Nir Rosen has a piece in the December Atlantic Monthly entitled “If America Left Iraq: The case for cutting and running.” Rosen poses the following questions and answers them all himself: Would the withdrawal of U.S. troops ignite a civil… Read moreIraq: “the case for cutting and running”
A voice of unassailable moral credibility—we hope—is added to chorus demanding release of the four hostages from the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq. LONDON (Reuters) – A former Guantanamo Bay detainee has pleaded for the release of peace worker Norman… Read moreEx-Gitmo detainee: free CPT hostages
Iraq’s armed guerillas are usually portrayed in vague and shadowy terms, allowing political commentators to cast them in whatever image is deemed convenient. Even the correct word to designate them says more about the commentator than the militants themselves. Those… Read moreAnatomy of Iraq’s insurgency
Recent reportage raises some disturbing questions about the abduction of the four activists from the Christian Peacemaker Teams now being held hostage in Iraq—Tom Fox, 54, of Virginia; Norman Kember, 74, of London; James Loney, 41, of Toronto; and Harmeet… Read moreIraq peace activist abductions: Pentagon “black op”?
Rather inconvenient news at a time when Bush is hailing a “clear strategy for victory” (Bloomberg, Dec. 1) and “real progress” (Guardian, Nov. 30) in Iraq. RAMADI, Iraq, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Iraqi militants attacked a U.S. base and a… Read moreIraq: al-Qaeda takes Ramadi?
Sen. Joseph Biden’s Nov. 21 speech before the Council on Foreign Relations calling for a phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq over the next two years is clearly intended as a response to Dick Cheney’s bellicose tirade before the… Read moreCheney v. Biden: some choice!
All of a sudden, the right-wing blogs and pseudo-news sources (MichNews, PostChronicle) are rallying around bogus claims that WMD really were found in Iraq. One who has actually written a book arguing this transparently ridiculous case is Richard Miniter: WMDs… Read moreDittoheads grasp at WMD straws
From the UK Guardian, Nov. 19: The right to rule ourselves Faced with US torture, killing and collective punishment of civilians, support for the Iraqi resistance is growing by Haifa Zangana The photograph of an elderly Iraqi carrying the burned… Read moreWhich Iraqi “resistance” do we support?
Perhaps it is a sign of the turning of the tide, evidenced by Congressional demands for a timetable on troop withdrawals this week. Or maybe it was just the magnitude of the death toll. But after weeks of burying the… Read moreIraq carnage newsworthy again
This is the definition of chutzpah. Even after Memogate and Plamegate (or Nigergate or whatever they are calling it), Cheney thinks he will be believed in these outraged accusations against his accusers. This really is a textbook case of the… Read moreDick Cheney and the “Big Lie”
Two Iraqi men arrested in Iraq in 2003 but never charged with any crimes now say US troops put them in a cage with lions, subjected them to a mock execution, and humiliated them during interrogations at various detention facilities…. Read moreIraq detainees: US troops threw us to lions
Well, the suicide minivan atttack on the Shi’ite town of Musayyib Nov. 2 that killed 20 and injured 60 (AP, Nov. 3) failed to rate even a mention on the front page of the next day’s NY Times. It was… Read moreAnother slow news day in Iraq
