American military commanders measure progress by the swelling size of the Afghan army, although the force is said to be poorly trained, sympathetic to the Taliban and the scourge of local populations.
Here’s a story you may have missed because it flies in the face of the dreary conventional wisdom: When advocates of public programs take on the right-wing anti-government crowd directly, the government-haters lose.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich explains why he voted against the landmark health reform bill, which he says “continues the redistribution of wealth to Wall Street at the expense of America’s manufacturing and service economies.”
Could there be a more accurate description of the Barack Obama-Gordon Brown message of congratulations to the fraudulently elected Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan? Now we have the venal, corrupt, sectarian Karzai in power after a poll far more ambitiously rigged than the Iranian version, and – yup, we love him dearly.
Pat Tillman’s birthday is Nov. 6, and we wish to commemorate his life by republishing Truthdig’s most popular piece, “After Pat’s Birthday,” written by Pat’s brother, Kevin Tillman.
George McGovern has been a witness to history, as both a scholar and one of the first senators to oppose the Vietnam War. At a recent Truthdig event, he shared his insight into past and current events, from Lincoln’s greatest accomplishment to the war in Afghanistan.
Democrats have some thinking to do after Tuesday’s elections, but Republicans don’t have time to think. They’re too busy trying to survive the party’s internal purge and avoid being shipped off to political Siberia.
I’ve been thinking of I.F. Stone while reading the growing stack of reports and essays giving recommendations on how to save the declining news business. The outrageous solution increasingly favored by the journalism establishment is one that Stone would have hated—turning to Washington for help.
The international conversation since the Second World War tended to be something of an American monologue, but that’s changing now that the United States is widely perceived as a large part of the current world problem.
Is the war in Afghanistan worth the sacrifice of even one American life? Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter says, “No! ... We are allowing the battle in Afghanistan to be defined by a domestic American political imperative. There is no urgency in Afghanistan, there is urgency in Washington, D.C.”
Have you heard this old proverb? Whether the rock hits the pitcher or the pitcher hits the rock, it’s going to be bad for the pitcher. Women are the pitcher in this story.
Tuesday’s elections were a rebuke to the right wing and a warning to Democrats. President Obama has work to do, but the night’s biggest loser was the Palin-Limbaugh-Beck complex.
George McGovern has some advice for President Barack Obama: Get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. “I’m convinced that war is going to turn sour. I’m convinced we’re not going to prevail there,” he said.
The most idiotic thing being said about America’s involvement in Afghanistan is that the best way to protect the 68,000 U.S. troops there now is by putting an additional 40,000 in harm’s way.
“Extraordinary rendition” is White House-speak for kidnapping. Just ask Maher Arar. He’s a Canadian citizen who was “rendered” by the U.S. to Syria, where he was tortured for almost a year.
It is somewhat late in the day to lament the politicization of the judiciary, a condition that has always existed, but extravagant campaign contributions have now perilously altered the landscape.
The warlords we champion in Afghanistan are as venal, as opposed to the rights of women and basic democratic freedoms, and as heavily involved in opium trafficking as the Taliban.
Barring astoundingly self-defeating behavior by Democrats, a decent bill will get to Obama’s desk. Whether lawmakers are rewarded or punished for their efforts will largely be decided in the coming weeks.
President Obama may have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but if he allows himself to be bullied into supporting Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s foray into Afghanistan, he will reveal himself as the worst kind of warmonger.
When a Time Bomb Is Ticking
