Tag: wikileaks

Washington Insiders Fret Over WikiLeaks Dump

While the massive dump of some 250,000 internal U.S. diplomatic communications by WikiLeaks includes none marked “top secret,” their dissemination is already causing considerable embarrassment and may well inflict longer-term damage on Washington’s foreign relations. Most analysts said the initial exposure of nearly 250 of the documents – or only about one-thousandth of the total … Continue reading “Washington Insiders Fret Over WikiLeaks Dump”

Monday: 13 Iraqis Killed, 33 Wounded

Interior Minister Jawad Bolani said security forces thwarted an attack on the French embassy that was planned by the same insurgents who took over a church last month; however, they were not able to prevent the violence that led to at least 13 Iraqis losing their lives today. Another 33 were wounded as well. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari called the latest WikiLeaks dump “unhelpful and untimely.”

The Big Dump

It will take weeks to trawl through the 250,000-plus diplomatic cables released to the world by WikiLeaks, but one thing we know now: America’s relations with the rest of the world will never be the same. They won’t be the same because the release speaks volumes about the vulnerability and sheer incompetence of a government … Continue reading “The Big Dump”

Torture Orders Were Part of US Sectarian War Strategy

The revelation by WikiLeaks of a U.S. military order directing U.S. forces not to investigate cases of torture of detainees by Iraqis has been treated in news reports as yet another case of lack of concern by the U.S. military about detainee abuse. But the deeper significance of the order, which has been missed by … Continue reading “Torture Orders Were Part of US Sectarian War Strategy”

The Face of War (Don’t Look!)

You’d think that people always seeking “lessons” from war would draw one from our latest wonder weapon, which fights our wars for us without an American in sight. I’m talking, of course, about the drone aircraft that have, in recent years, become a signature form of American war-making. They represent truly advanced technology, with ever … Continue reading “The Face of War (Don’t Look!)”

WikiLeaks Paints Grim Picture of Iraqi Civilian Casualties

Two revelations await the reader of the WikiLeaks section dealing with civilian deaths in the Iraq War: Iraqis are responsible for most of these deaths, and the number of total civilian casualties is substantially higher than has been previously reported. There were numerous gruesome but seemingly isolated events that caught the interest and attention of … Continue reading “WikiLeaks Paints Grim Picture of Iraqi Civilian Casualties”

Bull Feather Merchant Marines

The New York Times continues to serve as headquarters of the Pentagon’s bull feather merchant marines. The headline of an Oct. 20 Times piece by Carlotta Gall on the Kandahar offensive read “Coalition Forces Routing Taliban in Key Afghan Region.” Nothing in the text of the piece supported the conclusion that anything remotely like a … Continue reading “Bull Feather Merchant Marines”