This essay was first published in January 2017. It seems even more prescient 8 and a half years later. At that time I could not […]
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2 US Soldiers Killed; Al-Sadr Calls for Rejection of SOFA
Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr again called on PM Nuri al-Maliki to decline to sign a Status of Forces Agreement with the US Pentagon. He pledged the […]
Pakistani Consulate bombed; NATO Commander in Afghanistan Calls for More Troops; Strikes same Notes as Obama
Bomb blast outside Pakistani consulate at Herat wounds one. Aljazeera International interviews Gen. David McKiernan, who sounds to me just like Barack Obama on Afghanistan– […]
Cole in Salon: Why Bush Folded on Iran
My essay why Bush sent a high-level diplomat to meet Iranian negotiators with no preconditions is out in Salon.com. Excerpt: ‘Pundits and diplomats nearly got […]
McCain and the Rage Celebrities; Does he Need to go to Rehab?
McCain had pledged to run a clean campaign, but like Mike Tyson when he’s in the mood to munch ear, the Republicans just can’t control […]
Bhasin:"Situation on the Ground" or Political Convenience? Thoughts on a US Withdrawal from Iraq
Madhavi Bhasin writes in an IC Guest Editorial: The most consistent answer to the differently phrased generic query, “When will the U.S. troops withdraw from […]
Diyala Campaign Begins
The al-Maliki government has just launched another of its military offensives against guerrillas, this time in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province. I am skeptical […]
Because You aren’t Angry Enough: Found on Reddit
Russia just defeated the US in the race for Central Asian gas. The US bet on a gas pipeline through Taliban territory in Afghanistan and […]
Pakistani Taliban threaten Suicide Bombings;
Mark LeVine is disturbed by the tendency of Barack Obama and other US politicians to lump the Taliban together with al-Qaeda. The latter, he says […]
Women Bombers Open Gates of Hell in Iraq; 61 Dead, Hundreds Wounded; Kurdish Mobs Attack Turkmen Offices in Kirkuk
Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that four female suicide bombers killed or wounded 350 persons on Monday. Late reports give 61 as the number of those […]
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