Sunday: 13 Iraqis Killed, 8 Wounded

Updated at 6:45 p.m. EDT, Aug. 31, 2008At least 13 Iraqis were killed and 8 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Meanwhile, the tense situation between central government forces and Peshmerga forces continues in Khanaqin. Also, Ramadan begins tomorrow for Sunni Muslims and the day after for Shi’ites. In Khanaqin, tensions between the Kurdish [...]

Refusing to Oppress

Eighteen-year-old Sahar Vardi is currently in an Israeli military prison. She is being punished for the crime of refusing to be conscripted into the Israeli military. A few weeks before her imprisonment she wrote Israel’s Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, explaining her decision to become a conscientious objector. “I have been to the occupied Palestinian [...]

Goodbye

This is the last Charley Reese column, as the author is retiring. All of us at Antiwar.com will miss his insights and wish him well. Years ago, the first time I saw my friend Brother Dave Gardner after he had survived a plane crash, the comedian smiled and said, "The devil like [...]

What a Mess To Clean Up

Americans have traditionally been optimists, and still probably think that if we could only make the right choices, the next President – working together with the next Congress – could clean up the mess Bush-Cheney and The Best Congress Money Can Buy have made, thereby making it safe to go abroad once again carrying an [...]

Iraq Kidnappings Now Become ‘Unofficial’

BAQUBA – Residents of Baquba deny police claims that kidnappings are now a matter of the past. "There are fewer people disappearing, but it continues," a trader who asked to be referred to as Abu Ali told IPS. "All of us know that several people are still being kidnapped every week." A local sheikh, speaking [...]

Muslim Charities Negotiate a Minefield

As Muslims begin one of their most important holidays – the month of Ramadan – charitable organizations serving the American Muslim community are taking what some observers believe is a desperate last step to keep the US government from shutting them down. Muslim Advocates (MA), a San Francisco-based national educational and advocacy organization established by [...]

Saturday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 4 Wounded; 3 Turks Wounded

Updated at 12:26 p.m. EDT, Aug. 31, 2008At least six Iraqis were killed and four more were wounded in the latest attacks. Three Turkish truck drivers were wounded during a blast in Mosul as well. In Turkey, two Turkish soldiers were killed in a clash with PKK rebels. No Coalition deaths were reported. Also, a [...]

Georgian Fantasies: Where are the Americans?

It’s still not certain what motivated the Georgian government to launch its attack on South Ossetia in the face of ongoing Russian hostility and recent military maneuvers which all-but guaranteed a swift and devastating response. Georgia’s Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia said simply: "We did not prepare for this kind of eventuality." His government was [...]

Surging in Afghanistan: Too Much, Too Late?

Despite George W. Bush’s claim that he’s “truly not that concerned” about Osama bin Laden, the administration is erecting 10 “Wanted” billboards in Afghanistan, offering rewards of $25 million for bin Laden, $10 million for Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and $1 million for Adam Gadahn, an American member of Al Qaeda, now listed as [...]

Obama’s Cheney

The office of the Vice President has surely undergone a transformation in recent years: from Dan Quayle to Dick Cheney is a long way to travel. The role of the VP, with Cheney acting as the eminence grise of the Bush regime – and, some would say, the real President – has been amplified to [...]