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Why Hillary Clinton Has Always Been a Republican In the first of a series of profiles, Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair chart the formative years of Hillary Clinton. Watch her as she zigzags from Nixon campaigner and vote-fraud investigator in 1960 to Goldwater Girl and President of Young Republicans at Wellesley to her internship for Gerald Ford and campaigner for Nelson Rockefeller. Witness her reaction to the student protests at Yale and the demonstrations at Grant Park during the Democratic Convention in 1968. Learn how she and Bill vowed to "remake" the Democratic Party--using the Nixon model HRC learned about as a member of the House impeachment staff. And much more! Plus: David Price on anthropologist Andre Gunder Frank, the FBI and the Bureaucratic Exile of a Critical Mind.
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Today's Stories July 7 / 8, 2007 Saul
Landau July 6, 2007 Daniel
Ellsberg Gary
Leupp Harvey
Wasserman Omer
Subhani Marjorie
Cohn Christopher
Brauchli David
Michael Green China
Hand Renee
Saucedo Corporate
Crime Reporter Website
of the Day
July 5, 2007 Andy
Worthington Mike
Stark Norman
Solomon Michael
Schwartz Susie
Day Jacob
Hornberger Bill
Hatch Don
Fitz John
Wright Website
of the Day
July 4, 2007 St.
Clair / Frank Vijay
Prashad Carl
G. Estabrook Ron
Jacobs David
R. Dow Claudia
Johnson William
S. Lind Gregory
Afghani Paul
Edwards D.
K. Wilson Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Thomas
Jefferson Cindy
Sheehan Website
of the Day
Bill
Quigley Gary
Leupp Lynda
Brayer Richard
Thieme Helen
Redmond David
Swanson Jacob
Hornberger Ayesha
Ijaz Khan Franklin
Lamb Ray
McGovern Kevin
Zeese Dave
Lindorff Website
of the Day
Andy
Worthington Nina
Serrano Jack
Hirschman Paul
Craig Roberts Bill
Williams Anthony
Papa Sonja
Karkar Louay
Safi Anthony
Gregory Monica
Benderman Website
of the Day
June 30 / July 1, 2007 John
Ross Alan
Farago Peter
Quinn Christopher
Brauchli Robert
Fisk Uri
Avnery Judith
Siers-Poisson Saul
Landau Abbas
Zaidi Ron
Jacobs Ralph
Nader Donald
Worster Mike
Whitney Jacob
Hill Kenneth
Couesbouc Missy
Beattie Mohammad
Kamaali Ramzy
Baroud Leonard
Peltier Phyllis
Pollack Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
June 29, 2007 St.
Clair / Frank Brian
Cloughley Patrick
Cockburn Gilad
Atzmon Dave
Lindorff Jennifer
Matsui / Kevin
Zeese Daniel
Klimek David
Michael Green John
Chuckman Website
of the Day
June 28, 2007 Bill
Quigley Vijay
Prashad Margaret
Kimberley Winslow
T. Wheeler Philip
Rizk D.
K. Wilson Bill
Williams Mahmoud
El-Yousseph Richard
Rhames Paul
Krassner Website
of the Day
Marjorie
Cohn Dr.
Susan Rosenthal, MD Alan
Farago Carla
Blank Matthew
Abraham Sunsara
Taylor Russell
D. Hoffman Robert
Weissman Sen.
Russ Feingold Paul
Buchheit Website
of the Day
June 26, 2007 Jonathan
Cook Ralph
Nader Corporate
Crime Reporter Ron
Jacobs Martha
Rosenberg John
Chuckman Denny
Haldeman Anthony
DiMaggio Stephen
Fleischman William
S. Lind Website
of the Day
Paul
Craig Roberts Jennifer
Loewenstein Bob
Anderson Robert
Pollin Patrick
Cockburn Eva
Liddell Dan
Bacher Larry
Atkins Mark
Brenner James
Rothenberg Website
of the Day June 23 / 24, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Jeff
Taylor Oren
Ben-Dor Gary
Leupp Robert
Fisk David
Rosen Russell
Mokhiber Alison
Weir Robert
Fantina D.
