Warp and Woof

2003-05-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

'Why the President Had to Show His Balls'

This manly exhibition was no accident. The media team that timed Bush's appearance... clearly they thought long and hard about the crotch shot.... Bush's handlers want to leave the impression that he's not just courageous and competent but hung.

2003-05-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Choreographing the News

The camera angle also was arranged by the White House to ensure it did not show the nearby coastline, and--opinions are mixed--the ship was slowed so Bush could spend the night on board before it docked on Friday, officials said.

2003-04-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

Sept 11 Information Censored

Investigatory groups try to find out what we knew about Sept. 11th. The Bush Administrator classifies it all. The report names names, gives dates and provides a body of new information about the handling of many other crucial intelligence briefings—including one in early August 2001 given to national-security adviser Rice that discussed Al Qaeda operations within the United States and the possibility that the group’s members might seek to hijack airplanes.

2003-04-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

1.4 Million Jobs

That's what the tax cuts will bring us. Is that unusual?

2003-04-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Peacekeeping and the World

The Bush administration has moved to drastically scale down a French-backed U.N. proposal to send more than 250 U.N. peacekeepers to the former French colony of Ivory Coast, according to U.S. and U.N. officials.

2003-04-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

A Changing Legal Landscape

The Patriot Act: "We are at war, we are at war and this is for your safety," she exclaimed... If our freedoms crumble exactly when they are needed most, then they were really never freedoms at all.
The INS: "Congress, justifiably concerned that deportable criminal aliens who are not detained continue to engage in crime and fail to appear for their removal hearings in large numbers, may require that persons such as (Kim) be detained for the brief period necessary for their removal proceedings."

2003-04-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Republican leaders defend Santorum's anti-gay statements

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frish (R-Tenn) defends Santorum as a "voice for inclusion and compassion," while the White House refuses to comment. Santorum's comments from an AP interview published on Monday compared gay sex to incest, bigamy and polygamy. This isn't the first time the Republicans have circled the wagons around prejudiced remarks by one of its leaders. Remember Senator Trent Lott's (R-Mississippi) remarks earlier this year? "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." Thurmond ran his 1948 campaign on a pro-segregation, anti-civil rights platform. One of the slogans for his campaign was Segregation Forever.

2003-04-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Looting in Iraq may have included nukes

While looters in Iraq were robbing museums, they may have looted the country's nuclear stores, too. Defense officials acknowledge that the U.S. government has no idea whether any of Tuwaitha's potentially deadly contents have been stolen, because it has not dispatched investigators to appraise the site. What it does know... is that the sprawling campus, 11 miles south of Baghdad, lay unguarded for days and that looters made their way inside."

2003-04-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

It is the geopolitical destiny of the Middle East to be the suppliers of last resort for oil

Experts predict that oil production will peak - that is, that world oil production will no longer be able to keep up with demand - within 10-30 years. Lacking a viable alternative energy source, dwindling supplies are highly likely to cause a global economic crisis more serious than that suffered during the 1970's oil embargo. A Middle East perspective of the oil situation sheds light on why some governments are so willing to trade blood for oil. But one might question why we aren't seriously pursuing alternative energy sources given oil shortfalls ahead. Some point to hydrogen power as a panacea, but there are serious questions about how the hydrogen fuel would be generated.

2003-04-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

Who are the neocons, where did the come from, and just how much influence do they have?

Is a tiny group of ideologues using undue power to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries, create an empire, trash international law—and damn the consequences? Not really. To argue that an intellectual clique has usurped American foreign policy is to give them both too much credit, and too little. But where did this clique come from? 'Liberals mugged by reality'Somewhere between Mr. [William] Kristol's ideas and Mr. [Rupert] Murdoch's muscle, the modern neocon economy was built, complete with speakers' bureaus, think tanks, magazines, newspapers, a television news network and, not to be coy, an official state residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

2003-04-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

Why we went to war

The only possible explanation, the only possible use [Saddam] could have for those weapons, is to dominate, intimidate, or attack. (Bush, State of the Union)
"We were not lying," said one official. "But it was just a matter of emphasis."

2003-04-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Republican's choose late date for convention to tie into 9/11 commemorations

The convention, to be held in New York City, will be the latest since the Republican Party was founded in 1856, and Mr. Bush's advisers said they chose the date so the event would flow into the commemorations of the third anniversary of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. The Republican party's choice of dates will require Alabama to change its election laws to accomodate their schedule. The GOP's choice of September 2 falls two days after Alabama's Aug. 31 deadline to certify presidential candidates. Republicans are asking the Democrat-controlled Legislature to change the law and extend the deadline until Sept. 5.

