Two interesting reports explain in detail why America simply cannot win wars against guerrilla terrorism. A Washington Post report details the conflict between Special Forces and regular Army units in Iraq. The Special Forces officers and sergeants speak some Arabic,...
Bush Believes in the Bogeyman
President Bush believes in the bogeyman the bogeyman theory of history, that is. In order to frighten Americans, he paints the War on Terror as a rematch between the free world and the fascist monsters of the 1930s. But fascism wasn't confined to a few errant...
Tony Blair’s
Unfinished Business
He finally did it. On Sept. 7, Tony Blair announced that he would step down as prime minister of Britain sometime within the next 12 months. Blair's decision was spurred by a letter from a group of previously loyal MPs requesting that he leave office for the good of...
Italy Boosts Talks on Iran, but Real Test Lies Ahead
After a tense week in which several U.S. allies broke ranks with the George W. Bush administration on Iran, an agreement has been reached to give diplomacy a bit more time. Realizing the futility in pushing for sanctions against Iran in the Security Council with...
World Politics and Show Biz
Once again, the UN is entertaining and that's not a good thing. Its ominous meaning is that the world crisis is deepening, but in the meantime we are in for quite a spectacle. Hugo Chávez stole the show the other day, with his remarks likening the...
Watch That Box for al-Jazeera, and More
LONDON - The appearance of an English-language service from al-Jazeera television will mark more than expansion of a company; it will come as one of the biggest challenges yet to the dominance of Western news providers, academics say. "The forthcoming launch of...
US Isolated on Guantánamo
GENEVA - A team of United Nations human rights experts set forth sharply worded arguments Thursday against the U.S. detention center at the naval base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and announced that investigations into secret detention centers would continue in...
Hooked on a Failing
First they said it was a war against al-Qaeda. Then, when they failed to find Osama bin Laden and his henchmen, they said it was a war to topple the Taliban and liberate women from the burqa. Now, as Western troops continue to dig themselves into Afghanistan more than...
Home Raids Provoke
Increased Unrest in Iraq
With Ali al-Fadhily BAGHDAD - Renewed raids at Iraqi homes by joint U.S.-Iraqi security forces are angering Iraqis while failing to improve the worsening security situation. "Operation Forward Together should be called 'To Hell Together,'" 53-year-old Hamid...
Iraq Occupation Depends on Sadr and Iran
For many months, the George W. Bush administration has been complaining that Iranian meddling in Iraq is a threat to the country's stability and to U.S. troops. The irony of this publicity campaign over Tehran's alleged bid to undermine the occupation is that Iran may...


