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Coming in August! Dime's Worth of Difference: Beyond the Lesser of Two Evils Order Now! Today's Stories August 19, 2004 Dave Lindorff Gitlin Tells Anti-Bush Protesters to "Cool It"   August 18, 2004 Amy Goodman An Interview with Mordechai Vanunu Adrian Kuzminski The Death of American Politics: Why Perot Was the Last Serious Challenger of the Political Duopoly Uri Avnery Israel and the US Elections Dave Lindorff Librarians as Wimps: "Sorry, Sir, Some Readers May Find Your Book Inflammatory" Toni Solo After the Venezuela Referendum: Bush's Dien Bien Phu? John L. Hess Laying Odds on Armageddon: a Midtown Hiroshima? Rodney Thomas Patti Smith, Another Take Sean Donahue Kerry and Bolivia: To the Right of Bush? Website of the Day Presidential Polls: David Cobb (at 0%) is Exceeding Expectations   August 17, 2004 Norm Dixon Darfuris Made Pawns in Western Power Play for Oil Alan Farago In Charley's Wake: Opportunity from Misfortune John L. Hess The Meaning of Venezuela Lisa Taraki / Omar Barghouti Presbyterian Church Divests from Israel Allen Thompson Et Tu, Patti? An Open Letter to Patti Smith John Ross Mexicans Dying in Bush's War Website of the Day List of Civilian Contractors Killed or Missing in Iraq   August 16, 2004 Gary Leupp The Attack on Najaf: the Ultimate Stupidity Ron Jacobs Iran Through an Iraqi Mirror? Mike Whitney The Guantanamo Mock Trials Zvi Bar'el Theater of the Absurd in Iraq: Chalabi, Feith and Israel John Blair A Culture of Waste Sharmini Peries Chavez Triumphs; Crushes Opposition Tariq Ali The Importance of Hugo Chavez Website of the Day Hurricane City Sex, Drugs & the Blues! Serpents in the Garden CounterPunch's Sizzling New Book on Culture and Sex is Now Available Click here to purchase   August 14 / 15, 2004 Justin Delacour / Diana Barahona The Venezuela Referendum: Can the Carter Center's McCoy be an Impartial Observer? Cockburn / St. Clair War on the Poor: "A Risk No Sane Person Would Take" M. Shahid Alam The Civilizing Mission: Some Economic Results Saul Landau God and Botox John Ross Echoes of Mexico City, 1968 Fred Gardner Is California Spying on Pro-Pot Doctors? Jonah Girdin The Opposition Strategy in Venezuela: Subvert Democracy in the Name of Democracy Katherine Lahey "Uh! Ah! Chávez No Se Va!": Democracy and Venezuela Medea Benjamin Hugo Chavez and the Poor of Venezuela Yves Engler The Media and the Venezuela Referendum Zeynep Toufe The NYTs and Chavez: More Than the Usual Bias Mike Whitney The Trouble in Najaf: What Was al-Sadr's Crime? Eric Drooker Gaza Stripped Dave Zirin Olympic Sized Horror in Greece: 150 Workers Died Building the Facilities Dave Lindorff A29 Could be a Very Slow Day Rebecca Brigham The Aftermath of Guatemala's Strike: Promises Still Unfulfilled Wayne Madsen The McGreevey Scandal: an Israeli Connection? David Krieger Nuclear Disarmament in a Time of Globalization: the US Double Standard Tracy McLellan The Illegality of Pot is a Crime: a Personal Account Christina Gerhardt Confronting Capitalism: What Has Changed Since Seattle 1999? Poets' Basement Adler, Albert Vijayalakshmi, Gilliam   August 13, 2004 Lee Sustar Report from Caracas Mickey Z. McProtests R Us: Why are the Dems Trying to Gag Anti-War Protesters? Stan Goff There He Goes Again: Kerry's "Energy" Plan Norman Madarasz Thoughts on Najaf: How Could the US Ever Be Considered a "Terrorist" State? Victor Kattan Press Freedom, Censorship and the War on Terror Oscar Heck Is Mendoza Off His Rocker? Chavez Opponents Pledge to Post Results Online Before Polls Close CounterPunch Wire Military Families File "Stop Loss" Suit Milan Rai Najaf: Bush Started It Website of the Day The Yes Men   August 12, 2004 Jeffrey St. Clair How Bush Got (and Lost) His Wings Lenni Brenner Take It on Faith: Kerry's See-Through-Monk's Robe Lee Ballinger The Coors and the Kerrys: Drink Up, Kids! Tariq Ali The