As Israel ravages Lebanon, with the fulsome endorsement of George W. Bush, here’s a pointed reminder that Israeli and American interests, far from being identical, are often radically divergent. This four-part investigation by Carl Cameron broadcast by Fox News in...
A Night on the Town
Bloomberg reports:"The U.S. pledged $30 million in aid to help war-ravaged Lebanon avert a humanitarian crisis as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel to confer with leaders after a surprise visit to Beirut. The U.S. will contribute the money to a...
An “International Force” — With No Americans?
Kevin Drum wants to know where all those troops are going to come from if the U.S. isn’t providing any for the "robust" international force the administration is proposing to police Hezbollah-land. Citing this report in the Forward,-- which informs us the...
Legacy Watch
From a CBS News interview with William F. Buckley: Buckley finds himself parting ways with President Bush, whom he praises as a decisive leader but admonishes for having strayed from true conservative principles in his foreign policy.In particular, Buckley views the...
Beyond Left & Right?
A special summer symposium issue of The American Conservative magazine is out, and the subject is interesting and timely: thirty contributors, including myself, inquire into the meaning of "left" and "right" today. Is it useful to even talk about "conservatism" and...
Israel and the War Profiteers
Frida Berrigan on "Democracy Now" radio: "Israel's relationship with the United States is unique in a number of ways. And one of those ways is that essentially the United States provides 20% of the Israeli military budget on an annual basis, and then about 70% of that...
Tom Hayden: “I Was Israel’s Dupe”
Must reading: Tom Hayden's "I Was Israel's Dupe." Here's a snippet of Counterpunch editor and Nation columnist Alex Cockburn's, um, irreverent introductory note: "Twenty four years ago Ariel Sharon’s artillerymen bombarded Beirut, causing huge terrible civilian...
The News Before It Happens
An update to today’s column, posted on Thursday, 10:00 pm PST, in which I speculated that some sort of "international force" to supplant the IDF would be created. Bloomberg News reports Friday morning: "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she wants a...
About Those Photos
Lisa Goldman has written a lengthy post that attempts to put the infamous photos of the Israeli girls writing on IDF shells "in perspective." You should read it, though I don't think it adds much in the way of factual context that you couldn't figure out on your own:...
Five Years After Being Exonerated by the FBI…
Jesus H. Christ. Benamar Benatta, believed to be the last remaining domestic detainee from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was released yesterday after negotiations involving Canada, the United States and his attorneys ended his captivity at nearly five years. … The...
