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Archives: October 2008
The Iraq War Bluff Revisited
Thanks to Mark Ganzer for digging back out a long post of mine from summer of 2002 about the Iraq War, then looming, and its likely consequences: Reprint edition from July 31,…
McCain Racism, Hypocrisy on Khalidi Issue
The increasingly sleazy John McCain, who once promised to run a clean campaign, has now attacked my friend Rashid Khalidi and attempted to use him against Barack Obama. Khalidi is an American…Iraqis Want Strict Withdrawal Timetable; $6 Bn. Spent on Private Security Guards by Bush
Remember how John McCain insisted to Wolf Blitzer that the security pact being negotiated by Iraq and the Bush administration talks about the withdrawal of US troops as "conditions-based" rather than tied…Iraq Condemns Syria Raid; Seeks Renegotiation of Security Accord
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh on Tuesday backed off his earlier support for the US raid into Syria. He said that the Iraqi constitution forbids third parties to use Iraq as a…Contacts begin with Taliban DPs Suffer in Camps
AFP reports: "Pakistani and Afghan officials and tribal leaders agreed Tuesday to make contact with Taliban militants in an attempt to end the raging insurgent violence along their porous border. The declaration…The hypocrisy of the ‘One-Party Rule’ Gambit
The McCain campaign is now warning against "one party rule" if Obama is elected president at at time when there will likely be a Democratic landslide in the House and the Senate.Well,…US: Raid Targetted al-Qaeda Facilitator; May Complicate Security Agreement with Iraq
US government sources maintained on Monday that the cross-border raid into Syria that left 8 dead had succeeded in killing "Abu al-Ghadiyah" (Badran al-Mazidi) of Mosul, a member of the fundamentalist vigilante…Middle East Press Negative on US Attack on Syrian Soil.
The USG Open Source Center surveys the Middle Eastern press reaction to the US raid on Abu al-Kamal in Syria, finding it mostly negative and based on Syrian reports. Lesson: If the…The hypocrisiy of the ‘One-Party Rule’ Gambit
Ooops, typo in title. Go here for "The Hypocrisy of the 'One Party Rule' Gambit"Two Daring Attacks on US Troops in Afghanistan
In Baghlan in northern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed two US troops while meeting at a local police station. Baghlan, a center of sugar beet production, is largely Tajik (Sunni Persian-speakers) but…
More on Syria Raid
More on the US raid on a house in Syria: The LAT wonders if the attack will derail US-Syrian steps toward rapprochement.Syrian officials are complaining that the raid, which left 8 Syrians…
Pakistani Military Takes Towns in Bajaur; If this is So Central to US Security, Why isn’t it News? US Strike Kills 20 in S. Waziristan
Although both candidates tie the resurgence of the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan to US domestic security, I personally have difficulty understanding exactly how that works. The September 11, 2001, attacks on…Helman: US has all but Committed to Leaving Iraq
Ambassador Gerald B. Helman writes:Absent the unexpected, it is unlikely that a security agreement in the form of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Iraq and the US will be in…US Raid inside Syria Kills 8
US troops made a raid inside Syrian territory near Iraq, according to Syrian media, which left 8 persons (the Syrians say civilians) dead. What is odd is that the Bush administration did…Obama and McCain on Iraq
Although the US public trusts Sen. Barack Obama to handle the economy far more than it does Sen. John McCain, the two are viewed as equally able with regard to handling Iraq…Sunni Party Cuts off US in Iraq;
The Iraqi Islamic Party, led by Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, said it was suspending further high-level contact with the United States on Saturday. The Sunni fundamentalist group is angry about a…Top Five Mistakes of the McCain Campaign in the past Week
1. McCain and Palin called up fraudster Ashley Todd and 'wishing her a speedy recovery' after she lied about being attacked by a tall Black man who carved a 'B' into her…Al-Maliki Will Not Sign Security Agreement
McClatchy reports that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has reneged on the security agreement that his office negotiated with the Bush administration, and now says he will not sign it and will not…Palin the Plumber; Wardrobe Purchases Violate McCain-Feingold Law!
Young Turks on Sarah Palin's $150,000 wardrobe, purchased at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue out of campaign contributions by the Republican National Committee.And, "wardrobe-gate" is illegal under the campaign finance law…13 Killed, 24 Wounded in Attack on Minister; More Christians Flee Mosul Sadrist Parliamentarians on Strike against Security Agreement
A car bomber attacked a convoy he thought was conveying the Iraqi labor minister, Mahmoud al Radhi on Thursday, killing 13 persons and wounding 24, according to McClatchy. Al Radhi is a…Dabbagh Rejects Bush Pressure Tactics on Iraq; Al-Haeri Declares Security Agreement Illicit; Irrelevancy of Al-Qaeda on McCain
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh reacted sharply on Wednesday to comments of US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen last Tuesday that Iraqis did not have much time…US Kills 9 Afghan Troops; Kabul Security Declines
The US military accidentally killed 9 Afghan soldiers in an air strike on Wednesday, one in a series of mistaken such aerial attacks in recent months, some of which have left behind…Iraq Moves Closer to Obama-Type Plan for early US Withdrawal; Cabinet rejects Security Agreement
The debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama about a timetable for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq may have just been overtaken by events. Without a bilateral agreement on the…When did McCain become a Neocon? Shiite MPs demand SOFA Renegotiation
Jonathan Landay carefully traces John McCain's transformation from pragmatist to Neoconservative warmonger, which took place while Bush was still just a Texas politician. He rather amusingly quotes Max Boot claiming that McCain…Powell’s Finest Moment
What is remarkable to me about Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama on Meet the Press was its sincerity and the form of its reasoning. He addressed issues, not personalities. He engaged…Joe McCain: N. Virginia "Communist"; John McCain: Obama Socialist
Is McCain a far Right extremist?When McCain calls Obama a "socialist," is he Red-baiting? Republicans back in the 1950s through the 1980s routinely accused Democrats of being "Communists" or hinted around that…Muqtada Calls on Parliamentarians: ‘Just say ‘No’
Muqtada al-Sadr called Saturday for Iraqi parliamentarians to reject the draft security agreement proposed by the Bush administration and PM Nuri al-Maliki. Tens of thousands of Iraqis rallied against the agreement.Reuters reports…Maliki Implies Odierno Ouster; Thousands Protest Security Pact
Although Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has approved a draft agreement on US troops in Iraq, it faces severe opposition from many parliamentarians and may not actually be enacted into law. A major…McCain & Letterman; What about Liddy? Al E. Smith and the Candidates
John McCain returns to David Letterman's Late Show in an attempt to redeem himself after his erratic behavior and earlier cancellation.It is the oddest thing, that entertainment show hosts such as Letterman…Losing Afghanistan after Winning It
Nir Rosen reports on 'How we lost the War We Won' in Afghanistan:' Until recently, Ghazni, like much of central Afghanistan, was considered reasonably safe. But now the province, located 100 miles…Game Over: A Good Neighbor in the Gulf?
