Guest editorial Andrew Arato We should be deeply worried about Turkey’s unfolding constitutional crisis, that could end in many things: the continuation and even conclusion of the long democratic transition; military coup with entirely uncertain consequences; or, in between them an unproductive stalemate. Obviously only the first can enable Turkey to become a member of […]
Paul: Iran and Energy Crisis
Sunday afternoon viewing: Ron Paul on Iran and the energy crisis. He argues that speculation about a US or Israeli strike on Iran is driving some of the increase in oil prices. The OPEC president should know a thing or two about what drives oil prices and he agrees.
Salih Speaks of Horizon for US Troops; Chalabi in Tehran, Criticizes US; Sistani rejects Use of His Name in Campaign
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said that the al-Maliki government is beginning to think about the “time horizon” of the US troop presence in Iraq. That terminology is awfully close to a request for a timetable for troop withdrawal. PM al-Maliki has repeatedly said that Iraqi militias and army can handle the security problems themselves […]
US Kills Maliki Relative; Fadhila Accuses Grand Ayatollah of conspiracy
Ooops. A US military operation in Karbala province at Janaja resulted in the arrest of one Iraqi and the killing of another. The dead Iraqi is said to be a relative of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The governor of Karbala province, Uqail al-Khazali, complained that the US military had acted unilaterally and had not coordinated […]
Addington: They’ll be Watching Me
David Addington, Cheney’s legal capo, can’t say whether he authorized waterboarding because he is afraid that al-Qaeda might be watching C-Span. Al-Qaeda is this crew’s excuse for everything that they always wanted to do before there was any al-Qaeda.
Huge bombing in Mosul Targets Governor; Awakening meeting 50 Miles from Baghdad Hit
Big bombs in Mosul and in Karma, al-Anbar. Questions are being raised about whether the Iraqi army can hold Mosul. DPA reports that two major bombings in Sunni Arab areas of Iraq on Thursday killed over 40 persons and left over 70 wounded. In al-Anbar province at Karma 50 km west of Baghdad, a meeting […]
McCain Adviser Plans Casino on the Tigris
Update: This appears to be a hoax. See comments below. Hat tip to Raed Jarrar and to Rick B at Ten Percent. A ‘foreign policy adviser’ to the McCain campaign was interviewed last February on television in Baghdad about plans for a Las Vegas-style five star hotel and casino smack dab in the middle of […]
"Family Wiped out By US; Mosul: Rapid Downward Security Spiral
Headlines you never want to see: “Family wiped out by US.” A US air strike on suspected insurgents at Tikrit went terribly wrong Wednesday, when an American missile instead killed a family of 6, including four children aged 4 to 11. Iraqis allege that the man had come out of his house and fired a […]
Kelly Kennedy, George Carlin, and the Reason for Traumatized Iraq Veterans
The late George Carlin did not like the phrase “post-traumatic stress disorder.” He famously said, ‘ I don’t like words that hide the truth. I don’t like words that conceal reality. I don’t like euphemisms, or euphemistic language. And American English is loaded with euphemisms. Cause Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality. […]
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