February 28, 2006 The visit to the Middle East last week by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brought with it another reminder that American Middle East policy is firmly wedged between Iraq and the hard guys. There were never any easy answers to the Middle East morass, complicated further by the recent outbreak of [...]
Lessons of Beirut Lost in Baghdad (Detroit Free Press)
December 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Published on Thursday, October 23, 2003 by the Detroit Free Press It all seemed so simple. Send in U.S. forces. Free and protect the local population. Install a pro-Western government acceptable to all factions. Build a wider Middle East peace. Then depart to the cheers of a grateful citizenry. But President Ronald Reagan’s encounter with [...]
Taking on the Shi’ites: How America is Creating a Powerful New Enemy (CommonDreams.org)
December 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Published on Monday, April 5, 2004 by CommonDreams.org The eruption of bloody clashes between Iraqi Shi�ites and Coalition forces, combined with a threat from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to assassinate the head of Lebanon�s Shi�ite Hizbullah movement, raise the frightening prospect that the U.S. could soon face a powerful new enemy, with potentially disastrous [...]
Severed Head in the Freezer, Favorability Ratings in the Toilet (CommonDreams.org)
December 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Published on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 by CommonDreams.org Is that laughter I hear echoing from the mountains of Baluchistan? The latest survey results out of the Middle East show that America’s favorability rating is now, essentially, zero. That’s down from as high as 75 percent in some Muslim countries just four years ago. Two new [...]
The New Colonialism: Iraq, Iran and the American Regency (Progressive Populist)
December 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
(Note from the author: This article was published April 15, 2003 as U.S. forces invaded Iraq. As they withdraw, I thought it would be useful to look back). America is about to become a colonial power. That step will carry with it profound — and potentially disastrous — implications for our long-term relationship with the Islamic [...]