Handover Fiction Yves Engler What's at Stake in Venezuela William S. Lind Seeing Through the Other Side's Eyes Christopher Brauchli Getting Bush's Goat Website of the Day The Sucker Puncher   August 11, 2004 Ceylon Mooney Who Woke Up Sen. Joe?: Watchers of the NJ Turnpike Voices in the Wilderness Hands Off Najaf Ray McGovern Porter Goss as CIA Director? Robert Jensen US Supports Anti-Democratic Forces in Venezuelan Recall Annie Higgins In Memory of Nick Pretzlik: As Good as It Gets Alexander Cockburn Bush v. Kerry: Not Even a Dime's Worth of Difference Website of the Day Nick Pretzlik   August 10, 2004 William A. Cook Silencing the Voice of the People Todd Chretien California Greens at the Crossroads: Will It Be Nader or Cobb? Dave Lindorff Chicago on the Hudson? Richard Gott Loathed by the Rich: Why Chavez is Headed for a Big Win Toni Solo Bluebeard's Castle: Disappearing the Right to Development Dave Zirin Carl Eller's Plea Rep. Ron Paul Police State, USA Patrick Cockburn If the Chalabis Were Corrupt, They Weren't Alone Website of the Day The Surveillance-Industrial Complex       August 9, 2004 Tito Tricot Pinochet Must Still be Tried: a Murderer and a Thief on the Loose Ron Jacobs In Memory of Deep Throat: the Day Nixon Was Gone Norm Dixon Crisis in Sudan: Oil Profits Behind West's Tears for Darfur Kurt Nimmo The Politics of Entrapment Elaine Cassel Welcome to Bush's America Gary Leupp Why Iraqi Christians are Moving to Syria     August 7 / 8, 2004 James Petras The Anatomy of "Terror Experts": Meet the Mandarins of Abu Ghraib Fred Gardner Run Ricky Run: Football, Pot and Pain Justin Delacour Anti-Chavez Pollsters Panic: Fix Numbers; Reinvent Venezuela Brian Cloughley Persecuted by All; Supported by None: Who Would Be A Kurd? Joshua Frank The Outsider: a Talk with Ralph Nader Iain A. Boal On "Shame": Warmed-Over Orientalism and Racist Projection Chris Floyd All About Eve: Open Season on Women in DC and Rome Andrew Fenton Fighting for Democracy and Justice in Haiti Aseem Shrivastava Saga of an Anguished Afghan Neil Corbett See Cuba: Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar, Mr. Bush Carol Miller / Forrest Hill Rigged Convention; Divided Party: How David Cobb Won with Only 12% of the Vote Tarek Milleron Breaking the Principled Voter Donald Macintyre The Battle of Najaf Ron Jacobs Spirits of The Dead: Why I Love My Petty Bourgeois Tendencies Mickey Z. Kid Gavilan's Grave: Propaganda Scores a TKO Poets' Basement Adler, Ford and Albert       August 6, 2004 Joshua Frank David Cobb's Soft Charade: the Greens and the Politics of Mendacity Derek Seidman An Interview with Stan Goff Mike Whitney The Arbitrary Imprisonment of Jose Padilla William S. Lind Corruption in the Marine Corps David Price In the Shadow of Hiroshima and Nagasaki     August 5, 2004 Mike Ferner The Kerry Show: When Peace is Off Message Bruce Anderson Two Rejections Robert Fisk The Tale of Saddam's Cameraman Todd Chretien Florida Comes to California: the Democrats' Plot Against Nader Peter Linebaugh Doing Time for Political Crime: Paul and Silas, Bound in Jail     August 4, 2004 Mickey Z. Two Traditions: WMD and Disinformation Justin Huggler The Hunt for Bin Laden John Ross Mexico's Dirty War Never Ended: Inside Puente Grande Prison   August 3, 2004 Uri Avnery The Oligarchs Ray McGovern The 9/11 Commission Chimera Jack McCarthy Sexual Politics in Jeb's Florida Eric Ruder Meet Barak Obama: the Democrats' New Liberal Star John L. Hess Crying Wolf: Orange Alert! Elaine Cassel Civil Liberties Elections: 1800 v. 2004 Jules Rabin The Man Who Didn't Walk By Website of the Day No Wall     August 2, 2004 Robert Jensen Kerry's Hypocrisy on the Vietnam War Joshua Frank Greens, Kerry and the Politics of Mendacity Mike Whitney The 9/11 Commission and Civil Liberties: "We Need an American Police State" Gary Leupp Beyond Good and Evil: Some Thoughts on Invasions July 31 / Aug. 1, 2004 Alexander Cockburn Kerry: He's the (Any) One Merlin Chowkwanyun Five Questions with Noam Chomsky: "The Savage Extreme of a Narrow Policy Spectrum" David Lindorff The Shame of the DNC John Chuckman The Disturbing Words of John Edwards Brian Cloughley All Slam and No Dunk; All Blame and No Responsibility Christopher Brauchli "Being Poor is a State of Mind": the Frowning Face of Compassionate Conservatism Fred Gardner A World of Pain Michael Donnelly How Big Pharma Bilks the Elderly David Nally Genocide in Darfur? Joshua Frank Forest Battles Escalate in Oregon Sam Bahour Colin Powell and My Grandmother Diane Farsetta The IMF and the Indonesian Elections: The Invisible Hand in the Voting Booth Harold Gould Was Iraq a Mutual Charade? Van Bergen / Stephens Election 9/11: Surreal Political Theater Lee Sustar A New Model for the Labor Movement? Ron Jacobs The Lost Art of Hitchhiking M. Junaid Alam An Interview with Palestinian-American Rapper, The Iron Sheik Poets Basement Albert, Ford, Krieger, St. Clair Website of the Weekend Cross Cultural Poetics   July 30, 2004 Kolhatkar / Ingalls Shattering Illusions: Kerry's Speech Tells Anti-War Activists They're Not Wanted Dave Lindorff Murder Not So Foul? Bruce Jackson Walt Whitman on the Sound of Wolf Blitzer's Voice Fidel Castro The Pathology of George W. Bush Maximilien Robespierre Memo to Kerry and Bush: Why They Resist Saul Landau Bush Charges Castro with Sex Tourism; JFK Rolls Over in His Grave   July 29, 2004 Cockburn / St. Clair Hail, the Conquering War Criminal: What Kerry Really Did in Vietnam Frank Bardacke What Michael Moore Left Out of F9/11 Tom Barry Shallow and Formulaic: Kerry's Latin America Plan Ron Jacobs Kerry and Lennon: Hawking the CounterCulture Robert Fisk The Unreported War Lichtman / Kellis-Borok What Kerry Must Do to Win (But Probably Won't) William S. Lind The 9/11 Commission Report: Cashing in on Failure CounterPunch Wire Doonesbury Onto John Kerry in 1971! Website of the Day Jabbing JibJab: Copyright Madness       July 28, 2004 Robert Fisk The Occupation at 114 Degrees: Baghdad is Swamped in the Smell of the Dead Kevin Mink Kerry's Misperception of Palestine Ray McGovern Israel and the Iraq War: How the 9/11 Report Soft-Pedals Root Causes United for Peace & Justice An Open Letter to John Kerry: Winter Soldiers and Summer Patriots Mike Ferner Vets Demand End to Occupation: "Pull the Troops or Face Impeachment Mvt." Imraan Siddiqi Turning Tricks with Ann Coulter Alexander Cockburn Candidate Kerry Website of the Day Iraq Vets Against the War   July 27, 2004 Alexander Cockburn Why the Democrats Deserve Nader Dave Lindorff Back to the 19th Century: Globalization's Coming! Mike Whitney Control Room: Inside Al Jazeera Ali, Anderson, Bello, et al. If We Were Venezuelan, We'd Vote for Chavez Stefan Wray Texas Plan to Grab Los Alamos Takes Hold, as DOE Shuts Down Labs Louis Proyect Reflections on Nicaragua: First Came the Contra Butchers, Then the Sweatshops Rick Giombetti Faith in Freedom: the Challenge of Thomas Szasz Bill and Kathleen Christison The 9/11 Report and Its Weak-Kneed Consensus: Dogding Israel/Palestine; Blinkered on Causes of Terrorism     July 26, 2004 Todd Chretien Green Resistance: a Reply to Normon Solomon & Medea Benjamin Robert Fisk Terror by Video Richard Forno Security Theater in Boston: Security Expert Harrassed by DHS for Exposing Flaws at the Fleet Center Mitchel Cohen Report from a Boston Demo: Arresting the Curious Richard Moreno Rockers for Justice: an Interview with Tom Morello and Serj Tankian Alexander Cockburn Boston Awaits a Dead Party     July 24 / 25, 2004 Alexander Cockburn The Democrats and Their Conventions: Part One Dennis Hans Those 16 Words Still Smell, Mr. Bush Patrick Cockburn The Struggle for Iraq is Only Beginning Josh Frank The War Path of Unity: Dems Reject the Peace Movement Justin E.H. Smith Christianity and the