News & Comment
Blogs and Opinion
The Al Qaeda Myth by Tom Porteous, | April 12, 2006
New reports undermine the Bush administration's campaign to hype the Al Qaeda threat. read more »Hawk-Tied Democrats by Robert Dreyfuss, | April 11, 2006
From Iraq to Iran, the party hawks prevent Democrats from offering bold leadership on national security. read more »Needed: Loud, Angry Dems by Morton Abramowitz and Samantha Power, Los Angeles Times | April 10, 2006
The only way to end this administration's blunders in Iraq is to go on the offensive. read more »Libby Sings by John Prados, | April 7, 2006
Trying to cover for his misuse of intelligence, the president ordered Lewis Libby to disclose classified information to the press. read more »Cooling The Iran Crisis by Dilip Hiro, | April 6, 2006
There's a way forward on Iran that includes neither sanctions nor the use of force. read more »The Media's Chance At Redemption by Russ Baker, | April 6, 2006
Why is the mainstream press still slow to cover Iraq stories like the Manning Memo? read more »Iraq's Transformation by Rami G. Khouri, | April 6, 2006
The imperial follies in Iraq have destroyed the nation's historic culture of democracy and pluralism. read more »Loose Nukes For India by David Culp and Aaron Scherb, | April 5, 2006
Rice goes to Congress today to ask that India be rewarded for breaking all the nonproliferation rules. read more »The Moussaoui Debacle by Dahlia Lithwick, slate.com | April 4, 2006
The Moussaoui conviction shows how well his fantasies lined up with nutty government theories and the nation's need for closure. read more »What George Says To Ehud by Patrick Seale, | April 3, 2006
If Bush is serious about combatting terrorism, he'll tell the visiting Israeli Prime Minister to talk to Hamas. read more »
The Latest
Panetta Obama's Pick for CIA Chief, BBC News | January 6, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Leon Panetta, a former congressman and Bill Clinton aide, to run the CIA, Democratic officials say. The choice of Mr. Panetta, who has no direct intelligence background, is surprising, correspondents say. The selection of Mr. Panetta is the the last major appointment for the incoming Obama administration, which takes office on 20 January. Mr. read more »
Bush Pentagon Appointees Dismissed, thehill.com | January 5, 2009
Despite keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the Pentagon, President-elect Obama’s transition team informed 90 Bush appointees their services will not be needed after Inauguration Day. Scott Gration, a senior official on Obama’s transition team, called and emailed several of President Bush’s Pentagon appointees about 10 days ago to inform them they were being dismissed. read more »
Allawi: Bush Policies "Utter Failure", rawstory.com | January 5, 2009
Ayad Allawi, the American-appointed, one-time prime minister of Iraq, said Saturday the Bush administration's policies in the country have been an "utter failure." In a wide-ranging interview with Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, Allawi offered harsh criticisms of George W. Bush's handling of the nation's sectarian violence, and of the sitting Iraqi administration. read more »
Iraqis Take Over Green Zone, USA Today | January 1, 2009
When the calendar flips to 2009, Iraq's government will gain control over the Green Zone and its own airspace and some jurisdiction over security contractors under the terms of a deal that will fundamentally change how the United States operates here. read more »
Guantanamo Detainees Accuse Gates, The Guardian | December 23, 2008
Lawyers for a British resident held at Guant&#aacute;namo Bay have accused Robert Gates, the U.S. defence secretary, of signing a "flagrantly false" affidavit to avoid having to disclose evidence of torture. In a sworn affidavit to a district court in Washington, Gates says the U.S. read more »
U.S. Troops Replace British in Iraq, The New York Times | December 21, 2008
The top U.S. general in Iraq said he will make a decision about the future role of American troops in early spring, to allow enough time to address any violence that may arise from January's provincial elections. Army Gen. Ray Odierno said that the two-month period after the election will allow U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces to ensure those legitimately elected can take office. read more »
U.S. To Send 30,000 Troops to Afghanistan, The Guardian | December 21, 2008
The United States is to deploy up to 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan by next summer, doubling its military presence in the country. The figure — a third more than had been anticipated — was announced by the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and represents the highest figure mentioned publicly by a senior U.S. official. read more »
Pentagon Still Outsourcing Oversight, The Washington Post | December 19, 2008
Shortly after an inspector general questioned the practice, the U.S. Army began advertising this week for an American firm to manage oversight of private security companies in Afghanistan. read more »
Afghanistan: Soviet failures echo for U.S., Christian Science Monitor | December 19, 2008
Recent headlines from Afghanistan have read like a history lesson from the Soviet 1980s. That war "devolved into a fight for control of … the road network," concludes a 1995 US Army study. Militants are now stepping up attacks against American supply routes, destroying some 200 trucks in Pakistan this month. Anti-Soviet militants controlled "the rural areas," says a former Soviet official. read more »
Guantanamo Deadline Planned, BBC News | December 18, 2008
Barack Obama has said he aims to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center and put a clear end to torture in the U.S. within two years of becoming president. The president-elect told Time magazine he aims to restore the balance between U.S. security needs and the Constitution. Asked how voters would know whether his administration was succeeding in two years, Mr. read more »
