The Meaning of the UNSC Iran Vote25 Dec 2006Excerpt: In the aftermath of the Dec. 23 United Nations Security Council unanimous vote imposing sanctions or Iran for failing to suspend uranium enrichment (see text of resolution here), one has to wonder: why did Russia and China go along with it?
A Grim Christmas for Iraqi Children25 Dec 2006Excerpt: FALLUJAH —Ahmed Ghazi has little reason to stock Christmas toys at his shop in Fallujah. He knows what children want these days.
Who Might Be Shooting at Both Sides?25 Dec 2006Excerpt: It’s strange that little of the news coverage of Iraq addresses this question. Doesn’t it seem obvious that some groups are fomenting the chaos? Getting tribes to fight each other is often easy. Most of them have some past injustice to avenge. The British Empire ruled much of its colonial world in this way, balancing off or favoring different tribes to rule others. In most of the Old World, tribes hated their neighbors more than foreign conquerors. See “Tribes, Veils, and Democracy.”
Tuesday: 119 Iraqis, 4 GIs Killed; 147 Iraqis, 3 GIs Wounded25 Dec 2006Excerpt: While several bombs rocked Baghdad today, the U.S military announced that four GIs were killed and three wounded in separate events. Also, the Iraqi appellate court upheld former Iraqi leader Saddam Husseinand#8217;s death sentence. According to Iraqi law, Hussein could be executed within 30 days. Overall, at least 119 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 147 were wounded in violent events throughout the country today. A roadside bomb killed three American soldiers northwest of Baghdad today. These deaths not only bring the December tally to 89 American servicemembers killed, but also pushes the total number of American military deaths in Iraq higher than the number of Americans killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Another Civil War Exacerbated24 Dec 2006Excerpt: With Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Palestine already in or sliding toward civil war, one can correctly label the Bush administration’s foreign policy the most incompetent in recent memory. But the problem lies deeper than that. The hyperactive, and often counterproductive, U.S. foreign policy is a bipartisan problem, best illustrated by the sordid U.S. history in Somalia.
Iraqi Refugees Run From Violence to Deprivation24 Dec 2006Excerpt: ARBIL —Khanzad, 26, originally Kurdish, returned to Arbil with her family in mid-2004 after 16 years of living in Baghdad. Like many coming from the violence-stricken city, she has a harrowing story to tell.
Monday: 83 Iraqis, 6 GIs Killed; 46 Iraqis, 5 GIs Wounded24 Dec 2006Excerpt: Today, U.S. military authorities reported six new American servicemember deaths in separate incidents in or near Baghdad and in Anbar province. In Basra, British troops conducted a large scale raid. Also, 83 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 46 were wounded in separate incidents throughout Iraq. A roadside bomb in Baghdad killed one soldier and wounded two others when it blasted their vehicle. Another roadside bomb killed one soldier and injured two more southwest of the capital. A third roadside bomb killed another two more soldiers and wounded another, also southwest of Baghdad. And, one Marine and one soldier were killed in Anbar province on Sunday. So far in December 86 U.S. servicemembers have been killed.
Sunday: 83 Iraqis, 4 GIs Killed; 138 Iraqis, 2 GIs Wounded23 Dec 2006Excerpt: The U.S. military announced today that four GI s were killed and another two wounded in separate events. They also reported that Coalition advisors to the Iraqi army came under attack in and near Baquba. And, 83 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 138 were wounded during violent incidents. U.S. military authorities reported that three MPs were killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb blasted their vehicle in Baghdad on Saturday. Another American soldier was killed and a second soldier wounded during an explosion in Diyala province.
Condi’s Diplomatic Triumph22 Dec 2006Excerpt: Last year Condi whizzed down to New Delhi to prevent India from finalizing technical and commercial contracts for a $4.5 billion natural gas pipeline—the so-called “Peace Pipeline”—that would transit Pakistan but provide Iranian natural gas mostly to India.
Iraqi Hopes Dim Through Worst Year of Occupation22 Dec 2006Excerpt: BAGHDAD —Despite promises from Iraqi and U.S. leaders that 2006 would bring improvement, Iraqis have suffered through the worst year in living memory, facing violence, fragmentation and a disintegrated economy.
Win the Space Race by Not Running It22 Dec 2006Excerpt: Lately, the Bush administration has been trying to play nice on the global stage—emphasizing collaboration with other countries on issues like nuclear proliferation and the “war on terror.” But the Bush administration’s obsession with domination and control keeps cropping up—most recently in its new space policy, the first new statement of U.S. objectives in outer space to be issued in 10 years. Released quietly on the Friday before Columbus Day, in a move designed to generate little or no media attention, that policy can be summed up in three words: mine, mine, mine.