Left: the Latin American Experience Tariq Ali What's at Stake in Venezuela Fred Gardner The Politics of Pot: Year of the Antagonist Mark Scaramella There's Dope and There's Dope Ron Jacobs The Weather Underground's Prairie Fire Statement...35 Years On     July 23, 2004 Lee Sustar Revolution in Nicaragua: 25 Years On Dave Lindorff Battle for NYC: Bush 1, Protesters 0 Saul Landau Zaniest President in US History: Bush Beats Reagan Mike Whitney The 9/11 Whitewash: Blaming No One Mickey Z Get On the Bus: 150 Years After Elizabeth Jennings Gary Leupp The 9/11 Commission and the Looming War on Iran   July 22, 2004 M. Junaid Alam Ten Ways to Build a Better Democrat Brian McKinlay Rusted On Down Under: Howard, Bush and Sharon Jason Leopold Cheney Lobbied for Easing of Sanctions on Terrorist Regimes While CEO of Halliburton Chris Floyd Mob Rule: Ripping the Lid Off of America's Pious Myths Uri Avnery Chirac v. Sharon   July 21, 2004 Paula J. Caplan The Emotional Casualities of War: Psychologists Can't Heal All the Damage Joshua Frank Nader Sleeping with the Enemy? Let's be Fair Ron Jacobs American Exceptionalism Reza Ghorashi The Elections, Iran and al-Qaeda Amy Martin Will Congress Rearm the Guatemalan Generals? John Ross Bush May Lose, But His Wars Will Go On and On   July 20, 2004 Stan Cox The Bush / Kerry War Ticket Chris Randolph An Open Letter to Dr. Ehrenreich: It's Over, Barb! Forrest Hylton The Ghosts of Gonismo: "Popular Patricipation" and Bolivia's Gas Referendum Mark Scaramella It's Official! Mendocino County is Crazier and Fatter Than the Rest of California Sam Bahour The World is Knocking on Israel's Door George Reiter A Defense of David Cobb John Ross Burying Iraq, Burying Bush John L. Hess Girlie Stuff: Media Tolerance of Arnold & Co. Website of the Day This Land is Your Land     July 19, 2004 Uri Avnery Marie and the Ghosts: the Hoax of Paris Col. Dan Smith What Has Been Accomplished? Mike Whitney Allawi: Our Puppet with a Pistol Karyn Strickler Just Marriage, Not Gay Marriage Robert Fisk The Crisis of Information in Baghdad David Swanson Media Blackout of US Labor Opposition to Iraq War Jennifer van Bergen The Death of the Great Writ of Liberty   July 17 / 18, 2004 Gary Leupp Apocalypse Now: Why the Book of Revelations is Must Reading Ghada Karmi Vanishing the Palestinians Lenni Brenner When Cattle Unite, Lions Go Hungry: Notes for Ralph Nader Ben Tripp Man on a Bridge: a Ghost Story Brandy Baker What Would Elizabeth Cady Stanton Make of John Kerry? M. Shahid Alam Israel Builds Another Wall Sasan Fayazmanesh Nuclear Hypocrisy: Israel, Iran and the IAEA Patrick Bond The George Bush of Africa Fred Gardner Politics of Marijuana: Cannabiniod Therapuetics William Blum Bush and Thucydides Ben Terrall Carter and the Indonesia Elections: "I Don't See Anything Wrong with a General Running the Country" Tom Barry John Lehman on the War Path David Vest Dylan Without the Music Phyllis Pollack Return to Sin City: Keith Richards Does Gram Parsons Ron Jacobs Smearing Muhammad Ali: Bob Feller Strikes Out Joshua Frank Kerry to Edwards: "Let's Lose!" David Nally A Call for Sudan: Our Georgraphical Blindspot Toni Solo Bolivia's Gas Referendum Landau, Hassan, Prashad & Lindorff Three Reviews of Moore's F911 Poets's Basement Ford, Smith and Albert     July 16, 2004 Dave Zirin Adonal Foyle: Master of the Lefty Lay-Up Shervan Sardar Dershowitz, the ICJ and Jim Crow Laws Ron Jacobs The Lil' Engine That Couldn't: Kucinich Surrenders on Anti-War Plank Robert Fisk Iraq, According to Edgar Allen Poe: Coffin Bombs in Baghdad Greg Moses The Forts of Iraq Mickey Z. Ad Infinitum?: Presidential Campaigns in the Age of TV Dan Bacher A Landmark Win for Salmon and the Tribes Dave Lindorff The Mumia Case: Support from NAACP, But a Movement in Shambles Paul McGeough Did Allawi Shoot Inmates in Cold Blood? Website of the Day 10 Reasons to Fire Bush (and 9 Reasons Kerry Won't Be Any Better)       July 15, 2004 Heather Williams McMissing the Point: Supersize Me Crashes on Its Message Werther Iraq: Follow the Money Tom Crumpacker The Birds of Guantanamo Brian Cloughley What Does the Bush Regime Object To? Bill Christison Reorganize the CIA? Of Course, But...   