Politics
-
When We Leave Iraq . . .
. . . will we really be gone? Tom Englehart: While arguments spin endlessly here at home about the nature of withdrawal "timetables," and who’s cutting and running from what, and how many troops we will or won’t have in-country in 2007, 2008, or 2009, on the ground a process continues that makes mockery of
-
Radioactive Oil
It’s amazing how one of the most obvious things about are involvement in the Middle East is rarely spoken about in the mainstream media–oil. Even liberal commentators shy away from it. I think in large part it has to do with the Michael Moore factor that has made it a radioactive subject. "Blood for oil"
-
Soldiers with Sense
It’s interesting how it’s often the soldiers who are most acutely aware of the dangers of militarism. It’s the soldiers like Colin Powell who are standing up against Bush on this whole torture question. Philosophically conservative but intellectually honest guys like Andrew Bacevich are immune to the grandiosity of the GOP (and Dem) civilian militarists.
-
Competents Need Not Apply
This WaPo story is a must read if you haven’t seen it already. It gives you some insight into how people were hired by the CPA to rebuild Iraqi society after the invasion. If you’ve been paying attention you won’t be surprised to read these stories, and you know that they are not extraordinary but
-
Neocon Sincerity: Believing Your Own Propaganda
The reason I am and have been so angry at this administration is because I believe we had an astonishing chance to turn around the Arab-Muslim world with a serious effort to transform Iraq, and Bush didn’t trust the American people enough to do it. I regard that as a betrayal of his 9/11 promise.
-
More on How Militarism Rots the American Soul
It is the Soldier not the reporter, who has given us Freedom of the press. It is the Soldier not the poet, who has given us Freedom of speech. It is the Soldier not the campus organizer, who has given us the Freedom to demonstrate. It is the Soldier not the lawyer, who has given
-
Barbarians at the Gate
In short, bin Laden’s campaign, however contemptible, and opposition to the U.S. ambitions in the Greater Middle East more generally, emerged at least in part as a response to prior U.S. policies and actions, in which lofty ideals and high moral purpose seldom figured. The United States cannot be held culpable for the maladies that
-
Militarism and Oil
A half century ago, the proximity of a Communist threat–to Western Europe or East Asia, for example–tended to determine the stationing of U.S. forces abroad. Today, increasingly, the profile of the American military presence abroad corresponds to the location of large oil and natural gas reserves." Andrew Bacevich, The New American Militarism, p. 102 ***
-
The 9/11 Docudrama
What she said: . . .there’s a difference between creating composite characters and dialogue to flesh out a scene, and inserting information that changes the factual nature of a line of documented history. I’m not alone in feeling that way. Republican politicians succeeded in getting CBS to yank "The Reagans" in 2003 using the same
-
Defining Fascism
John Dean has an article in which he argues that the term Islamofascism is inaccurate and inappropriate to describe Islamic extremism. He even quotes Pat Buchanan to make his point: Pat Buchanan, who addresses the term from the opposite end of the political spectrum, notes that "there is no consensus as to what ‘fascism’ even