2003-04-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

Two perspectives on the consequences of U.S. diplomatic failures

"I'm saddened, saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war. Saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country."
Tom Daschle, 3/18/2003

"The last seven months have involved six months of diplomatic failure and one month of military success. The first days after military victory indicate the pattern of diplomatic failure is beginning once again and threatens to undo the effects of military victory."
Newt Gingrich, 4/22/2003

2003-04-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Republican leader attacks homosexuals, Constitutional right to privacy

Speaking on the current Supreme Court case involving the Texas sodomy laws, Sen. Santorum, R-Penn says: "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything... All of those things are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family," Santorum said. "And that's sort of where we are in today's world, unfortunately. It all comes from, I would argue, this right to privacy that doesn't exist, in my opinion, in the United States Constitution." Santorum's concern with the issue is not new. From 2002: I know it may sound like a huge exaggeration, particularly in light of the attack on America, but this may truly be the most important letter I ever write you.... to draft an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to protect the holy sacrament of marriage from those who would legalize same-sex "marriage". Santorum's position on same-sex relationships is an extention of his beliefs about the extent of the authority of the state: The idea is that the state doesn't have rights to limit individuals' wants and passions. I disagree with that.

Sen. Santorum is the GOPs conference chairman. Should Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, retire in 2006, Santorum will seek the post.

Dean responds, as does Sullivan: In the same year that Texas passed its current anti-sodomy law for gays, it repealed the law against bestiality
Bush: "The president believes the senator is an inclusive man."

2003-04-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Long Term Commitment to Iraq

These officials are leaning toward a quick exit from a country that U.S.-led forces conquered in less than a month.. "I don't think it has to be expensive, and I don't think it has to be lengthy," a senior administration official said of the postwar plan. "Americans do everything fairly quickly." But not everyone agrees: "We've done these things quickly, and we've done them well," Dobbins said, "but we've never done them quickly and well."
Maybe we should let the UN take over

2003-04-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

The search continues for WMD

With little to show after 30 days, the Bush administration is losing confidence in its prewar belief that it had strong clues pointing to the whereabouts of weapons of mass destruction concealed in Iraq, according to planners and participants in the hunt. ... Bush launched and justified the war with a flat declaration of knowledge "that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction."
Were they destroyed during the invasion?
Is it easier to get good biotoxins off of the former South African governement?

2003-04-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

1.4 Million Jobs

President Bush used the backdrop of tax day Tuesday to press Congress to approve $550 billion or more in tax cuts he says will spur a sagging economy. The tax cuts he has proposed would create 1.4 million new jobs by the end of 2004, he said.
Doing the math, that's $357,000 per job. It doesn't add up, says Krugman. (This makes anyone who disagrees with the tax cuts French.)
This, at a time when the governor of Missouri has ordered every third light bulb unscrewed to save money
Mr. Bush's willingness to take big gambles, to push for what he wants no matter the consequences, are likely to leave an imprint on America far beyond his tenure in office. We hope that he's successful in the fight against terrorism, and that he brings about a more stable Mideast and a democratic Iraq. But on the domestic front, almost every success cripples the nation's ability to move toward a happy, prosperous future. This is one war we hope he loses. (Opinion)

2003-04-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Bush's holy war

'[The] conviction... that [Bush] holds the highest office in the land because an all-powerful God wills it - is undoubtedly a source of comfort for the president. But it can lead to such hateful absurdities... Fundamentalists of all stripes tend to regard God's power as more central than his compassion.' (opinion)

2003-04-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

Post-war confidence

Were liberals, predicting disaster, just wrong? Or did they expect quick, decisive victory, and were worried about the follouwp? What does it take to get a good leader, anyway? (Opinion)

2003-04-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

Energy suit proceeeds

In the Energy Task Force report appeals case, the judge said the Bush administration appeared to be arguing, wrongly, that it was immune from litigation--so the Judicial Watch / Sierra Club suit can progress. Reviewing part of the Task Force report, note the section on Iraqi stability.

2003-04-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

American News to be sent to Iraq

U.S. government-backed television service in Iraq ... will offer unfettered news coverage in the region. Meanwhile, many US viewers said they had switched to the BBC because of the apparent pro-American bias of some local networks..

