Survival as Virtue: The Real Jessica Lynch Story

Pfc. Jessica Lynch survived an auto accident. I’ve been in a nasty one myself, so I won’t splash ice water on her ordeal, but that’s what it was: a car crash. She’s less Alvin York than a lucky Princess Di. If the vultures at Knopf had any style, they would have hired J.G. Ballard to … Continue reading “Survival as Virtue: The Real Jessica Lynch Story”

Anti-Fools of the World Unite!

I think Americans would be surprised to know how conservative the views of many Chinese are concerning such “mutual” problems as Iraq, North Korea, terrorism and the whole world order as it is now. Of course, young Chinese males with internet access tend to rant on about the global conspiracy engineered by the US and … Continue reading “Anti-Fools of the World Unite!”

Bush Vision Advances Mission-Creep in Mideast

In what the White House billed as a major address, President George W. Bush Thursday announced the United States has adopted a new policy he called "a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East." The speech, which comes amid growing public and congressional unease about the costs and duration of the US occupation of … Continue reading “Bush Vision Advances Mission-Creep in Mideast”

Baghdad George

I guess it was inevitable. Someone has compared President George Bush to "Baghdad Bob," the inadvertently comical Iraqi information minister who kept insisting Iraq was winning the war even as American tanks gathered outside his office. This came after the president’s latest press conference, when he said attacks were increasing in Iraq because the occupation … Continue reading “Baghdad George”

Just a Good Ol’ Boy

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean is a master of timing. His appearance in Jacksonville, Florida on election day 2003 served several purposes. It signaled very clearly to the incumbent president that Dean, the putative frontrunner for next year’s Democratic presidential nomination, believes that Florida is in play in 2004 and that the Bush team can’t … Continue reading “Just a Good Ol’ Boy”

EIN VOLK, EIN FUEHRER, EIN ISRAEL…

Justin Raimondo’s column will return on Monday. Here is a classic column from last year. July 12, 2002 Although I am sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, and hardly a friend of Israel, I must admit to being shocked at the analogy – made by many in the anti-Israel camp – between the Jewish state and … Continue reading “EIN VOLK, EIN FUEHRER, EIN ISRAEL…”

The Iraq Trap: Watch Out What You Ask For

Media outlets are filled with bad news about Iraq. A theme is emerging: This administration doesn’t know how to run an occupation! Those who oppose President Bush may welcome the recent shift in the media climate. But when war-makers get frustrated, they’re inclined to heighten the violence. And some critics of the occupation’s management are … Continue reading “The Iraq Trap: Watch Out What You Ask For”

All Roads Lead to Feith

"What’s gonna happen with Feith?” That, in a nutshell, is the question of the month for the Washington cognoscenti trying to figure out whether a major shift in the Bush administration’s unilateralist and ultra-hawkish foreign policy is or is not underway. The reference is to Douglas Feith, the administration’s rather obscure but nonetheless strategically placed … Continue reading “All Roads Lead to Feith”

An Edifice of Lies

The Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 unleashed a maelstrom of pent-up violence between its people. Four bloody years later, the Communists emerged as the new power in the Balkans, reshaping Yugoslavia to their liking. Legacies of wartime carnage and genocide were shoved into hibernation, and Tito’s regime proceeded to create its own inter-ethnic conflicts … Continue reading “An Edifice of Lies”