Charles V. Peña

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan contends that although it may not have been the Bush administration’s motive, “the Iraq war is largely about oil.” According to Greenspan, such an admission is simply “to acknowledge what everyone knows.” To say the Iraq war was about oil is not to say the United States invaded Iraq … Continue reading “Greenspan’s Unsure Grasp of Economics”

In a classic case of “close, but no cigar,” Newsweek recently reported that in the early winter of 2004-2005 U.S. soldiers nearly stumbled on Osama bin Laden’s mountain hideout in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. As we approach the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, D.C., how and why is … Continue reading “Close, but No Cigar”

Even as the International Atomic Energy Agency is meeting with Iranian officials to discuss increasing the openness of Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains defiant about Tehran’s right to pursue such a program – including uranium enrichment, which would give Iran a de facto nuclear weapon capability. This raises the specter of one … Continue reading “Defusing Nuclear Hysteria”

Once again, we are being teased with the possibility that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq will be reduced. According to unnamed administration officials, Gen. David Petraeus – the top U.S. military commander in Iraq – is expected to propose a partial troop pullback in his September status report to Congress. That’s the good … Continue reading “More Troop Reduction Legerdemain”

In four Republican presidential debates, candidate Ron Paul has consistently stressed the need for the United States to adopt a less interventionist foreign policy. At the first debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in California, he argued that "we should have a foreign policy of nonintervention." In Columbia, S.C., in May, he stated, "It is … Continue reading “Memo to Rep. Ron Paul”

In the 1970s and ’80s – as a response to Irish Republican Army attacks – the British government installed an extensive network of closed-circuit television surveillance cameras (known as the "ring of steel") in central London. British authorities credit these cameras with being able to quickly identify the bombers in the July 2005 subway and … Continue reading “Surveillance Society”

After a failed attempt on then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s life in October 1984, the Irish Republican Army issued this statement: "Today we were unlucky, but remember, we only have to be lucky once; you will have to be lucky always." Those words are no less true in the wake of British authorities discovering … Continue reading “Lucky, but for How Much Longer?”

One of the greatest fears in the post-9/11 world is the prospect of nuclear terrorism. Indeed, President Bush used this fear to gain public support for U.S. military action to depose Saddam Hussein: "If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy, or steal an amount of highly enriched uranium a little larger than a … Continue reading “Cooperative Threat Reduction Is Worth the Cost”

Last week, Andrew Speaker – an Atlanta, Ga., personal injury lawyer with XDR-TB, a form of tuberculosis that is resistant to almost all antibiotics – created a big health scare by exposing fellow travelers to a dangerous infection. Speaker flew from Atlanta to Paris on Air France on May 12 for his wedding and honeymoon, … Continue reading “Unprepared for Bioterrorism”

Two weeks ago, much hoopla was made over six Muslims arrested for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack against Fort Dix in New Jersey. According to U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, the six men intended "to create carnage at Fort Dix," and "This is a new brand of terrorism where a small cell of people can bring … Continue reading “Rudy Giuliani and the
Fort Dix Six”