I have to wonder what George Bush must be thinking as Iraq's elected Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari readies for his trip next week to Iran. I wonder if he's surprised that the two countries have recently inked a deal to have the Iranian government train the new...
The Unbearable Lightness of Being ‘Condi’
Back in the 1950's comedienne Carol Burnett made her name as a nightclub performer with a song called "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles." Americans had a big laugh over the spectacle of a celebrated entertainer singing a love song about U.S. President...
A Quarter of a Million Dollars Per Settler
The state of Israel which, the last time I checked, was both a foreign and a sovereign nation wants the American taxpayers to cough up $2.2 billion in addition to our regular $3 billion-or-so annual subsidy to pay for the withdrawal from Gaza. Unless the...
Backtalk, July 15, 2005
London Terror MysteryAwesome piece! I have one significant bone to pick; and that is the absence of analysis of the splits within Israel. These splits are as (in?)significant as those between neocons, paleocons and CIA/State Dept./Clinton/Scowcrofts. I believe that...
In Search of a New Middle Eastern Paradigm
I don't remember how long I have been using Leon Hadar for his insights into the Middle East and the complications engendered by the prolonged and increasingly aggressive American interventions indeed, as Leon puts it, the ongoing efforts to establish the...
Pakistan Analysts Link London Blasts to Afghanistan
KARACHI - Prominent citizens in this country are calling for a deeper understanding of the complex situation that led to the July 7 London bombings as British police confirmed that three of the bombers were of Pakistani descent and probably trained here or in...
Hunting for Cops
Until very recently, an article titled "Hunt for Cops" might have described a city's effort to recruit more police officers. Sadly, that was not the message of an article in the July 3, 2005, Cleveland Plain Dealer, my hometown newspaper. "Residents of...
‘Islamic Extremism’ Alienates Most in Muslim World
Concerns about "Islamic extremism" and disapproval over violence motivated by it are growing in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries, according to a major new survey that also found declining support for Osama bin Laden in most of the Islamic world, with the...
Abuse Probes End With Single Reprimand
The U.S. Army general widely considered the architect of abusive prisoner interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and detention centers in Afghanistan used "creative" and "aggressive" tactics, but did not practice torture or violate...
Rove-gate: Who Leaked
to the Leakers?
What if Karl Rove isn't guilty of knowingly leaking Valerie Plame's name as a covert CIA agent involved in nuclear proliferation issues? What if Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, is correct when he says that he's been assured by prosecutors that his client is not a target...


