Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post reports that Obama is considering a regional approach to the Afghanistan war that would extend to negotiating with Iran and with “reconcilable” elements of the Taliban. Certainly, some new policies are desperately needed, and whatever Bush was doing over there was just making things worse over time. Afghans are […]
Abnormality Besieges Palestinians
The UN warns that it is running out of food to distribute in Gaza, putting the civilian population there at severe risk, as a direct result of an Israeli food blockade. A food blockade? That is a war crime! Why aren’t the people ordering the malnourishment of a civilian population under foreign military occupation being […]
Standing up for Max Cleland on Veteran’s Day
More on Veterans Day: Someone alerted me to the good work that Survivor Corps is doing for Vets. And, This letter from Iraq Veteran Paul Hackett came to me in the mail on Veterans Day, and I thought it worth reprinting: “Juan, Ninety years ago today, the Great World War came to an end on […]
Glantz: Veterans Day, 2008 : Tasks for the Obama Administration
Aaron Glantz writes in a guest op-ed for IC: On Veterans Day, we as a nation pause to honor those who have served their country. Problem is the Bush Administration doesn’t want us to know about their sacrifice. From refusing to allow the press to photograph flag-draped coffins of the dead, to covering up the […]
31 Killed by Triple Bombing in Baghdad; Questions about Funding for Iraqi Intelligence
3 bombings in the largely Shiite neighborhood of Kasrah in mostly Sunni Adhamiya on Monday, killing 31 and wounding 71. There are lots of reasons for such an attack, but it is in part aimed at scaring Shiites living in Adhamiya into leaving; i.e. it was aimed in part at further ethnic cleansing of the […]
US Documents on Iran Nukes Forged?
I’m shocked, shocked that allegations are emerging at the International Atomic Energy Agency that US-supplied “documents” from a laptop acquired in 2004 indicating a secret Iranian weapons program were probably forgeries. The IAEA clearly hopes that the Obama administration will end the previous administration’s attempts to undermine it and will stop the Washington habit of […]
Al-Maliki to Parliament on Security Agreement: ‘Take it or Leave it’; Provincial Elections Jan. 31; 10 Killed, Dozens Wounded in Attacks
Guerrilla attacks killed 10 persons and wounded dozens on Sunday. Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the al-Maliki government will in coming months show the draft security agreement it has negotiated with the Bush administration to the main blocs in parliament to gauge whether they will accept the amendments it has wrung from Washington. A source […]
Emanuel in 2002: Details of US and Israeli Interests Differ
Prospective Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has taken a lot of heat in the Middle East and in the left blogosphere because there are fears that he will push for the positions of the Israeli right wing. His father lives in Israel and was a member of the Irgun. Rahm Emanuel gave […]
No More Monsters on T.V.
Democrats.com has taken up my call from last week for the television networks to avoid inviting commentary from politicians who are criminals of various sorts. (I hear the snickers; yes, there would be someone left.) The networks put on a Tom Delay because he is controversial and makes good copy, but it is a disservice […]