George Woodrow Carter

Reading President Bush’s address to the National Endowment for Democracy, one wonders: Have the neocons captured him totally? For, though he is being hailed as Reagan’s true heir, Bush has begun to sound like a clone of Woodrow Wilson or Jimmy Carter. Foreign policy is, in Walter Lippman’s phrase, the “Shield of the Republic.” Its … Continue reading “George Woodrow Carter”

Iraq: It’s Getting Ugly

George W. Bush had barely finished bemoaning the “democracy deficit” in his speech to the National Endowment for Democracy when General John Abizaid, commander of U.S. troops in the Middle East, showed the true face of the American occupation. The headline said it all: “Top U.S. general warns of harsh measures unless attacks stop.“ Apparently … Continue reading “Iraq: It’s Getting Ugly”

Mistreating Soldiers and Veterans

Congress recently voted to send $87 billion to Iraq, money that will be used to build everything from roads to power plants to hospitals. Yet while Congress appears ready to rubber-stamp unlimited monies for nation building in Iraq, thousands of our own soldiers at home are languishing with substandard medical care. You may have read … Continue reading “Mistreating Soldiers and Veterans”

Rumsfeld Takes More Friendly Fire

The right-wing coalition that powered the United States into Iraq earlier this year appears in ever greater disarray amid increasingly heated complaints by friends, as well as foes, that the US occupation is not going well at all. The main target is Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, who appears increasingly at a loss to explain US … Continue reading “Rumsfeld Takes More Friendly Fire”

GEORGE W. BUSH, TROTSKYITE

It’s just a coincidence that George W. Bush gave a speech announcing that the U.S. was leading a “global democratic revolution” on the eve of Leon Trotsky’s birthday, but it is one that neatly illustrates the militant revolutionism at the core of American foreign policy in the post-9/11 era. The proximity to Trotsky’s birthday was … Continue reading “GEORGE W. BUSH, TROTSKYITE”

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!”