All Commentaries
Administration Still Doesnt Recognize the Main Factor in the War
President Bush’s speech, outlining a “Strategy for Victory in Iraq” at the U.S. Naval Academy on November 30, 2005, failed to take the opportunity created by the public and the U.S. Congress to engage in a real debate about the Iraq War. Instead Bush put forth a new glossy covered report, polished off some old rhetoric and continued to give a view of the Iraq War clouded by rose colored glasses. Vowing to “Stay the Course” the President made clear that the administration still doesn’t recognize the main factor in the war—that the occupation is driving the resistance.
False Dawn: Bosnia Ten Years after Dayton
Ten years ago, I wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times urging that Kosovo Albanians be included in the Bosnia peace talks then being held in Dayton, Ohio. I warned that the nonviolent strategy of Kosovo Albanians was endangered by an increasingly impatient population which was beginning to believe that the United States would only recognize their plight if they took up arms.
Dark Armies, Secret Bases, and Rummy, Oh My!
It would be easy to make fun of President Bush’s recent fiasco at the 4th Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina. His grand plan for a free trade zone reaching from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego was soundly rejected by nations fed up with the economic and social chaos wrought by neoliberalism. At a press conference, South American journalists asked him rude questions about Karl Rove. And the President ended the whole debacle by uttering what may be the most trenchant observation the man has ever made on Latin America: “Wow! Brazil is big!”
Can the Iraqi Insurgency be Neutralized?
In the wake of the 2,000th U.S. soldier dying because of the Iraq War, the Bush administration has begun to count the number of Iraqi dead and captured. These metrics, reminiscent of those used in the Vietnam War, will be touted by the administration as an indicator of success for military operations and to give the impression that the insurgency can be neutralized.
Taking the Wind Out of the Perfect Geopolitical Storm: Iran and the Crisis over Non-proliferation
Congress Begins to "Change the Course" in Iraq
Falling in line with the peace movement and public opinion, the Senate has finally taken a small but a symbolically important step to challenge President George W. Bush’s policy in Iraq. Lawmakers approved legislation that endorses a "phased redeployment of United States forces" from Iraq.
Islam, the State, and Freedom of Religion In Malaysia
Since September 2001 the struggle between militantly radical and progressive or democratic tendencies—between “ungentle” and “gentle” Islam—has become a matter of urgent importance not only among Muslims but to others beyond their faith community.
Libby Indictment May Open Door to Broader Iraq War Deceptions
The details revealed thus far from the investigation that led to the five-count indictment against I. Lewis âÂÂScooterâ Libby seem to indicate that the efforts to expose the identity of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson went far beyond the chief assistant to the assistant chief. Though no other White House officials were formally indicted, the investigation appears to implicate Vice President Richard Cheney and Karl Rove, President George W. Bush’s top political adviser, in the conspiracy. More importantly, the probe underscores the extent of administration efforts to silence those who questioned its argument that Iraq constituted a serious threat to the national security of the United States. Even if no other White House officials ever have to face justice as a result of this investigation, it opens one of the best opportunities the American public may have to press the issue of how the Bush administration led us into war.
Iraq: A Tale of Two Speeches
September 29, 2005 found General John Abizaid, Commander of U.S. Central Command, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee. With him were the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the top U.S. general in Iraq . The overall subject was the war on terror with its three subsets: global (including al-Qaida) jihad and the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq . General Abizaid’s opening remarks emphasized his considered view (he is, like T.E. Lawrence, a hands-on student of the Middle East) of the underlying connections among these topics.
Continuing to Repudiate International Law, Rumsfeld Rejects UN Access to Guantanamo
Amid growing concern over the fate and conditions of inmates engaged in a lengthy hunger strike at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Tuesday said he would not permit UN investigators to interview detainees there.