A Bad Year for Empire22 Dec 2006Excerpt: For those who believed that the precise and overwhelming demonstration of U.S. military power in Afghanistan and Iran would “shock and awe” the rest of the world—and particularly Washington’s foes and aspiring rivals—into accepting its benevolent hegemony, 2006 was not a good year.
Could Bush Start Another War?22 Dec 2006Excerpt: All the news is that despite growing antiwar sentiment among the public and the establishment, Bush has decided to reject the major recommendations of the Baker panel and continue to settle for nothing less than total “victory” in Iraq, that he has turned back to the dark heart of the War Party, the American Enterprise Institute, for a plan to win and that more troops and ships are headed to the region.
Saturday: 79 Iraqis, 2 GIs Killed; 26 Iraqis Wounded22 Dec 2006Excerpt: At least 79 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 26 were wounded in violent acts. Also, military authorities have reported the deaths of two GIs in separate events. December has already proven to be one of the most violent months since the occupation of Iraq by Coalition forces. At least 77 GIs have been killed alongside the hundreds of Iraqis who have died.
Losing Lives or Face: Time to Leave Iraq21 Dec 2006Excerpt: Iraq is a disaster, probably America’s greatest strategic mistake since World War II. It will be years, if not decades, until we see, let alone overcome, all of the consequences of George W. Bush’s misbegotten war.
An Anniversary21 Dec 2006Excerpt: Today (Thursday, December 21), is the eleventh anniversary of Antiwar.com, and I didn’t even realize it, at first. A look at our blog reminded me, and the ever-present question—“What shall I write about today?”—was, mercifully, answered.
Friday: 5 GIs, 36 Iraqis Killed; 1 GI, 15 Iraqis Wounded21 Dec 2006Excerpt: As U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ended his visit to Iraq, the U.S. military reported that five American servicemembers were killed there. Also, at least 36 Iraqis were killed and 15 were wounded in separate attacks. Friday is the Muslim day of prayer, so there is usually less violence. U.S. military authorities reported that an American soldier was shot to death this morning and another was wounded just west of the capital. Also reported, three Marines and one soldier were killed on Thursday due to “enemy action” in Anbar Province. These deaths bring the monthly total for December to 75 American servicemembers killed. Also, Coalition forces killed a militia member in an unspecified location.
India Split Over US Nuke Deal20 Dec 2006Excerpt: NEW DELHI —While President George W. Bush has signed into law new legislation passed by Congress to enable the controversial U.S.-India nuclear cooperation deal, the agreement has come under flak in India’s parliament, and a massive confrontation has broken out between its supporters and opponents.
Is Bush Up to History’s Challenge?20 Dec 2006Excerpt: Between December 2006 and January 2007, George Bush may reconsider America’s short-term and long-term role in Iraq, though it is looking more and more unlikely that he will choose peace anytime soon. Still, there are similarly situated presidents in our past who have opted for peace. Between November 1798 and February 1799, John Adams faced the question of declaring war on France. He was ready to do it, but some help from unlikely sources led him to rethink his position.
Anti-Americanism and the Rise of Civic Diplomacy20 Dec 2006Excerpt: Anti-Americanism has emerged as a term that, like fascism and communism in George Orwell’s lexicon, has little meaning beyond something not desirable. However it is defined, anti-Americanism has clearly mushroomed over the last six years, as charted in a number of polls. This phenomenon is, everyone agrees, intimately tied to the exercise of US power and perceptions around the world of US actions.
Crisis Group Seeks ‘Clean Break’ in US Strategy20 Dec 2006Excerpt: Warning that Iraq faces “complete disintegration into failed-state chaos,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) is calling on the United States to make a “clean break” in its strategy for both Iraq and the wider Middle East region.
The Right Men, the Wrong President20 Dec 2006Excerpt: For most of the second part of the 20th Century, representatives of foreign governments had grown accustomed to dealing with a certain type of US official. Ask a Russian diplomat, a Japanese bureaucrat or a French intelligence officer, and they will probably describe the American Assistant Secretary of State, a Treasury official, or a CIA agent the following way: “He was a very tough-minded negotiator who paid attention to details and knew how to stand his ground. But he was also very clear-headed, non-ideological and pragmatic. We could do business with him and we were confident that he’ll be able to deliver on his commitments.”
The Long Defeat20 Dec 2006Excerpt: There is no doubt that future analysts will regard 2006 as the year of setbacks for the American Empire. The most visible defeats have taken place in the Middle East: Iraq first and foremost, then the abortive Israeli war against the Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the recent defeat of US-sponsored warlords in Somalia. But Empire’s influence is waning in the Balkans as well.
The Urge to Surge20 Dec 2006Excerpt: As official Washington breaks for the two-week Christmas-New Year’s hiatus, it knows that the number one issue it will face on its return in early January is the White House’s apparent “urge to surge” as many as 50,000 new troops into Iraq for up to two years in a last-ditch effort to claim what President George W. Bush insists on calling “victory.”
Antiwar.com original