So This Is What Victory Looks Like?

Scott Ritter / Truthdig Jul 8, 2009 It is wishful thinking to believe that the Iraqi military will be able to hold the ruins of Iraqi society together without major U.S. intervention. The United States has assumed the role of Saddam’s Special Republican Guard, waiting to be called in to crush any sign of rebellion or insurrection. It's a lose-lose situation with only one way out. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

U.S. Troops Leave Iraqi Cities, but Unsettled Issues Remain

William Pfaff / Truthdig Jul 1, 2009 Now that American troops are withdrawing from the cities of Iraq, the calculation must begin as to whether the loss of some half-million to million lives and the ruin of the infrastructure and social structure of Baghdad and much of the rest of the Iraqi nation have served some good purpose. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Iraq Has Another One of Its Famous Turning Points

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Jun 30, 2009 As the media trumpets sound for the pullback of American troops from urban areas in Iraq, the essential lesson of our involvement must be recalled: Nothing about our entanglement in Iraq has ever been as it seemed. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

They Don’t Build Democracies Like They Used To

Staff / Truthdig Apr 16, 2009 America promised to bring democracy to Iraq, but more than two months after provisional elections, things have gone from photo-op to fiasco. The New York Times reports on the "threats, intrigue, back-room deal-making, protests, political paralysis and, increasingly, popular discontent" that have come to characterize the Iraqi political process. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Silence Meets Despair of Afghan Women

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Apr 2, 2009 Afghanistan's women are no longer in vogue. President Karzai has just signed a law that forces them to obey their husbands' sexual demands and in general again consigns them to lives of brutal repression. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Revised Campaign Poster

Patrick Corrigan, The Toronto Star Apr 2, 2009 Dig deeper

Top U.S. General in Iraq Says U.S. Won’t Be Invited to Stick Around

Staff / Truthdig Mar 11, 2009 Gen Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, said he doesn't expect the Iraqi government to ask U troops to remain beyond the 2011 deadline "I think that the Iraq leadership is focused on that this ends in 2011," Odierno told the Associated Press If security allows, the number of U troops to be withdrawn this year will increase 3,500 (one brigade) over the number of 12,000 previously announced, the general said. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

It’s Obama’s War Now

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Mar 2, 2009 Combat troops are to be pulled out of Iraq by August 2010, President Obama said, but some 50,000 occupation troops will remain behind. Someone should let the Iraqis know the distinction. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

U.S. Fear, U.S. Folly in Afghanistan

William Pfaff / Truthdig Feb 20, 2009 Except for the brief NATO intervention in Kosovo and Serbia, all of the significant U.S. military expeditions since the Cold War have been fought against Asians, and we have lost nearly all of them. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

America’s Confused Cause in Central Asia

William Pfaff / Truthdig Feb 18, 2009 Exactly what do we think we are doing in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Are we there to liberalize their forms of religious observance, or conduct a war over theology, or establish permanent NATO bases there, or are we searching for Osama bin Laden? It seems that we are doing all of these things at the same time. But why? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Israel Opens Gaza Border … for Flowers

Staff / Truthdig Feb 13, 2009 In probably the least appropriate metaphor for relations between Israel and Palestine, Israel has allowed, for the first time in a year, Gazan flower companies to export 25,000 carnations to Europe in time for Valentine's Day, though the volume pales in comparison to previous annual exports of 60 million flowers. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Israel’s Lose-Lose Election

William Pfaff / Truthdig Feb 13, 2009 Of the possible political combinations that have emerged from the Israeli parliamentary election, none will bring the region closer to peace. Israel will continue to persecute the Palestinians, whose hatred will only grow. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )