It is as though I'm back as an analyst at the CIA, trying to estimate the chances of an attack on Iran. The putative attacker, though, happens to be our own president. It is precisely the work we analysts used to do. And, while it is still a bit jarring to be turning...
September approaches, and with it the supposed watershed in the Iraq war that Gen. David Petraeus' report to Congress will represent. In reality, the report will make little difference in what the Democratically controlled Congress does, because it has already decided...
If the op-ed page of the New York Times has often served as the first battleground in America's wars, where the arguments and counter-arguments for intervention are debated, then the past week or so has certainly brought this institutional tradition to the fore: last...
Once again, we are being teased with the possibility that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq will be reduced. According to unnamed administration officials, Gen. David Petraeus – the top U.S. military commander in Iraq – is expected to propose a partial troop...
Updated at 11:55 p.m. EDT, Aug. 22, 2007Today, 14 Task Force Lightning soldiers were killed when their Blackhawk helicopter crashed during a night operation in northern Iraq. Military authorities believe that mechanical failure caused the crash. In a separate...
BAQUBA - The major U.S. military operation in Baquba city north of Baghdad has ended, but it has left continuing suffering for residents in its wake. The U.S. military launched Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Baquba, 30 mi. northeast of Baghdad, on June 18. Baquba is...
CAIRO - Last month, Washington approved massive military-aid packages and arms sales to its Arab allies, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and a number of smaller Gulf States. But while U.S. officials say the deals aim to bolster the "forces of moderation" in...
Washington's policymakers are growing dissatisfied with the Bush administration's troop surge in Iraq and a majority agrees that the world is becoming more dangerous for the United States, according to a poll released Monday. The nonpartisan poll, called "The...
Updated at 11:57 p.m EDT, Aug. 21, 2007At least 63 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 89 more were wounded in the latest round of violence, but no foreign military deaths were reported. There are unconfirmed reports of the discovery, in Fallujah, of a mass grave...
In a previous article, we analyzed the function of supposedly nonpartisan think tanks as propaganda mills for government policies, particularly those that aggrandize the warmaking state. It is worth elaborating with a fresh example. In the Aug. 16, 2007, edition of...