2003-04-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Are there WMD in Iraq?

Some are beginning to doubt it, even if Bush has mentioned it some fifteen times last year.

2003-04-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Is finding suspected terrorists in Iraq a victory?

Varying opinions have been offered on what constitutes a victory in Iraq, including that '...it is crucial for allied forces to find the weapons of mass destruction that Britain and the United States insist the Iraqi government has hidden away.' Assertions that Iraq harbors terrorists was also among the early justifications for war. The U.S. is now looking to show proof that it was justified in its claims, so far with thin results. Brigadier-General Vince Brooks said the capture [of one 1980s-era Palestinian terrorist, who killed one person] in Baghdad was proof of U.S. assertions that "the Iraqi regime ... harboured terrorists and provided safe haven for terrorists." However, a look at America's practices shows that we harbor terrorists, too, when they were working to topple enemy governments, like Castro's in Cuba. Take Orlando Bosch, who killed 73 by bombing an airliner, and is still free in Miami.

2003-04-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Will the war spread to Syria? Not yet...

President Bush has halted Pentagon planning to spread the war to Syria that was ordered by Rumsfeld. The Whitehouse, State and Defense have been directing threatening language towards Syria - and Iran - for some time: take Colin Powell's comments to Washington's main pro-Israeli lobby group, the America Israel Public Affairs Committee. War plan aside, U.S. pressure against Syria is mounting. America's diplomatic toolbox, after all, contains numerous options short of war. We are in a regional struggle, and we are compelled to deal with it. And Israel is following suit.
George Bush Sr's secretary of state, Lawrence Eagleburger, said if the president were to order an attack on Syria or Iran, "even I would feel he ought to be impeached".
"We cannot safely avoid the responsibilities of global leadership or the costs that are associated with its exercise." (Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and others, 1997).

2003-04-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Religious fundamentalism and the war

The Left Behind books, which are a series of stories about a near-future apocalypse based on Christian beliefs about the end of the world, provide a narrative, theological rationale for many controversial Whitehouse foreign policy decisions, many of which have been conceived by the Council for National Policy. In the series, the apocolypse brings wars and the antichrist appears in Baghdad under a UN flag. It may sound far-fetched, but consider that Bush believes that he was called by God to lead the nation at this time, and much of his rhetoric about the "evil" regime of Saddam Hussein carries obvious religious connotations. Moreover, many Americans are very comfortable with this point of view and take it seriously. The media and the American left are quick to dismiss or marginalize the impact of apocalyptic beliefs on American politics, but a political perspective from Israel offers a cautionary tale about the clash between the goals of democracy with the theocracy envisioned by America's religious right, and shows us that these views should be taken seriously.

2003-04-15T00:41:00.000-07:00

Supporting the Troops

Krugman points out: The House recently praised the troops--and then sliced veteran's benefits.

2003-04-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

Campaign of terror

The administration's PR campaign about terrorism is omnipresent. Throughout the Washington DC area, the default message on traffic information boards now reads 'To report info on terrorism: 866-488-8554.'

2003-04-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

CNN's perspective on its own reporting

we work very hard to report forthrightly, to report fairly and to report accurately and if we ever determine we cannot do that, then we would not want to be there (Radio, pre-war).
awful things that could not be reported because doing so would have jeopardized the lives of Iraqis, particularly those on our Baghdad staff. (New York Times, post-Iraq war)
(The New Republic made that claim earlier)

2003-04-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

Fed tries to bolster economy

Hoping to find a way to pull the country out of a nose dive that has seen 465,000 jobs evaporate in just the past two months.

2003-04-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

DeLay, Politics, and the War

"Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes," said House majority leader, Tom DeLay.
"Unfortunately, in this town we have people who will take advantage of even a war situation," Mr. DeLay said. "We have people in this town that just cannot stop their appetite for spending.

2003-04-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

Wall Street divided on tax cuts, Whitehouse ignores dissent

'I think they only call people who agree with them,' said Stephen S. Roach, the chief economist of Morgan Stanley, who opposes cutting dividend taxes now and was not invited to the meetings. 'These meetings are not forums for debate. These meetings are a highly politicized effort for the White House to get people on their side.'

