Tag: pakistan

The Gray Lady and Officials Anonymous

The New York Times, the “Gray Lady” that abetted the efforts of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld to dupe America into supporting the Iraq invasion, is still the willing echo chambermaid of the warmongery. The most egregious piece of covert propaganda the NYT ran during the run-up to Gulf War II was the Sept. 8, … Continue reading “The Gray Lady and Officials Anonymous”

Has Faisal Shahzad Started a War?

The Obama administration is determined to link the Times Square Fizzler, Faisal Shahzad, to the Pakistani Taliban, and isn’t about to let logic, reality, or anything remotely related to the facts get in its way. With the complicity of the Obama-stricken media, they just might get away with it, opening the way for expanded military … Continue reading “Has Faisal Shahzad Started a War?”

Aborted Bomb Plot Tests US-Pakistan Ties

Amid mounting evidence that Saturday’s aborted car-bombing in New York’s Times Square was linked to violent Islamist groups in Pakistan, observers here are expressing concern that recently enhanced cooperation between Washington and Islamabad could be negatively affected. Thus far, the two governments appear to be cooperating well in investigating the activities of the alleged terrorist … Continue reading “Aborted Bomb Plot Tests US-Pakistan Ties”

Faisal Shahzad: An Ordinary Man

The day after President Obama made his Predator joke at the White House Correspondents dinner, Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American, was in the middle of Times Square trying to blow the place up. I’m not saying there was any connection, although you never know: yet there is indeed a link between the casual arrogance that allowed … Continue reading “Faisal Shahzad: An Ordinary Man”

Obama’s Nuclear-Weapons Conference Fatally Flawed Before It Began

The meeting on nuclear security convoked by Barack Obama this week was meant to prevent nuclear proliferation. This is a worthy cause, but – while I am writing before the meeting closes – I would assume that it will at best produce empty promises, as the meeting itself is fatally flawed. Its conceptual basis is … Continue reading “Obama’s Nuclear-Weapons Conference Fatally Flawed Before It Began”

Richard Holbrooke: Bulldozer Stuck in the Mud

Strobe Talbott once called Richard Holbrooke the "diplomatic equivalent of a hydrogen bomb." Oh, the many ways we could interpret that today. When Talbott, Bill Clinton’s deputy secretary of state and a friend of Holbrooke, made that comment to the New York Times in February 2009, Holbrooke was riding a wave of fairly breathless publicity … Continue reading “Richard Holbrooke: Bulldozer Stuck in the Mud”

Legality of Drone Strikes Still in Question

While welcoming an initial effort by the administration of President Barack Obama to offer a legal justification for drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists overseas, human rights groups say critical questions remain unanswered. In an address to an international law group last week, State Department Legal Adviser Harold Koh insisted that such operations were being … Continue reading “Legality of Drone Strikes Still in Question”

Attacks Bring Pakistan Aid Work to Virtual Halt

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Bomb attacks and threats to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have brought development work to a virtual halt in the lawless, volatile environment that is the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), located near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. The latest in the series of attacks on the offices of NGOs occurred on Mar. 10, when … Continue reading “Attacks Bring Pakistan Aid Work to Virtual Halt”

Defying US, Pakistan Keeps Custody of Baradar

The refusal of Pakistani intelligence to turn over Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and as many as six other top Taliban figures to the United States or the Afghan government has dealt a serious blow to the Barack Obama administration’s hopes for Pakistani cooperation in weakening the Taliban. It has left little doubt in … Continue reading “Defying US, Pakistan Keeps Custody of Baradar”