July 14, 2004 Jeffrey St. Clair Chronicle of a Nomination Foretold: the Green Deceivers Neve Gordon Of Socrates and the Apartheid Wall Diane Christian The Priesthood of Death Stefan Wray Who Benefits from Missing Data at Los Alamos Nuclear Lab? Josh Frank The Nader / Dean Debate Conn Hallinan Divide and Conquer as Imperial Rules Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Bring My Brother Home!: Class, War and Education Website of the Day Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear and the Selling of US Empire     July 13, 2004 Ray McGovern The CIA and Iraq: an Intelligence Debacle...and Worse Mark Donham The Sierra Club's Inexplicable Treatment of Cynthia McKinney Ben Tripp Politus Interruptis: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Electorates? Mark Gaffney Slipping Towards Armageddon: Israel in Iraq Dave Lindorff Osama Wins! Election Postponed! Chris White Double Think: the Bedrock of Marine Indoctrination     July 10 / 12, 2004 Kathleen Christison The Problem with Neutrality Between Palestinians and Israel Janine Pommy Vega Trail of the Comet: a Gathering of the World's Poets Against War Sherry Wolf From Maverick to Party Attack Dog: Howard Dean Gay-Bashes Nader Saul Landau and Farrah Hassen A Transfer of Power, Sort Of Michael Donnelly How to Steal an Election: the Green Version, 2004 Stanton / Madsen Iraq Survey Group: Rumsfeld's al-Qaeda? Richard Lichtman The End of Innocence: Reflections on American Pathology Gila Svirsky Thank You, Your Honors: a Legal Blow to the Wall Kurt Nimmo Clinton's Life Toni Solo Empire-Speak: What Roger Noriega Really Means Ron Jacobs The Black Panthers and the Rest Camelo Ruiz Marrero Gene Warfare in Oaxaca: Genetic Mutation of Mexican Maize Omar Barghouti Wither the Empire: Rise of a Global Resistance Poets' Basement Curtis and Albert   July 9, 2004 Dave Zirin Carlos Delgado on Deck: Blue Jays Slugger Stands Up Against War Justin Delacour Wishing Kerry Would Shut Up About Latin America Robert Fisk Iraq in Reverse: Martial Laws Fuel Insurgency Boris Kagarlitsky Two Congresses and a Funeral William S. Lind The October Surprises Sibel Edmonds Our Broken System: John Ashcroft's War on Truth Ron Jacobs Reading Tea Leaves: What Vietnam Tells Us About Iraq's Future Gary Leupp The Lie That Will Not Die: Cheney and the Iraq/al-Qaeda Link   July 8, 2004 Niranjan Ramakrishnan The Inexplicable John McCain Toufic Haddad Protesting Israel's Apartheid Wall: a Letter from the Hunger Strikers' Tent Dave Lindorff Liberation as Martial Law Joshua Frank The Fall: How Beltway Dems Sank Howard Dean Christopher Brauchli Bush & Cheney Play the Hitler Card James Petras The Truth About Jimmy Carter   July 7, 2004 John Chuckman Kerry's BBQ: a Deafening Silence of Meaning Virginia Tilley A Line in the Sand: Azmi Bishara's Hunger Strike Susan Martinez A Letter to Bill Cosby Mickey Z Elie Wiesel's Strange Parade Michael Donnelly Our Own Private Wilderness: Trusting the Land in the Inland Empire Sean Donahue Boston Social Forum: the Dems aren't the Only Show in Beantown Diane Christian Sovereignty and Freedom in Iraq   July 6, 2004 Lisa Viscidi Fleeing Guatemala: Central Americans Risk Lives to Reach El Norte Marc Norton The Felonious Five Ride Again: the Supreme Court and Enemy Combatants James Brooks Chemical Warfare on the West Bank? Ray McGovern Porter Goss as CIA Director? William Cook Legacy of Deceit: If Dante Knew of Bush and the Neo-Cons...   