2003-04-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

The looting of Baghdad's cultural heritage

High class: "Once there is American blessing they have got a market for these antiquities and it becomes open season. The last thing we want is condoned looting."
Low class: Baghdad seethes with anger; Officials with crumpled spirits fought back tears and anger at American troops, as they ran down an inventory of the most storied items that they said had been carried away by the thousands of looters who poured into the museum after daybreak on Thursday and remained until dusk on Friday, with only one intervention by American forces, lasting about half an hour, at lunchtime on Thursday. The Baghdad museum, despite the fact that it is the attacking army's responsibility to protect it. (The US & UK aren't signatories, but the US does have a resolution about it--but several coalition members are. We've had this problem before... and the Iraqi National Library has been destroyed, too.)
However, we had high priortiies: American troops were sent to break up a tile mosaic of the first President Bush on the floor of the lobby. Until the mosaic was destroyed today, the likeness of Mr. Bush was stepped on dozens of times a day.
This was a scene of humiliation, not liberation. We must do better.

2003-04-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

Winning the peace

It can be a real challenge to maintain control afterward. Looting has taken Baghdad ("Freedom's untidy", says Rumsfeld, "Stuff happens"), and the city lies in chaos, hampering humanitarian aid. "The liberators, with the guns in their hands, forgot to bring clean water, food and medicine."
The entire event is being hailed as an equivalent of the Berlin Wall falling... but even a quick glance of the long-shot photo shows something more akin to a carefully constructed media event tailored for the television cameras.
In the last country we liberated: There have been no significant changes for people; the Taliban are returning.

2003-04-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

US Foreign Policy, other than Iraq

US foreign policymaking groans under the weight of extremism, cynicism, ignorance and the obsession over Iraq

2003-04-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

The hand that kills seldom turns out to be the hand that feeds.

'Arabs should be in the forefront in advocating and participating in the rebuilding of a fellow Arab country in all spheres.' (editorial)

2003-04-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Will democracy work in the Middle East?

'Although nearly the entire world pays lip service to democracy, there is still no global consensus on the self-expression values—such as social tolerance, gender equality, freedom of speech, and interpersonal trust—that are crucial to democracy. Today, these divergent values constitute the real clash between Muslim societies and the West.'

2003-04-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

U.S. policy could prove strong incentive to acquire nuclear weapons (analysis)

'The only apparently credible way to deter the armed force of the U.S. is to own your own nuclear arsenal.'

2003-04-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

Egyptian intellectual speaks of Arab world's despair

'Never have America's Arab friends, he said, 'felt so estranged from the United States.'

2003-04-07T15:37:00.004-07:00

Oakland police fire rubber bullets at anti-war protesters

At least a dozen protesters and six longshoremen injured as police fired into the picket line to disperse the crowd. A video from the protest shows police firing on protestors as they're leaving the protest.

2003-04-07T15:37:00.003-07:00

Contrasting coverage of the siege of Baghdad

From Al Jazeera...
'With the battle coming to engulf the entire city, fear-stricken civilians generally stayed indoors. The city streets looked lot emptier than what it has been ever since the start of the invasion nearly three weeks ago.'
And from CNN...
'U.S. Forces swept into Baghdad... sending a message, in the words of a top U.S. general, that Saddam's regime is gone.'

2003-04-07T15:37:00.001-07:00

Why did the road to Baghdad get longer?

'The enemy has a vote in what happens on the battlefield.' From The Council on Foreign Relations.

2003-04-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

Carving up the oil in Iraq

'The idea that the United States can go in and run Iraq for any length of time ignores . . . the sensitivity that Iraqis have had in the past about the control of their oil fields. It's a key part of Iraqi nationalism.'

2003-04-05T10:03:00.001-08:00

When should we declare victory? (analysis)

...it is crucial for allied forces to find the weapons of mass destruction that Britain and the United States insist the Iraqi government has hidden away. Failure would not only make Mr. Bush and his British ally, Tony Blair, look a little foolish..., but it would also leave the lingering possibility that the weapons were smuggled out of Iraq...

2003-04-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

Economic news bad and getting worse

Concerns mount that U.S. headed into second recession in two years.

2003-04-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

'Who is the enemy here?

What happens when a government attempts to paint dissidence as treason?

2003-04-04T15:16:00.003-08:00

Republicans revive Alaska oil drilling plan in House

Citing as justification 'this country needs oil,' House GOP members assail Alaska wildlife refuge again.

2003-04-04T15:16:00.001-08:00

France, Germany and Russia want role in rebuilding Iraq

Commented French Foreign Minister, 'No country or countries can hope to win the war alone. Nobody can hope to build peace alone.'

