Iraqis are not naïve. Grim experience of their country’s rulers over the past 50 years leads many to suspect them of being self-serving, greedy, brutal, and incompetent. Ten years ago, some had hoped Iraqis might escape living in a permanent state of emergency as the US and Britain prepared to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Others were…
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling “The art of war is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin.” Sun Tzu, “The Art of War,” 4th Century BCE. During confirmation hearings for the next U.S. Defense Secretary, it was appalling to observe several senators haggling with Chuck Hagel…
This piece originally appeared on TomDispatch. This piece is adapted from “Uprisings,” a chapter in Power Systems: Conversations on Global Democratic Uprisings and the New Challenges to U.S. Empire, Noam Chomsky’s new interview book with…
A report issued by the London-based International Centre for Development Studies confirmed that Iran is stealing large amounts of oil from neighboring Iraqi fields. According to the report, Iran steals $17 billion worth of Iraqi oil from fields that are mostly Iraqi and not shared between the two countries. Those fields are home to more…
Every time a Blackwater centurion discharged his weapon in Iraq, the company filed a written report with the U.S. State Department. Blackwater shot Iraq to shit. Here are the reports. Blackwater, the private mercenary firm that became synonymous with Bush-era war profiteering and reckless combat-tourism, announced yesterday that it has changed its name…
Our prime minister has suddenly reached elevated status in Western capitals. Not so long ago, the same voices were accusing Recep Tayyip Erdogan an of changing Turkey’s orientation, of aspiring to establish an Islamic Republic. Now they are applauding him. Why? What happened to turn the tides so dramatically? What we have been witnessing over…
What’s at stake in Syria goes well beyond the mere fate of a local dictatorship – however deadly it may be. What is at stake, and is on the brink of collapse, is a major strategic alliance in the Middle East. The Syrians who have been challenging Bashar al-Assad’s regime since March – many paying…
One decade after the 9/11 attacks, Americans continue to pay for damages. The costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, hidden costs of intelligence wars reportedly underway in Pakistan and elsewhere, and the price of increased security within American borders have now far exceeded early predictions and continue to grow as global counter terrorism…
Stepping Into the Shoes of a Psychopath In “The Devil’s Double,” Dominic Cooper, with Ludivine Sagnier, plays Uday Hussein. IT’S hard to conceive of too many narratives in which Saddam Hussein might emerge as a second-tier villain. But in “The Devil’s Double” he is portrayed as a man who at least operated according to his…
Tens of thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr stage a huge rally to send a message to Iraq’s leaders: Go Home America