July 5, 2004 Forrest Hylton US Imperialism in Latin America: Sept. 11, July 4 and Systematic Torture Chris White A Former Marine Sgt. on the Meaning of Independence Day Joe Bageant Cranky Reflections on the 4th of July Robert Jensen Stupid White Movie: What Michael Moore Misses About the Empire Kathy Kelly "Two Days an' a Wake-Up"   July 3 / 4, 2004 Elaine Cassel Bush's Police State and Independence Day Stan Goff ABC of Opportunism: "Progressive" Latin American Leaders Support the Coup in Haiti Snehal Shingavi "We Want Real Justice for Bhopal": Two Survivors Speak Out Bruce Anderson The Cheney-Leahy Metaphor and the Greens Sharon Smith Twilight of the Greens: the Chokehold of "Anybody But Bush" Josh Frank Ralph Nader's Revolt: an Interview with Greg Bates Robert Fisk Pentagon Tried to Censor Saddam's Hearing Joe Bageant Sons of a Laboring God: Leftnecks Unite! Brian Cloughley Fortress Bush and the One Law Doctrine Justin Delacour The Anti-Chavez Echo Chamber: Venezuela's Media Tycoons William S. Lind Saudi Spillover Linda S. Heard A Joke Called "Justice" Greg Moses "It's Illegal, But It's Our Right": Korean Labor Won't Back Down Ron Jacobs "Ain't You Proud to be White on Independence Day?" Toni Solo Weary of Indigenous Resistances? Just Pretend They're Not There Dan Nagengast Chicken Manure as Cattle Food: Safe, But Do We Want to Eat It? Stew Albert Brando, a Personal Recollection Dave Zirin From the Black Panthers to Sacheen Littlefeather: a Eulogy for Our Brando Patrick W. Gavin The Progressive Case for Dodgeball Steven Rosenthal / Junaid Ahmad The Problem is Bigger Than the Bushes: a Review of F911 Poets' Basement Kearney, Ford and Davies Website of the Day Global Peace Solution   July 2, 2004 Jeffrey St. Clair Suicide Right on the Stage: the Demise of the Green Party Douglas Valentine Fahrenheit 911: Mocking the Moral Crisis of Capitalism Gary Leupp "Just Because I Could": On Obscenities and Opportunities Lee Ballinger Illegal People: Kerry Opposes Immigrant Rights Robert Fisk Saddam in the Dock: Confused? Hardly CounterPunch Wire "What Law Formed This Court?": a Transcript of Saddam's Arraignment Christopher Brauchli Bush's Drug Card Lottery: the Price Ain't Right Saul Landau Buzz Words and Venezuela   July 1, 2004 Katherine van Wormer Bush's Damaged Mind: the Madness in His Method Joe Bageant Is Our President a Whackjob? Does It Matter? William James Martin The Dogma of Richard Perle Dave Lindorff Bush's Evacuation Moment Robert Fisk Bread and Circus Trials in Iraq Alan Maass Green Party in Reverse Website of the Day Michael Moore and Israel: Blind or a Coward?     June 30, 2004 Kurt Nimmo Nicholson Baker's Checkpoint: a New Kind of Anger About Bush Tariq Ali Getting Away with Murder in Iraq Jennifer Van Bergen Bush and the Detainees Douglas Valentine Apotheosis of the Psychopaths: Instead of Fahrenheit 9/11, Rescreen The Quiet American David Price Fahrenheit 9/11 Through the McCain-Feingold Looking Glass Roger Normand America's Criminal Occupation of Iraq Stan Cox Sanitized for Your Protection: Ashcroft's War on Art Henry David Thoreau On the Futility of Bush v. Kerry: All Voting is a Kind of Gaming Ben Tripp Who Dast Call Him Liar: a Rebuttal to Nicholas Kristof                       Hot Stories Alexander Cockburn Behold, the Head of a Neo-Con! Subcomandante Marcos The Death Train of the WTO Norman Finkelstein Hitchens as Model Apostate Steve Niva Israel's Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings? Dardagan, Slobodo and Williams CounterPunch Exclusive: 20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians Steve J.B. Prison Bitch Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber True Lies: the Use of Propaganda in the Iraq War Wendell Berry Small Destructions Add Up CounterPunch Wire WMD: Who Said What When Cindy Corrie A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter I Can't Hear From Gore Vidal The Erosion of the American Dream Francis Boyle Impeach Bush: A Draft Resolution Click Here for More Stories.     Subscribe Online