2003-04-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

The German blame for the war

Could this war have been prevented? Yes, say some [inspectors]. But with a surprising argument: Germany, France and Russia made war unavoidable with their purported peace politics. Read this German blogger's traslation of an article from Die Zeit.

2003-04-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

US plans reconstruction with UN money, but not help

After the war, some administration officials appear to believe they can impose this scheme over the protests of allies but still count on U.N. humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping contributions that would allow an early withdrawal of most U.S. troops.
Pentagon, not State would be in the lead.

2003-04-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

A worried president

Aides say he believes history and heaven will judge him by his ability to prevent [another terrorist attack]....Still, even some of Bush's allies say privately that they wish the president would be a little less certain and more willing to reassess decisions... He's being hard on himself; he gave up sweets just before the war began.
"The more he sees people around him questioning him, the more he knows to hold the course," said a friend.

2003-04-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical

Why hasn't the United States found chemical or biological weapons in Iraq? The NYTimes answers your questions, with references to the Council on Foreign Relations.
We may use tear gas there. Use in a battlefield may or may not be a violation of the convention on chemical weapons. (Commentary: Iraqis may have memories of their own experiences with gas.)

2003-04-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

Overtime for white-collar professionals: 40 hour work week in question

The Fair Labor Standards Act is changing: In essence, the government recognizes that workers are not being paid what they are owed and has decided that the easiest remedy is to change the law to let employers off the hook.
Employers now required to pay some workers overtime would be able to offer paid time off instead under legislation a House panel approved Thursday.
More than 650,000 managers, executives and other white-collar professionals will lose their overtime.

2003-04-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Iraqi crowd calls for supplies
"Democracy," the man said, his voice rising to lift each word to greater prominence. "Whiskey. And sexy!"... The people in the crowd had a more urgent request than liquor. They wanted water.

2003-04-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

Tax plan takes its toll
The House plan offers the well-to-do $1.4 trillion in tax cuts, while demanding billions of dollars in cuts from programs that provide food stamps, school lunches, health care for the poor and the disabled, temporary assistance to needy families — even veterans' benefits and student loans. Some are calling for a compromise cut of just $350 billion.

2003-04-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

Hunter S. Thompson on basketball, love, and war
'This is not going to be like Daddy's War, old sport... That is the dark silver lining in this blood-spattered cloud we have brought down on ourselves, and it leaves a lot to be desired.

2003-04-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

Apparently, it's a holy war.
Arab volunteers go to Iraq; Indian papers and politicians come out more strongly against the war.

2003-04-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

Tax cuts don't pay for themselves
The Congressional Budget Office has run the numbers through nine models, and in no case does Mr. Bush's tax cut come close to paying for itself over the next 10 years. (Original WSJ article; the CBO study)

2003-04-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

Worrisome budget thoughts
From the Brookings institution says: The Administration does pay lip service to the goal of cutting the deficit, but the words are hollow. The Administration's own estimates show that its tax cuts will generate permanent, increasing deficits and an unsustainable budget path. (And the first round of cuts were problematic, too.)

2003-04-02T16:41:00.000-08:00

Troops asked to pray for president
Enclosed with the pamphlet is a tear-out card "to be mailed to the White House pledging the soldier who sends it in has been praying for Bush." (Another source, and the brochure .)

2003-04-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

Military softens stance on gays during wartime

the overall trend seems to be to quietly use highly trained gay service people in times of need, only to discharge them when it's more convenient (commentary). But it's during wartime that unit cohesion is most important.

2003-04-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Rumsfled on Kosovo and Iraq

1999: "There is always a risk in gradualism..." former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. ".. it doesn't ... shock and awe and alter the calculations of the people you're dealing with."
2003: Rumsfeld: It is not helpful to have those kind of comments come out when we've got troops in combat, because, first of all, they're false, they're absolutely wrong, they bear no resemblance to the truth, and it's just harmful to our troops. . . .

2003-04-01T18:53:00.000-08:00

Who will profit from the war?

It may not be who you think. Sending an army halfway round the world is expensive... This is good business, but not for giant defence contractors.'

2003-04-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

The battle at Diwaniya

'The man said the local militia forced civilians to fight the Americans. He said they were told their families would be killed if they didn't comply. And they were told that once the Americans left that the Baath Party and militia would return for revenge.'

