Monthly Archives: July 2008

"NATO officials reported that nine soldiers were killed in the Kunar attack but did not specify the nationalities, in accordance with the policy of letting member countries report them first. A senior military official in Washington said that all nine … Continue reading →

"The failure of months of negotiations over the more detailed accord — blamed on both the Iraqi refusal to accept U.S. terms and the complexity of the task — deals a blow to the Bush administration’s plans to leave in … Continue reading →

"Electing a new president was the easy part and it happened within days of Doha. Both of Lebanon’s political groupings agreed on the former army chief, Michel Suleiman, who is as close to a neutral public figure as you can … Continue reading →

"But leaked information says otherwise. The latest such leak came from Alon Liel, a former Israeli diplomat involved in back-channel talks that led to the current peace negotiations, in which Syria is seeking to retrieve the Syrian Golan Heights that … Continue reading →

Quite a few Americans are now beginning to grasp the idea that Israel is a foreign country, a country which seeks to advance its perceived or real self-interest in all matters.  In the past, most Americans have thought of Israel … Continue reading →

"Four questions need to be answered with respect to nuclear proliferation: Do Russia and the United States agree on the nature of the challenge posed by an Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons? Do they agree on the status of Iran’s … Continue reading →

1-Maliki wants a short term "memorandum of understanding" between the US and Iraq concerning the presence of US troops in the country. Translation:  contrary to the pseudo Wilsonian fantasies of Bush/Cheney/the Jacobins and McCain, the Iraqis are still Iraqis and … Continue reading →

A lot of realistic, tough minded people worked very hard and creatively over the last two years in and about Iraq to create the improved security situation visible there today. A number of factors contributed to that improvement; the new … Continue reading →