K. Wilson Nicole
Colson Stephen
Soldz, Steven Reisner and Brad Olson Dave
Lindorff Benjamin
Dangl Michael
Dickinson Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
June 22, 2007 Andy
Worthington Sherwood
Ross Eliana
Monteforte Robert
Weissman Richard
Rhames Christopher
Brauchli Ramzy
Baroud Ehud
Krinis, David Shulman and Neve Gordon David
Michael Green Kathryn
Webber Website
of the Day
June 21, 2007 Peter
Linebaugh Natsu
Saito Ron
Jacobs Saree
Makdisi John
Stauber Scott
Liebertz Tom
Clifford Robert
Jensen Michael
J. Smith Jeb
Sprague Website
of the Day
Omar
Barghouti Andy
Worthington Margaret
Kimberley Robert
Weissman Russell
D. Hoffman Rannie
Amiri Stephen
Lendman Dave
Lindorff David
Swanson Anne
Dachel Website
of the Day
June 19, 2007 Ralph
Nader Dr.
Shepherd Bliss Bill
and Kathleen Christison Jeff
Leys Dave
Zirin Chris
Floyd Ben
Terrall Anthony
Papa VIPS Linda Flores Website
of the Day
John
Ross Paul
Craig Roberts Martha
Rosenberg Norman
Solomon Don
Santina Isabella
Kenfield James
Brooks Eva
Liddell Sam
Husseini Akiva
Eldar Website
of the Day
Alexander
Cockburn John
Halle Robert
Fisk Andy
Worthington Uri
Avnery Fred
Gardner Saul
Landau P.
Sainath Missy
Comley Beattie Alan
Gregory Walter
Brasch Website
of the Weekend
June 15, 2007 Alan
Farago Andy
Worthington Michael
Simmons Franklin
Lamb Gary
Leupp John
Ross Website
of the Day
June 14, 2007 Michael
Donnelly
Faisal
Kutty Harry
Browne Charles
Jonkel Steven
Higgs Bruce
Dixon Bruce
K. Gagnon
Website
of the Day June 13, 2007 Glen Ford Marjorie Cohn Bill Christison Charles Jonkel Silvia Cattori Richard Gott Firmin DeBrabander William S. Lind Keith Rosenthal Website of the Day June 12, 2007 Jeffrey St.
Clair Paul Craig
Roberts P. Sainath Ralph Nader Omar Waraich Dave Lindorff Harvey Wasserman Malini Johar
Schueller Ramzy Baroud Website of
the Day
June 11, 2007 Patrick Cockburn Paul Craig
Roberts Uri Avnery Norman Solomon Eva Liddell Rannie Amiri Rachel Voss Christopher
Brauchli D. K. Wilson Website of
the Day
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Weekend
Edition "Will You Stay or Will You Go Now?"A Peacemaker's View from BaghdadBy DAL LaMAGNA I'll be upfront. I was against the Iraq war before it started and have spent considerable time and effort over the past few years looking for a way to end the violence. My activities eventually led to two trips to Jordan last year to meet with and listen to Iraqis, and a trip last month to both Amman and Baghdad. I must admit that recent journey
changed some of my perspectives. Some pieces fall into place I spent two weeks in the Middle
East in June--two weeks during which I heard constant conversations
expressing a need for better security for government officials
in Iraq; a growing distaste for al-Qaeda and terrorism; a yearning
to return to life as convivial people--Shia, Sunni, and Kurd--able
to get along; dissatisfaction with Iraq President Maliki; and
a desire to reach agreement among nationalist, Resistance, and
Coalition forces. In Jordan on the Way to Baghdad Although Mohammed has a place in Baghdad, he also has a wife and infant daughter. After the occupation began, concerned for the safety of his family, he moved them to Amman, which is where I met up with him at the beginning of my trip. Mohammed considers himself an Iraqi nationalist; many of the meetings he had arranged for me were also with nationalists, most of whom now lived in Jordan because they feared assassination attempts in Iraq because of their outspokenness against the Maliki government. We spent several days in meetings there and then went to Iraq. The need for security A constant concern to many Iraqis I met was the issue of security. Violence in Iraq is multi-layered. It can be perpetrated by al-Qaeda, the death squads, the Iraqi Resistance, the Coalition Forces, any one of thousands of prisoners released soon after the troops arrived, or a new realization for me, members of "organized crime." One of the Iraqi Parliament members I met was Taha al-Lihabi, a member of the Independent Islamic Party. He was in the cafeteria adjacent to the Parliament building during the bombing and was injured. Another member died in Mohammed al-Dynee's arms. I also met a Kurdish man who says he is forming a new Kurdish party whose goal is the unity of Iraq. He asked me not to reveal his name, fearing that his family would be attacked. I met Ali Awad, a school teacher whose school was taken over by the Safawids. They threatened him because he was against their religious teaching. One day his home was broken into and his nine-month old son was killed in his