Shadow Warriors: Paying to Keep Playing in Iraq
Patrick Cockburn, one of the most important Western witnesses of the Iraq War, gives this trenchant analysis of the reality on the ground: Only one thing unites Iraq: hatred of the US. The piece is worth reading in full, but here is an excerpt on one aspect of the situation:
Follow the Leader: Halliburton Rape Case Reflects Bush Ethos
I was about to write on this story from ABC (Victim: Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR), but Scott Horton beat me to it. Here’s an excerpt from his piece:
Laying Bare the Lies: Ripping Rudy for Reagan Revisionism
Juan Cole calls out Rudito Giuliani on his historical revisionism about Ronald Reagan’s “toughness” with “Islamic terrorists”: Giuliani, Reagan, and Kissing up to Ayatollahs with fancy Cakes.
The fact that a deeply disturbed pathological liar like Giuliani can be a serious candidate for president speaks volumes about the cankered American political system. Not that being a deeply disturbed pathological liar has ever been a hindrance to a successful careeer in our political funhouse, of course – quite the contrary –
Cave Dwellers: More Democratic Deceit on War and Torture
The Washington Post reports that Congressional Democrats are preparing to sign off on a spending bill that will, once again, pour tens of billions of dollars into the ongoing war crime in Iraq. The exact figure is not yet known, because Bush’s willing executioners among both parties have rigged up a complicated and deliberately deceitful process to shield the true nature of their craven kowtowing to the bloodstained, filth-encrusted White House autocrat.
(For more on the autocratic, lawless nature of the
Before the Flood: The Great Storm Building Beneath the “Surge”
Jonathan Steele offers a good analysis of the situation in Iraq: another glimpse at the truth behind the “surge success” propaganda, which, as Steele notes, has completely defanged the already feeble Democratic “opposition” to the murderous enterprise. The piece is worth reading in full, and excerpting at length. He begins by noting the shameful silence that greeted the Bush-Maliki announcement of plans for an “agreement” between the conqueror and his vassals for an “enduring” American military presence in Iraq:
Special Relationship: Global Snatch and Grab is the Law of the Land
The government of the United States has officially informed the courts of Her Majesty the Queen that Her Majesty’s subjects may be kidnapped (and that was the precise term used by the government of
More War is Job One: Torturing the Truth on Iran
Anyone hoping that the “no nukes in Iran” NIE report might hobble the Administration’s armed march toward Persia should take note of how George W. Bush moved the goal posts in his warmongering game during a press conference on Tuesday.
As the New York Times reports, Bush declared that Iran will not be “allowed” to acquire even the “scientific knowledge” required to build a nuclear weapon. Previous “red lines” which could trigger an attack had been based on Iran actually building a weapon; now
Fools Rush In: An Expert Dissection of the NIE Report
As usual, Arthur Silber delivers the goods — and several hard zen-slaps — on the NIE report about Iran’s non-existent nuclear weapons program: “Played for Fools Yet Again: About that Iran “Intelligence” Report.“
First he notes the self-evident truths that we alluded to in our hurried piece on the matter the other day: “that this latest NIE tells us nothing — let me repeat that, nothing — that was not entirely obvious to a reasonably intelligent layperson following mainstream
Eating Iraq: Corruption Rules and Cholera Rises While Insurgents Surf the Surge
In a remarkably short amount of time, the “conventional wisdom” of America’s media-political class has embraced the idea that George W. Bush’s escalation of the Iraq war in 2007 has been a “success.” This highly dubious notion — based on nothing but the fact that the horrific murder rate spawned by Bush’s act of aggression has momentarily abated to previous levels of savagery that were once considered catastrophic — now serves as the basic assumption of the “debate” about the Iraq war, especially among the punditry and out
Dicked Around: Cheney War Pushers Get Slapped By Spy Services
(UPDATES BELOW.)
U.S. Says Iran Ended Atomic Arms Work (NYT)
Someone has just handed Dick Cheney his big fat head on a platter, at least for this round. It remains to be seen exactly who and exactly why, and how the Cheney goons will respond. But this is good news, in so far as it states the plain truth that has been obvious for a long time to anyone who cared to see: Iran