In the rush of recent news about renditions, extraordinary renditions, the beating to death and systematic abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan, the holding of children as young as 11 in Abu Ghraib prison, the desire of Donald Rumsfeld to transfer large numbers of...
The Bolton Nomination: Unipolarity Reaffirmed
Just one week ago, conventional wisdom both here and in European capitals was that President George W. Bush's second term would see a modest turn toward multilateralism and a new readiness to compromise on key issues with traditional U.S. allies. Today, however, that...
Backtalk March 14
The Specter of Fascism This article was spot on. While watching the towers burn in NY on TV, my first thought was for the people in the towers, and my second was how this would energize all the authoritarians who would bend the Constitution to limit our freedoms and...
The Unpredictability of Revolutions
Freedom and democracy are on the march. So, says President Bush. And, surely, something is on the march. Though from the look of that Beirut crowd of 500,000, roaring for Sheik Nasrallah of Hezbollah, it may be premature to call this democracy. A day after that...
Another “Intelligence” Fiasco
In announcing the president's decision to nominate John Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations, Condi Rice noted that, as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, Bolton "has held primary responsibility" within the...
In Lebanon, Syria Is Not ‘Foreign’
We had just finished a meal of lamb, rice and tabbouleh. My host, an intellectual and fluent in several languages, was talking about the Middle East. He was a Kurd and Syrian. "A French general put his foot on the grave of Saladin and said, 'Saladin, we have...
Where Abducted People Are An Expensive Product
KIRKUK Whatever the circumstances, Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena is free at last. But questions remain at what price. Her release has been clouded over by the death of the Italian intelligence agent who freed her from kidnappers. He was killed on the road...
Groups: Latest Abuse Investigation Report a Whitewash
Human rights groups and some senators are expressing growing frustration over the Pentagon's failure to hold senior officers or civilian leaders accountable for widespread abuses by U.S. forces against detainees in Washington's "war on terror." The latest...
Bolton’s Stewardship
President Bush has nominated John Bolton – currently undersecretary of state – to be ambassador to the United Nations, a presidential appointment that requires Senate confirmation. Will examining Senators focus on what they expect Bolton to accomplish in...
Rendition, or Outsourcing Torture?
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a major advocacy group, has filed the first challenge to "rendition," known by critics as "outsourcing torture," a practice used by U.S. intelligence agencies to deliver detainees to prisons in countries...


