Author: Eric Garris

Ron Paul is interviewed on CNN by a rude and hostile newsreader.

Defend Michael Steele? I never thought I’d be writing that!

But the neocons, led by Bill Kristol, are demanding his resignation as national chairman of the Republican Party.

Why?

At a fundraising event Steele was caught on video in a “gaffe” (a technical term signifying that a politician has spoken the truth).

Steele suggested that Afghanistan is “a war of Obama’s choosing.” “Well if he’s such a student of history, has he not understood that, you know, that’s the one thing you don’t do is engage in a land war in Afghanistan,” Steele says of Obama. “Alright? Because everyone who has tried over a thousand years of history has failed. And there are reasons for that. There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan without committing more troops.” Steele suggests America should have a “background” role in the country, “sort of shaping the changes that were necessary in Afghanistan as opposed to directly engaging troops.”

Steele also described the situation around the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal as “very comical.”

Although Steele later backtracked a bit in an official statement, he should be commended for even talking about what is quickly becoming the Democrats’ war in such a frank manner. The Democratic National Committee quickly attacked Steele for wanting to “walk away from the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban without finishing the job.”

Here is a video of Steele’s original statement:

I suggest that you call the Republican National Committee and indicate your support for Michael Steele’s original statement: 202-863-8500.

Col. Douglas MacGregor appeared on Judge Napolitano’s Freedom Watch show over the weekend.

Judge Napolitano asked him if we should be spending a trillion dollars to import democracy to the Muslim world:

“Absolutely not, it’s a hopeless endeavor. This is a bottomless pit for our resources. Nothing good is going to come from it.”

Watch the video:

Unfortunately, John McCain is very real.

But McCain’s history, and the history of events around him, are full of myths.

Back in 1999, Justin Raimondo wrote an excellent piece about many of those myths.

This month’s issue of The American Conservative magazine is revisiting John McCain’s relationship to an almost-forgotten American historical controversy: was the story of the left-behind POWs truly a myth, or was there a lot more to it. And did John McCain help to cover up the truth? Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Sydney Schanberg says that he did.

Schanberg presents an expanded version of his 2008 report on the cover-up, as well as a new article on his fight to report the truth. The articles are accompanied by commentaries on Schanberg’s report by Alexander Cockburn, Andrew Bacevich, Gareth Porter, Peter Richardson, John LeBoutillier, and Ron Unz.

Today, Antiwar.com presents these articles for our readers.

We have been missing Alan Bock’s column for the last few weeks.

A few weeks ago, Alan got very sick. After seeing many doctors and getting scores of tests, he has been diagnosed with a cancerous blockage in his biliary ducts.

He is facing surgery and is hopeful, and treatment an a great attitude have seen a vast improvement already.

Here is a note from Alan written a few days ago:

In case anybody has been looking here and wondering what happened to me, it’s been illness. About three weeks ago — four? — Jen noticed I was looking yellow, which means jaundice. Long story short, moving from a hospital in Murietta that couldn’t help me to Cedars-Sinai, I have a blockage in my biliary ducts — some relieved by a stent, so the jaundice is gone, but what remains is cancerous. There’s a surgery called Whipple to take such things out, and I’m now at home taking antibiotics and preparing for surgery, perhaps in a week. I doubt if I’ll have much to say about politics for a while yet — you might be surprised just cooking right and taking care of me takes. But I’m feeling good and optimistic. Maybe more on my condition as my strength increases, but then a silent period again.

We at Antiwar.com send our hopes and thoughts to Alan.

Democracy Now! has an excellent and comprehensive report on the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings.

On May 4th, 1970, National Guardsmen opened fire on hundreds of unarmed students at an antiwar rally at Kent State University in Ohio. The guardsmen fired off at least 67 shots in roughly 13 seconds. Four students were killed and nine others wounded.

Watch or listen to a stream of the broadcast. You can also download an MP3. Other options are available here.