Category: Commentary

WASHINGTON — Despite all the claims of improvements, 2007 has been the worst year yet in Iraq. One of the first big moves this year was the launch of a troop “surge” by the U.S. government in mid-February. The goal was to improve security in Baghdad and the western al-Anbar province, the two most violent

Yet Another Facelift for the Failed Occupation The New York Times Nov 19 announces, “Baghdad’s Weary Start to Exhale as Security Improves.” The Washington Post Nov. 23 reports, “Returnees Find a Capital Transformed.” People in the US are willing to believe the establishment media telling them that refugees are returning to their homes in Baghdad

Editor: Erik Leaver, IPS and John Feffer, IRC Iraq is the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. Along with names and dates, the Brussels Tribunal has listed the circumstances under which Iraqi media personnel have been killed since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. This extremely credible report cites 195 as

Editor: Erik Leaver, IPS As part of a massive staff shakeup of Bush’s Iraq team last week, it was announced that John Negroponte, the current U.S. National Intelligence Director who has also conveniently served as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq from June 2004 to April 2005 is being tapped as the new Deputy Secretary of

It is the single most important statistic regarding the illegal US invasion and occupation of Iraq. How many Iraqis have been killed? 655,000. 655,000 Iraqis killed as a result of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. I have worked for eight months in Iraq as a journalist, witnessing the carnage on a daily basis,

An anxious unrest, a fierce craving desire for gain has taken possession of the commercial world, and in instances no longer rare the most precious and permanent goods of human life have been madly sacrificed in the interests of momentary enrichment. – Felix Adler In all past wars the United States has been involved in,

While the deranged chicken-hawks who “lead” the US continue their efforts to wage another unprovoked war of aggression, this time against Iran, what’s left of their already overstretched military continues to be bled in Iraq. When the situation is so critical that even the corporate media is forced to report on it, you know it’s

But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. -George Orwell On Monday, September 18, Associated Press (AP) ran a story titled, “Iraqi tribes fight Insurgency.” At first glance, the average reader cannot be blamed for thinking that this is a story about how tribes in Iraq have decided to take up arms against

During the Veterans for Peace National Convention in Seattle, I conducted an interview with Ray McGovern. McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years and is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). In the final installment of this interview series for Truthout, McGovern discusses links between US/Israeli policy, the need for change if

During the Veterans for Peace National Convention in Seattle, I conducted an interview with Ray McGovern. McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years and is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). In the second installment of this interview series for Truthout, McGovern discusses US policy regarding Iran, a US/Israel “mutual defense treaty”