August 19, 2004 "He Must be Killed or Captured" The "Rebel Cleric" and the Siege of Najaf By MIKE WHITNEY "They say freedom and democracy and yet they appoint a government. Appointment cannot agree with freedom and democracy. Rather, we are demanding with all our strength the formation of an Iraqi government and sovereignty, but not through the Americans and occupiers. They have no right to interfere with Iraqi affairs whatsoever..." Muqtada al Sadr "Al Sadr must be killed or captured." General Mark Kimmet "Shia leader Muqtada al Sadr has rejected an ultimatum to withdraw his besieged fighters...and US troops are reportedly advancing from several directions" Al Jazeera Thurs, Aug 19 The siege of Najaf has two clearly defined objectives; disband the "al Mehdi" militia and restore the city to occupation control. The conflict is being heralded as the "first major test" of the new provisional government of US "appointee" Ayad Allawi. Most critics conclude that if the US military backs down now the credibility of the new regime will be in shambles. So, the siege will continue. Early reports from Al Jazeera indicate that fighting has already resumed and that "29 casualties have been brought in from clashes in the heart of the city." The current conflict with al Sadr has been quickly conveyed to most of the major cities in Iraq. The possibility of a widespread Shiite rebellion seems inevitable. As journalist Robert Fisk predicted some weeks ago, "Iraq is ready to explode." The "ham-fisted" approach of the Bush Administration has only exacerbated the situation, excluding all options except violence. The cynicism that guides the policy decisions in Najaf illustrates the vast chasm that exists between the sensibilities of the Bush Administration and the aspirations of the Iraqi people. As Michael Schwartz puts it in a recent Z Magazine article "Gambling in Najaf": "The agony of the current American offensive begins with the death and destruction it is wreaking on an ancient and holy city. Beyond that, the primary damage may lie in the less visible horror that animates this new military strategy. The U.S. is no longer capable either of winning the "battle for the hearts and minds" of the Iraqis or governing most of the country. But by crushing the city of Najaf, the Marines might be able quiet the rebellion for long enough to spin the November election back to Bush." The siege of Najaf makes it plain that winning "hearts and minds" was never part of Washington's strategy. Instead, Bush is pursuing the misguided approach of trying to secure a victory against a civilian population. The action is guaranteed to invoke the condemnation of the world community and alienate even more Iraqis. Never the less, the administration needs a victory to celebrate at the upcoming Republican National Convention regardless of whether it produces another Falluja-type massacre or not. At present, all we know is that the battle has been engaged and the death toll is mounting. There are worrisome signs that the battle for Najaf will be a "no-holds-barred" campaign. The Allawi government has ordered the expulsion of all members of the press from the city. Najaf's police chief issued a warning to the media saying, "We will kill you if you leave your hotel. I will put four snipers on the roof to shoot anyone who leaves." This strongly suggests that the Bush Administration wants no written or photographic record of the brutality they are planning. The curtains are being drawn so the savagery can begin. If we use siege of Falluja as a reference point, we can expect a cut off of supplies to the city, a disruption of electrical and water supplies, a shutting down of major hospitals, a placing of snipers around the city (shooting at anyone who leaves their home), a bombing campaign that kills and maims civilians, and the various other terrorist tactics we have seen employed by the