2003-04-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

Prince Saud Al-Faisal urges Saddam towards 'war ending sacrifice'

'Since Saddam has asked his people to sacrifice for the country... he should be the first to sacrifice for his country,” the prince said in an interview with ABC News, aired late Monday.'

2003-04-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

Military analysts assess Rumsfeld war strategy

...nearly two weeks of war with Iraq, a chorus of critics have charged that Mr. Rumsfeld's principles have been applied and found wanting in Iraq.

2003-04-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

Powell heads to Europe

Powell, facing uncertain reception, sites purpose of visit is to discuss aid and support for rebuilding Iraq after the war.

2003-04-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

Human Rights lacking in the coalition of the willing

Powell announced the 2002 Human Rights Reports. It's worth double-checking against the coalition of nations to free Iraq and help install democracy. Uzbekistan. Ethiopia. Eritrea. Georgia. Azerbaijan.

2003-03-31T09:34:00.000-08:00

A peace worth having

One individual's reflections on 'freedom and democracy' in the Middle East, and their feelings on sacrificing American lives for it.

2003-03-31T08:18:00.000-08:00

Iraqi troops use fleeing families as human shied

'Civilians are afraid to leave their houses because police wearing civilian clothes form patrols with fedayeen,' said Nathim Jaber, 34, a fleeing oil industry worker. 'They find people, give them a weapon and force them to fight.'

2003-03-31T07:20:00.000-08:00

Will war spread to Syria?

Colin Powell: 'Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups in the dying regime of Saddam Hussein or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course. Either way Syria bears the responsibility for its actions and for their consequences.'

2003-03-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

Mistaking civilians for soldiers

With plain-clothed soldiers hiding among the towns, it's too easy to make mistakes. "We dropped a few civilians," Sergeant Schrumpf said, "but what do you do?"

2003-03-30T18:52:00.000-08:00

War allows Bush to expand powers

"What we're really worried about here is something being proposed while all eyes are on Iraq. People are whipped up into a frenzy. The executive will propose what, at a certain time, it thinks it can get away with." And some of those powers are rather startling. (A more detailed report),

2003-03-30T16:26:00.000-08:00

Planning conflicts hurt the war effort

Rumsfeld insisted at least six times in the run-up to the conflict that the proposed number of ground troops be sharply reduced and got his way. (And, it seems, they didn't tell the president: Dissenting views "were not fully or energetically communicated to the president." The prince "ought to be a constant inquirer, and afterwards a patient listener concerning the things of which he inquired"--Machiavelli, and more modern commentary.)

2003-03-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

Fears of terrorism in the workplace sap productivity

'Concern leads to stress and that impacts productivity, so employers have to take a look at this.'

2003-03-30T12:31:00.000-08:00

Recession fears mount

Concern is deepening in US financial circles about the prospect of the Iraq war getting bogged down and bloodier, sapping confidence and tipping the US economy towards recession.

2003-03-30T12:26:00.000-08:00

Suicide bombers from Lebanon arrive in Iraq

Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan said such attacks would become 'routine military policy.'

2003-03-30T12:21:00.000-08:00

Two U.S. Soldiers killed in renewed fighting in Afganistan

Taliban loyalists hiding in neighboring Pakistan said training camps were established in the Afghan mountains and anti-American forces had united. They warned of stepped-up attacks once the war in Iraq began.

2003-03-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

Iraqi suicide bombings raise key issue: Who's a civilian?

'It's a shame they are doing that because now we're going to have to treat every civilian vehicle like it is hostile,' said Staff Sgt. Bryce Ivings of Sarasota, Fla.

2003-03-30T12:05:00.000-08:00

Lessons of Lebanon

Striking parallels between current U.S. action in Iraq and Israel's invasion of Lebanon nearly 20 years ago offer postwar lessons. (commentary)

2003-03-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

America's Credibility, from the Arab News

Why do Arabs and Muslims sympathize with an oppressive regime like that of dictator Saddam Hussein? (commentary)

2003-03-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

Monkeys do our bidding

Moroccans may send monkeys to help fight the war.

2003-03-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

Top officials shift on war

Then:"I believe demolishing Hussein's military power and liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk." [Adelman, Feb 2002] "Because it was basically over before anybody touched Iraqi soil, as a result of the air campaign. And our abilities today are by orders of magnitude better than they were then." [Perle, April 2002]
"Saddam is much weaker than we think he is. He's weaker militarily. We know he's got about a third of what he had in 1991." [Perle, July 2002]
Now: "I think the level of casualties is secondary. I mean, it may sound like an odd thing to say, but all the great scholars who have studied American character have come to the conclusion that we are a warlike people and that we love war." [Ledeen, March 2003]
(salon, weblog, and worried commentary)

2003-03-28T15:34:00.000-08:00

Whose war?

