s WMD Suppliers

P>The class action suit names 11 companies and 33 banks alleged to have helped Iraq with its chemical weapons program in the 1980’s, despite knowledge Saddam Hussein was actively using WMD against both Iranians and his own people. At the time, Reagan’s Middle East envoy was one Donald Rumsfeld, hard at work opening doors for … Continue reading “Gulf War Vets Sue Saddam’s WMD Suppliers”

Wesley Clark: The Guy Who Almost Started World War III

General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and Friend of Bill’s (FOB) is considering a run for President of these United States. In an AP report of 29 June, former-President William Jefferson Clinton stated that Wesley Clark would make a fine president, if he ran. After all, what are friends for? There is … Continue reading “Wesley Clark: The Guy Who Almost Started World War III”

AMERICA IN IRAQ: A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT

Colin Powell is making the rounds, trying to drum up European support for the U.S. occupation of Iraq: the Google headline for the story in the Macon Telegraph reads “U.S. Seeks Reinforcements for Iraq” – but when you click on it, you get a story with a new rather more abstruse head: “U.S. Seeks U.N. … Continue reading “AMERICA IN IRAQ: A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT”

Ledeen on the Run

On National Review Online, 8/14/03, Michael Ledeen addresses his apparently controversial dealings with his “old friend Manucher Ghorbanifar.” Nothing quite like seeing Ledeen write from a position of relative weakness, especially given how much face time he has gotten in the last couple of years. Ledeen, who David Frum claims has scored up to $25 … Continue reading “Ledeen on the Run”

Fresh Blood in Kosovo

Even as north-eastern United States clawed its way from a weekend blackout, and the UN mission in Iraq gasped in shock at Tuesday’s massacre at its Baghdad headquarters, the occupied Serbian province of Kosovo was once again in the headlines. A week ago, British historian Kate Hudson noted that the attack on Yugoslavia over Kosovo … Continue reading “Fresh Blood in Kosovo”