LET’S VOTE ON IT

As America returns to offices and factories after the long Labor Day holiday, the realization that this may be the last summer before a long and horrendous war has focused the nation’s attention on the issue policy wonks and ideologues have been debating for months: do we take Iraq? It is either serendipity or divine … Continue reading “LET’S VOTE ON IT”

Confronting Pro-Occupation Arguments

A year has passed since the first part of this article, in which I confronted a set of arguments justifying the Israeli occupation, eloquently formulated by an Israeli settler, David Moriah. Shortly afterwards came September 11th, and the agenda changed radically. A year later, readers’ letters seem to indicate we are almost back to where … Continue reading “Confronting Pro-Occupation Arguments”

Weak Arguments for Attack

Perhaps the most striking thing about the current discussion/ debate/ PR campaign about the possibility of the United States launching a pre-emptive strike against Iraq is the weakness of the arguments in favor of an attack – even if one accepts the premise that a pre-emptive strike is sometimes justified, necessary or desirable. Leaving open … Continue reading “Weak Arguments for Attack”

THE EVIL OF SANCTIONS

Justin Raimondo is on vacation. Today we present an appropriate classic from April, 1998, reprinted from the Ludwig von Mises Institute publication, The Free Market. Justin’s regular column will return on Wednesday. Among the conventional weapons in the arsenal of the modern Warfare State, none is crueler or more indiscriminate than economic sanctions. While a … Continue reading “THE EVIL OF SANCTIONS”

Why the War on Iraq is Just Not Working Out

There were many good reasons for the successful "coalition" formed in 1990-91 to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait. None of these reasons are present in today’s argument presented by the United States to attack Iraq. The US administration seems unable or unwilling to understand how different the Middle East has become in the last ten … Continue reading “Why the War on Iraq is Just Not Working Out”

Let’s Go To War With Iraq

In response, no doubt, to my instruction in this place last week to shape up, the advocates of starting a war with Iraq have been busy. In Britain, the charge was led by Sir John Keegan, who (to the point of parody) perorated with the conclusion that, were Churchill alive, he’d strike. It’s the season … Continue reading “Let’s Go To War With Iraq”

The Claims for Total War Revisited

According the numerous defenders of Total War, no means of breaking an enemy’s will can be forsworn under the conditions of modern warfare. The enemy includes every member of the “enemy society,” regardless of age, gender, occupation, etc. Any vestiges of 18th- or 19th-century practices which aimed at limiting the destructiveness of war and at … Continue reading “The Claims for Total War Revisited”

A Mysterious Attack Across the LoC

NB: Claims and counter-claims by India and Pakistan about an August 23 intrusion across the border raise disturbing questions about their communication links and their deterrent equation. Ten days ago, India’s new foreign minister Yashwant Sinha and Pakistan’s recently appointed minister of state for foreign affairs Inamul Haq warmly shook hands in Kathmandu on the … Continue reading “A Mysterious Attack Across the LoC”

Arming the World: What the US Fears

A recently published book by two US Department of Defense insiders and Cold Warriors, Edward Timperlake and William C. Triplett II provides an extremely one-sided yet nevertheless sobering account of China’s arms dealings. In Red Dragon Rising, Timperlake and Triplett point to "Communist China" as the chief threat to World Peace (i.e. Pax Americana), surpassing … Continue reading “Arming the World: What the US Fears”

Global Interventionism: The Price We Pay

While the United States government is touting the so-called Clinton Doctrine, which projects American power all over the world in the name of \”human rights,\” the right of Americans to feel safe in their own country is rapidly being diminished. In a recent op-ed piece for the Washington Post [July 26, 1999], Secretary of Defense … Continue reading “Global Interventionism: The Price We Pay”