Andrew Sullivan asserts U.N., Clinton among architects of the war in Iraq.

2003-03-28T15:14:00.000-08:00

California Energy Crisis: how did officials get it so wrong?

Paul Krugman answers: 'incestuous amplification,' defined by Jane's Defense Weekly as 'a condition in warfare where one only listens to those who are already in lock-step agreement, reinforcing set beliefs and creating a situation ripe for miscalculation.'

2003-03-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

Miscalculations with Turkey cost lives

...[the administration] undercut its own efforts to broaden international support for war by allowing its war plan to dictate the pace of its diplomacy and commentary suggests that this isn't the first time.

2003-03-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

Unemployment, uncertainty stall consumer spending

Consumers are growing increasingly cautious in their spending and the income to support future spending is weakening...

2003-03-28T14:58:00.000-08:00

Radical nonproliferation strategy makes U.S. less secure?

To administration radicals..., nuclear weapons per se are not the problem -- "bad guys" with them are. Rejecting the fundamental premise of the NPT, these officials seek... to eradicate the bad guys or their weapons while leaving the 'good guys' free of nuclear constraints.

2003-03-28T14:52:00.000-08:00

Eight years of scholarship on Iraq

Eight articles from Foreign Affairs offer a historical perspective on our relationship with Iraq.

2003-03-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

After Iraq, Syria?

Rumsfeld said that Iraqi forces were being helped by shipments from Syria..."These deliveries pose a direct threat to the lives of coalition forces." (Or has this been the place all along?)

2003-03-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

'No matter what you think, they're following... orders.'

Parents are proud - and scared. Katy Hall didn’t sleep Wednesday night. She spent the hours with 'my new family member, CNN.'

2003-03-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

Spiritual Help Following Military Intervention

A conservative Christian organization is working with the government to help with the humanitarian effort. We understand that the individual people of Iraq have done nothing to hurt us. We want to help them to have true freedom in Jesus Christ. (A few months ago, the organizer called Islam "a wicked religion").

2003-03-27T22:42:00.000-08:00

Iraqi Telephones and American Jobs

If the U.S. government deploys U.S.- developed CDMA in Iraq, then American companies will manufacture most of the necessary equipment here in the United States and benefit from the associated royalties, wrote Rep. Issa

2003-03-27T21:14:00.000-08:00

Ashcroft plan would authorize DNA database, secret searches

Under the mantle of 'national security interests,' Attorney General Ashcroft is crafting 'Patriot' Act II, to give the Attorney General the right to revoke citizenship, build a national DNA database, and give law enforcement the authority to perform secret searches of private property.

2003-03-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

A view from Baghdad

Just or not, war is brutal. More than 20 Iraqi civilians, torn to pieces before they could be liberated... (commentary)

2003-03-27T20:38:00.000-08:00

U.S. makes post-Iraq plans

"We didn't take on this huge burden with our coalition partners not to be able to have a significant dominating control over how it unfolds in the future"

2003-03-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

U.S. Walks Out of UN Debate

Negroponte had heard enough from the Iraqi delegate: He said he was fed up with hearing preposterous allegations against the US.

2003-03-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

U.S. faces curses as well as welcomes in Iraq

This was no welcome. Same village that last week greeted U.S. troops as liberators this week charge 'You brought us chaos.'

2003-03-27T11:40:00.000-08:00

Tax cuts won't help the economy, says CBO

WSJ:The Congressional Budget Office said that President Bush's tax and spending proposals will do far less to spur economic growth in coming years than the White House suggests -- and might not provide any kick at all. (Partially reprinted here).

2003-03-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

Military names depots after oil companies

...the 101st Airborne Division had named one central Iraq outpost Forward Operating Base Shell and another Forward Operating Base Exxon....

2003-03-27T09:38:00.000-08:00

FERC catches up to Enron 2 yrs later

December, 2000:"The California market structure and rules provide the opportunity for sellers to exercise market power when supply is tight."
March 2003:"It took two years for FERC to confirm what we knew all along: there was widespread market manipulation and a massive rip-off of California ratepayers."