lap. And, I met 18-year old Haidar al-Dynee who had been kidnapped. I listened to Mohammed's stories about the trashing of his house, and met several Parliament members now living in Jordan because they fear for their lives. General Lamb suggested that some of the security issues were the responsibility of Iraq's Ministry of the Interior, who is responsible for issuing security badges that dictate who can access within the Green Zone. He suggested that the Parliamentarians work through the ministry--or among themselves to challenge the ministry--to deal with specific security concerns of Parliament members. But, there is a dilemma here. The Iraq Ministry of the Interior is responsible for protecting Parliament members. However, some Parliament members who oppose the Maliki government fear reprisal or assassination attempts emanating from within the ministry itself which is charged with their protection. It brings to mind the well-known quote: "We have a problem Houston." When we met with Ambassador Margaret Scobey, she said that she felt all Parliament members and government officials were at risk and emphasized her respect for those who have stepped up to be part of the process in the face of so much risk, calling them very courageous. She also suggested that Parliament form a Housing committee to look into ways that safe housing within the Green Zone could be made available for all Parliament members. Anti al-Qaeda Some Iraqis make a definite distinction between resistance against what they see as occupying forces and terror, such as that perpetrated by al-Qaeda. Asma al- Haidari, my interpreter while in Jordan, said:
Others repeated this throughout
my trip, and I noticed a growing outspokenness by many against
the terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda. As if to demonstrate his sincerity,
he also explained that he had told the Americans that his group
had killed 20 al-Qaeda members and turned over a list of their
names and the areas and dates where they were killed. This was reiterated by Sheik Jawad Al-Khalisi who is the secretary general of the Iraqi National Foundation Congress, a national project aimed at uniting all the forces opposed to the occupation. They are proud of their country and their nationality, and are opposed to having their country run by non-Iraqis. They are not opposed to Iraqis and do not aim to harm their countrymen. The Sunni/Shia, Shia/Sunni Picture Everyone I met tried to explain that the sectarian strife perceived by Westerners is not sectarianism at all, but rather a political struggle within the country. Al-Dhari explained that Iraq was experiencing violence fueled by the occupation, pushed by the American Administration and Zalmay Khalilzad as well as Maliki and former Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari. However, he was adamant that it was political strife not a civil war. As was Mohammed, who pointed out the chaos in Iraq, saying, "The people in Iraq are in chaos. The multinational forces are in chaos. And the political process might be going into chaos." There are innumerable stories from various Iraqis of being Shia, married to Shiite or Shiite being married to Shia, that are meant to serve as examples of having once lived in a world not ravaged by sectarianism. A Kurd we met focused on this as well. He told us that he and his associates believe in the unity of Iraq. He said that Kurds had lived for thousands of years with the Arabs. "We are intermarried," he said. "Ten percent of my tribe are Christians. We have always lived together. We share one history with the Arabs." Although Americans may see the violence as a prelude to a sectarian civil war, Sheik al-Khalisi was adamant that such was not the case as were several others. General Lamb agreed, saying that the terrorist acts were not about something where those doing the action felt that their voice was not heard but rather was done solely for effect, for "creating an enduring chaos in Iraq," whether it is for financial, ideological, corrupt, criminal or angry reasons. He called such people "irreconcilables." The problem with Maliki The Maliki government itself seemed to be at the heart of many of the issues I heard about. There seemed to be widespread distrust of him, even accompanied by accusations that he wasn't working in the best interests of Iraq and was instead pro-Iranian, anti-Sunni, and anti an Iraq that remained a single country. In fact, a refrain I heard countless times was that the Maliki government and the Ministry of the Interior were responsible for illegal violence against other