West Is East, When Israel Decides
JERUSALEM -- Along a wall not about to come down -- a hotel no longer a hotel, but an outpost. The three-story, 36-room Cliff Hotel used to be a favorite for Western pilgrims in search of the "authentic Holy Land flavor" because of its extensive gardens; it...
‘New’ Military Courts Still Lack Basic Safeguards
While conservatives complain about Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other terror suspects from Guantánamo coming to New York for trial, many legal experts and human rights groups are being equally outspoken in their criticism of the "new and improved" military...
Wednesday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 6 Wounded
Updated at 8:40 p.m. EST, Nov. 18, 2009
At least four Iraqis were killed and six more were wounded in light violence. Meanwhile, U.S. General Ray Odierno warned that al-Qaeda in Iraq is becoming less dominated by foreigners as Iraqis take over the group. Also, four U.S. servicemembers were removed from the military following their convinctions in the murder of an Iraqi man.
read moreAfghanistan, Iraq Near Bottom of Corruption Index
Despite billions of dollars spent by the U.S. and other countries to improve governance in Afghanistan and Iraq, the two countries remain among the world's most corrupt nations, according to the latest edition of Transparency International's (TI) Corruption...
Civilian Trials for 9/11 Suspects Aren’t Enough
The Obama administration's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and four alleged co-conspirators in civilian court is a laudable return to the rule of law from the Bush administration's kangaroo...
Our National Cognitive Dissonance
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on the Sunday gab circuit that rooting al-Qaeda out from Afghanistan is...
Judge Warns of Israel’s Two-Tier Legal System
An Israeli judge made a historic ruling last week when he decided that an Arab teenager needed "protection" from the justice system and ordered that he not be convicted despite being found guilty of throwing stones at a police car during a protest against...
Army Underreporting Suicides, Says GI Advocacy Group
According to a soldiers' advocacy group at Fort Hood, the U.S. base where an army psychiatrist has been charged with killing 13 people and wounding 30 in a Nov. 5 rampage, the official suicide figures provided by the Army are "definitely" too low. Chuck Luther served...
Iran Began Preparing for US Bombing in 2002
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published new evidence Monday that Iran had been building "contingency centers" in the event of a U.S. bombing attack as early as 2002, years before it began building the second enrichment facility at Qom. But...
