Tag: Iraq

On ‘Collateral Murder’ and Stephen Colbert

Much has been written in recent weeks about "Collateral Murder," the Wikileaks audio/video of a 2007 attack by U.S. soldiers on an unarmed reporter and other men (I’m not sure whether they were armed) in Iraq. However, I’m not writing this simply to repeat what others have said, but to give my own perspective because … Continue reading “On ‘Collateral Murder’ and Stephen Colbert”

Yes, We Could… Get Out!

Yes, we could. No kidding. We really could withdraw our massive armies, now close to 200,000 troops combined, from Afghanistan and Iraq (and that’s not even counting our similarly large stealth army of private contractors, which helps keep the true size of our double occupations in the shadows). We could undoubtedly withdraw them all reasonably … Continue reading “Yes, We Could… Get Out!”

Baghdad Imam’s Assassination Sparks Fears of Violence

BAGHDAD – The assassination of Sheikh Ghazi Jabouri, a prominent Sunni Imam in the al-Adhamiya district of Baghdad, has raised fears of renewed sectarian violence in the wake of the March 7 elections. Tensions have been reported in the area following the assassination last Wednesday. At least two gunmen killed Sheikh Jabouri, 42, as he … Continue reading “Baghdad Imam’s Assassination Sparks Fears of Violence”

Gods and Monsters

The Greeks had it right. When you live on Mount Olympus, your view of humanity is qualitatively different. The Greek gods, after all, lied to, stole from, lusted for, and punished humanity without mercy, while taking the planet for a spin in a manner that we mortals would consider amoral, if not immoral. And it … Continue reading “Gods and Monsters”

COIN of the Realm

The short version of an old joke about U.S. defense spending goes like this: An overweight nuclear submarine skipper baffles the congressional defense appropriations subcommittees with a line of technical gobbledygook Einstein wouldn’t understand, and the subcommittees give the Navy whatever it wants. A short, bald fighter pilot feeds the subcommittees a ration of dwarfed … Continue reading “COIN of the Realm”

We Ignore War Crimes at Our Own Risk

When one sees an obviously grotesque action by the agents of one’s government and speaks out about it, one can count on being immediately labeled with whatever epithet is convenient to prevent any scrutiny of the state’s activities. On Monday, April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks published a classified Apache helicopter gunsite video of a shooting incident … Continue reading “We Ignore War Crimes at Our Own Risk”

Bringing a Battle to Their Kids

There are certainly many gut-wrenching scenes in the "Collateral Murder" Wikileaks video currently making huge waves on the internet.  Though even the hardcore U.S. military apologentsia are having a (relatively) hard time justifying the slaughter of the unarmed men who arrived on the scene of the initial massacre in a black van to evacuate a … Continue reading “Bringing a Battle to Their Kids”

Lucrative KBR Contracts Unaffected by Iraq Troop Drawdown

Only one in nine hours billed by a contractor for running the giant military bases that house U.S. soldiers in Iraq in the first half of 2009 was for actual physical labor, according to new testimony by the Pentagon’s auditors. The company — KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton — is tasked with military logistics … Continue reading “Lucrative KBR Contracts Unaffected by Iraq Troop Drawdown”