The third and final debate again went to Obama in the instant polls done by organizations such as CNN. Independents told CNN they generally thought Obama won. CNN's real-time tracking of opinion…The Great Reagan Pyramid Scheme Comes Crashing Down
The Republican Party that Nixon invented melded the moneyed classes of the Northeast with the white evangelicals of the South. This odd couple went on to simultaneously steal from and oppress the…NIE: Pakistan on Brink
The new National Intelligence Estimate on Pakistan will apparently depict that country as 'on the edge,' with 'no money, no energy, no government.' The fear is expressed that an unstable Pakistan will…Church Bombed in Mosul; Christian Leaders Protest Gov’t Unconcern; Sadrists Show Support for Christians
A church in the northern metropolis of was bombed in Mosul on Tuesday, as Christian leaders accused the government of PM Nuri al-Maliki of minimizing the seriousness of the crisis facing their…Daughter of Mossad Chief Jailed for being a Conscientious Objector
Omer Goldman, daughter of a former head of the Israeli intelligence organization, Mossad, has gone to jail as a conscientious objector.She visited the West Bank and came to know too much about…Hashimi: Security Agreement in Doubt; UN Worries about Iraqi Christians; Physicians Close Clinics in Karbala
The UN is concerned about the continued flight of Christians from the northern metropolis of Mosul. Sunni radicals are targeting them and several have been assassinated. Iraqi refugees who try to return…Guantanamo Counsel Resigns in Disgust
Lt. Col. Darrel J. Vandeveld resigned from the military commissions tribunals at Guantanamo convinced that the system denies defense attorneys exculpatory evidence that the government knows about, which might prove the innocence…1000 Policemen Sent to guard Christians of Mosul; Turkish War Planes Strike Again
Turkish war planes again bombed positions in northern Iraq where guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) were thought to be holedup. Iraqi authorities ordered 1,000 police into the districts of Mosul…Polk: Iran falling into the “net” of a “worldwide policy”: On the U.S. Foreign Policy Doctrine and Its Dangers
Ali Fathollah-Nejad interviews veteran Middle East Expert William R.Polk on United States foreign policy toward Iran:Iran falling into the “net” of a “worldwide policy”: On the U.S. Foreign Policy Doctrine and Its…Zogby: I am an Arab and a Decent Man
James Zogby: :John McCain: I Am an Arab and a Decent Man":' We are disturbed by the degree to which 'Arab' has become the metaphorical mud to sling against your opponent. This…October Surprise? Security Agreement said Near Signing; 3000 Christians Flee Mosul
Is this part of a Bush attempt at an October surprise? Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that its sources in Baghdad say that the al-Maliki government will sign off on a security agreement…100 Killed in Afghanistan; Security Deteriorating
Anand Gopal at Tomdispatch.com on 'Who rules Afghanistan'? NATO is planning a crackdown on narcotics traffickers in Afghanistan. Pushtun guerrillas in Helmand Province attacked police positions near the capital, Lashkargah, provoking a…McCain: Obama Decent, no Arab
John McCain quickly shed his last vestiges of decency when he allowed his campaign to try to smear Barack Obama for having been in the same room with Bill Ayers, who had…Turkish Air Strikes; Bombings, Attacks Kill 24
Turkish war planes hit 21 targets inside Iraq, in the Kurdish north, on Friday night. Meanwhile, bombings and attacks killed 24 and wounded 45 in the mixed district of Dora.Economy in Free Fall, Politics of Personal Destruction
Graph of world markets in free fall. Obama predicted the Republican smear strategy against him last July, in every detail. They will try to paint him as "risky." Reply: "It is too…GI Killed; Sadrist Politician Assassinated
A US GI was killed on Tuesday in Mosul while answering a distress callAssailants killed Sadrist parliamentarian Salih al-`Ukayli with a roadside bomb near Sadr City in East Baghdad. Al-`Ukayli has been…Suicide Bomber Kills 11 in Baquba; Turks to Continue Strikes on Iraq
A female suicide bomber detonated her belt bomb on Wednesday near some Iraqi army humvees in front of a courthouse in Baquba, killing at least 11 persons and wounding 20. Five Iraqi…