Iraqis, starting from inside government prisons and extending to death squads operating inside the Ministry. Mohammed said, "The most important thing is that we must understand that today there is a fight between the people of Iraq and the government." Yet no matter how often that refrain was heard, both General Lamb and Ambassador Scobey made it clear that the only way to change the government was through the existing political process, in other words through the Parliament. Lamb said it was the responsibility of the Coalition forces to represent the current government and that if Iraqis wanted their government to be different, it was up to the Parliament members to figure out how to do it. Scobey even told Mohammed which part of the Constitution enabled Parliament members to make changes. Even Sheik al-Dhari agreed. He said if the U.S. withdrew its support of the Maliki government there would still be "the militias and no solution. You must change the direction of the winds to stop the bloodshed. The Maliki government is not serious about changing American dependence or Iraqi reconciliation." He also suggested that Parliament work on creating changes. In particular he mentioned they could work on balancing the authority of the President and the Prime Minister, scaling down the authority of the government, and putting security in the hands of those who could create a National Army that would get rid of the militias. "Will you stay or will you go now?" Underpinning all these issues was the question of whether the Coalition Forces would withdraw. Sheik al-Dhari got right to the point: The problem is the occupation, he said. According to him, the American Administration should have left as soon as they discovered there were no chemical weapons or weapons of mass destruction. But they continued and that has led to the losses suffered by both the Iraqis and the Americans, while Iran profited. "Understand Iran interferes in Iraq economically, politically, and has aims in Iraq," he said. "Iran claims that it wishes the occupation to end; in truth, it does not want it." A member of Parliament, Assad Ibrahim Hussein who is currently in Amman, said that reconciliation could begin if the Coalition began rebuilding the military and civilian institutions which would start to put an end to the "forced displacement" of some Iraqis. But he also said, "the most important solution, in my opinion is for the American Administration to announce its scheduled withdrawal from Iraq, immediately. After that the other steps should be started as a result of which the country will be stabilized and Iraq will build a good relationship with the United States based on mutual interests and respect--the same as with any other great power in the world." Yet, Ambassador Scobey said "Don't they read the papers? It is very clear we aren't staying here permanently." Clearly, there is a communication problem and the next step is to find a way to bridge that. Today Baghdad was not what I expected. The mortar attacks; the terribly oppressive heat that stifles; the inability to move without armored vehicles and security; the lack of food; the "duck and cover" cement mini-tunnels; the erratic electricity and water; the preponderance of checkpoints; the cement barriers; the never-ending crises and constant work of those to solve them; and the guns, rifles, helmets and flak jackets that are everywhere is sobering, to say the least. But being there was a necessity if we were to meet face to face with Coalition leaders--to bring a different Iraqi perspective to them and search for solutions to end the war. And now, there are additional diplomatic events underway among some in Iraq to work on the security and communication issues. As these progress, I'll write more. Dal LaMagna is running for president in the Democratic Party primaries.
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CounterPunch Books of the Crossroads: HOW THE IRISH INVENTED SLANG By Daniel Cassidy  Click Here to Buy! How the Press Failed The Gang's All Here: Judy Miller, Bob Woodward, Rupert Murdoch, Bill O'Reilly...End Times Leaves No Reputation Unstained!  Buy End Times Now! CounterPunch Books! Saul Landau's Bush and Botox World with a Foreword by Gore Vidal  Click Here to Order!  Michael Neumann's Devastating Rebuttal of Alan Dershowitz Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair           The Occupation by Patrick Cockburn   Humanitarian Imperialism By Jean Bricmont               CITY BEAUTIFUL By Tennessee Reed        Bruce Springsteen On Tour By Dave Marsh                   |
