There is no longer any possibility of the United States achieving its objectives in Iraq.Whatever opportunity there might have been following the initial invasion has been swept away by the abusive treatment of detainees, the wanton slaughter of civilians, and the systematic destruction of Iraqi society. The war has entered a period of retrenchment; with... Read More

America has never been involved in a war more clearly immoral than Iraq. From the phony pretext of weapons of mass destruction to the sadistic treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, the conflict has been a sickening chronicle of butchery and deception. Now, the victims of that massive crime are striking back in London and... Read More

There were reports last Friday that representatives of the US Occupation Forces in Iraq were engaged in secret talks with leaders of the Iraqi resistance. For a brief two day period, there was reason to hope that there might be a genuine opportunity to begin negotiations for a political settlement to the 27 month conflict.... Read More

Even by the abysmal standards of the Administration, Bush's Saturday Radio-address hit a new low in fear mongering and duplicity. Invoking the musty imagery of 9-11, the Prince of Mendacity once again articulated the worn vision of America at war with the world. Presumably, the President's antidote involves alienating allies, inflaming half the American electorate,... Read More

Tom Friedman is the most popular columnist in the United States. He's also the voice of the American establishment. From his perch at the CFR (Council of Foreign Relations) he delivers his affable-sounding polemics; spreading a gospel of free markets and endless war. His many accolades, including a stockpile of Pulitzer prizes, attest to his... Read More

Seattle, Washington Cameras aren't allowed in Falluja; neither are journalists. If they were then we would have first-hand proof of America's greatest war crime in the last 30 years; the Dresden-like bombardment of an entire city of 250,000. Instead, we have to rely on eyewitness accounts that appear on the internet or the spurious reports... Read More

Seattle, Washington The Columbian artist Fernando Botero has produced a brilliant collection of life-sized paintings depicting the horrors of Abu Ghraib. The works show prisoners bound and gagged, stacked on top of each other, and being beaten by American soldiers. The paintings have a haunting, frenzied feeling to them, like Pieter Bruegel's medieval "The Triumph... Read More

The account of American troops capturing Saddam and pulling him from his subterranean hovel has turned out to be just another Bush lie. Sergeant Nadim Abou Rabeh, who participated in the operation that netted Saddam, was quoted in the Saudi newspaper "Al-Medina" saying that the Iraqi leader was actually captured the day before and that... Read More

The machinery of state decision-making is rarely exposed to public scrutiny. The cover of representative government is a scrupulously maintained fiction concealing the nuts-and-bolts of real statecraft. Normally, politicians and their accomplices in the media can keep the illusion of representative government intact; avoiding the embarrassing implication that the current order is really upheld by... Read More

The Bush Administration is intentionally steering Iraq towards civil war. The elections are merely the catalyst for igniting, what could be, a massive social upheaval. This explains the bizarre insistence on voting when security is nearly nonexistent and where a mere 7% of the people can even identify the candidates. (This figure gleaned from Allawi's... Read More

The American media has descended on the Asian tsunami with all the fervor of feral animals in a meat locker. The newspapers and TV's are plastered with bodies drifting out to sea, battered carcasses strewn along the beach and bloated babies lying in rows. Every aspect of the suffering is being scrutinized with microscopic intensity... Read More

The extent of America's war crimes in Falluja is gradually becoming apparent. On December 24, approximately 900 former residents of the battered city were allowed to return to their homes only to find that (according to BBC) "about 60% to 70% of the homes and buildings are completely crushed and damaged, and not ready to... Read More

The Pentagon issued a statement saying an attack that killed 22 people at a camp near Mosul was likely carried out by a suicide bomber who may have had inside information. Wrong. At the Pentagon Wednesday, Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a suicide bomber had apparently strapped an... Read More

There's only one way the American people will accept the reinstatement of the draft. There would have to be "a massive casualty-producing event" on American soil. That's it. There's simply no other way Bush can get the popular support needed. And, since we're able to figure that out, it's certain that White House planners-and-schemers have... Read More

Two weeks before the invasion of Falluja a car bomb was set off in front of the Al Arabiyya news facility in downtown Baghdad; 7 people were killed. The evening news dismissed the incident as a warning by insurgents to the Arab news channel to change the "pro-occupation" tone of their coverage. Obviously, insurgents had... Read More

There's a true story circulating through the Arab world that has dwarfed the many other horrors now taking place in Falluja. It's the tale of a nine year old boy who was wounded by shrapnel in the stomach when his house was hit by an errant bomb. Over the next ten hours his father Mohammed... Read More

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently opined, "The Iraq conflict is a war of perceptions". His remark reflects his belief that events can be shaped simply by controlling the flow of information. Rumsfeld has been a major player in making sure that the Pentagon's world view is writ large in America's newspapers and TVs. He's also... Read More

Fallujah is an Iraqi Beslan. The only difference is that the cameras aren't rolling. The city of 500,000 is being held hostage by an American leadership who doesn't mind shedding the blood of innocent civilians to achieve their broader political goals. That is the very definition of terrorism. Since, the Marines were rebuffed last April... Read More

No need to inquire about co-payments at Abu Ghraib prison facility. Rummy's HMO will cover the whole thing. And, there's no sense in worrying about those nagging medical malpractice suits either. American doctors can pursue their own diverse inclinations without inhibition or fear of reprisal. The Pentagon now provides cover for dilettantes in the ancient... Read More

The siege of Najaf has two clearly defined objectives; disband the "al Mehdi" militia and restore the city to occupation control. The conflict is being heralded as the "first major test" of the new provisional government of US "appointee" Ayad Allawi. Most critics conclude that if the US military backs down now the credibility of... Read More

We all understand the basic principle involved in democratic government. The will of the people is articulated through the popular vote and the candidate who gets the most votes wins. Excluding America, (where the decisions are now entrusted to a Supreme Court) this is how representative government is established. By any objective standard, Muqtada al... Read More

There's a chilling scene in Jahane Noujaim's new documentary Control Room where an American F-16 is seen slowly turning in the sky over Baghdad. The plane arcs lazily in the blue sky and then quickly noses downward, following a straight line towards the building that houses the Al Jazeera news facility. In a flash, two... Read More

In a long line of American puppets, the name Ayad Allawi figures to loom large. In just a matter of weeks the new Prime Minister of Iraq has accommodated his US paymasters with a zeal that must leave the dapper Hamid Karzai wondering if his job is safe. In his first days after taking office,... Read More

Last week an Iraqi wedding party was bombed in the location of Makr al Deeb near the Syrian border. Approximately 40 members of the party were killed, many of them women and children. So far, there is a great deal of pictorial and anecdotal evidence suggesting that the US made a horrible error in mistaking... Read More

By using the distraction of Rumsfeld's testimony on Capital Hill to disguise continuing aggression, US Marines have stepped up their campaign to "capture or kill" Muqtada al-Sadr. Fighting has escalated in both Najaf and Kerbala with the goal of seizing control of the Holy cities and disbanding al Sadr's Mahdi Army. Al Sadr, who has... Read More