Captive Audience: Another Bush Thug Move Toward Iran War
Juan Cole relays the news that American forces has kidnapped another Iranian in Iraq. The occupation army claims the captive is an arms smuggler from the Revolutionary Guards; but the Kurds — America’s main ally in Iraq — say that he is a legitimate trade official from an Iranian province. Professor Cole lays out the absurdities:
Shock Treatment: Tasers and the Terror War Coming Home
A Nation on the Edge of the Final Descent (I): Glimpses of the Horrors to Come
Arthur Silber speaks, and you should listen. Go there now, read the whole thing. And while you’re there, drop a coin in the plate to keep this unique and vital voice sounding in our growing night.
Below is a brief excerpt, but don’t deny yourself the power and insight and context of the whole piece (and the many links Arthur provides).
Machine Tools: Another Terror War Triumph for the Texas Twerp
How many times must a duck go “quack,” before you call it a duck?
– with apologies to Bob Dylan.
The Senate has failed to move forward on a bill to restore the ancient right of habeas corpus to captives of the Bush Regime’s Terror War, many of whom have proved to be innocent people — sometimes kidnapped, sometimes sold into captivity by bounty hunters — caged without legal
Bombs, Babes and Baksheesh: Civilization in Action
If you want to know how the world works – how the free, enlightened, civilized West works – look no further than the deal announced yesterday between Her Majesty’s Government of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There you will find the essence of our time in a nutshell (or perhaps a missile casing): bribes, bombs, babes, blackmail, terrorism, tyranny, secrecy and repression – all wrapped up with a shiny official ribbon and foisted on the public without a by-your-leave.
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Tactical Diversion: The Mukasey Pick and the March to Iran
The nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey as attorney general has drawn widespread support. Even among determined foes of the Bush Regime, the choice is seen as a good move; they say that while Mukasey is, to be sure, an arch-conservative, he is also dedicated to the notion of putting the law above political partisanship. Others have lauded what they see as a political defeat for Bush; having floated the idea of appointing raw partisan apparatchiks like Ted Olson or Michael Chertoff, Bush has been forced to seek a
Five for the Road
If only I could sail away
To some uncharted clime
Where nobody knows my name
And nobody wants my time
I’d set me up a fishing boat
And spend my days at sea
At night I’d read my history books
And keep some tender company<br style="font-family:
Borderline Case: Brits Join Bush Push for Iran Provocation
Following up on the previous post about the new American base now being built on the Iraq-Iran border, we find the Independent reporting that UK troops are also being sent to the volatile line, there to dangle themselves as tempting targets for an Iranian “provocation” — or, as Tehran claims, to join the Americans in staging their own cross-border provocations with raids on Iranian soil.
This is not the first time the Brits have bellied up to the border, of course. As I
Shadow and Swamp: A Brief Discursion on 9/11
A commenter asked recently about my take on 9/11. In light of the anniversary (which I noted here; see also Jon Schwarz’s piece here), I thought this might be a good time to set out, very briefly, what I think on the subject.
It’s really quite simple and, to my mind, self-evident: the “official” story of what happened on September 11, 2001, is not a complete or accurate account. (We should of
Chum to the Slaughter: Bush Baits Iranians With New Border Base
(UPDATED BELOW.)
With the media’s attention focused on the Petraeus pony show and the sudden reappearance of the dread pirate Blackbeard Laden, the Bush Administration is quietly taking yet another step toward a war with Iran — and using the lives of 200 U.S. soldiers as so much bloody chum to bait the Tehran shark.
The U.S. military announced yesterday that it is building a new base on the Iraq-Iran border, the BBC reports. Ostensibly designed to stop arms smuggling
The Imperator Reports:Let the Blood Flow On
General David H. Petraeus has taken time off from his busy schedule as a public relations flack for the White House to give Congress his long-awaited “progress report” on the major escalation of the war that George W. Bush ordered last January. As the Washington Post relates, he was crowned by both Democrats and Republicans with metaphorical laurel wreaths, like unto a conquering Roman general of old — which was somewhat strange, given that most Roman imperators