occupation army. Only now the action will bear the imprimatur of America's new Iraqi puppet Allawi. As far as the western media is concerned, that "legitimizes" the onslaught. On the receiving end of this aggression, is Muqtada al Sadr, the only leader in Iraq who has publicly railed against the occupation. His fiery rhetoric and intransigence has galvanized the Muslim world and rallied Iraqis to his cause. Al Sadr realizes what is obvious to the objective observer, but denied by many Iraqis; that America will never leave except by force. "I will never take any post as long as the occupation persists. There can be no politics under occupation, no freedom under occupation, no democracy under occupation." (Muqtada al Sadr) Al Sadr should be respected for his clear-sightedness. Understandably, the western media has demonized al Sadr, lambasting him as a "firebrand" or better still "the radical cleric". They have been successful in dismissing him as a "David Koresh in black robes"; a comical figure with the unmitigated gall of defying the empire. (The media has a long history of lampooning populist leaders who resist American coercion) Those who support the Iraqi resistance shouldn't be deterred by these feeble attacks on his character. Nor should it matter. The leaders who take up this battle against the occupation are on the front lines of the resistance to America's global war. They are doing their job... they don't need to be perfect. It's more important that we see the correlation between Al Sadr's struggle for liberation and the effort of American's to reestablish civil liberties and the rule of law at home. Al Sadr is simply an intermediary in the fight against the same forces that are arrayed against the American public; the forces of extremism and self-righteousness. We should be grateful for his courage. As for the American servicemen who are killed in battle; (as author Arundhati Roy says) "They are conscripts in a poverty draft" fighting for a cause that is not just. Responsibility for their deaths lies with George Bush not Muqtada al Sadr or the Iraqi resistance. The Siege The governor of the province in which Najaf is located, Adnan al-Zorfi, told a press conference, "This operation will never stop before all the militia leave the city." His comments seem to reflect those of the Bush Administration who is determined to "kill or capture" al Sadr to set an example to insurgents across the country. It is a perilous strategy. So far, an estimated 1,000 Iraqis have surrounded the Imam Ali Mosque as "human shields" and are vowing to sacrifice their lives for their champion al Sadr. On another front, supporters of al Sadr in Amara are threatening to attack the main southern pipeline if occupation troops do not leave the city. (This is the same group that claimed responsibility for setting fire to an oil well just days ago.) The Secret Action Group of the Imam issued this communique: "This is a simple warning to the government of PM Allawi and to the occupation forces, that we will bomb the main south oil export line if they do not leave Najaf within 48 hours and end the siege." Their action could have a dramatic affect on already skyrocketing oil prices. Even more disturbing, are rumors that the Imam Ali Mosque has been wired by supporters of al Sadr and could be detonated if it is violated by intruders. This would have a catastrophic affect on Muslims around the world that would see it as a direct attack on Islam. The stage is set for any number of potential disasters. There are no victories to be had in applying "jackboot" tactics to popular movements; only more suffering and carnage. Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He can be reached at: fergiewhitney@msn.com Weekend Edition Features for August 7 / 8, 2004 James Petras The Anatomy of "Terror Experts": Meet the Mandarins of Abu Ghraib Fred Gardner Run Ricky Run: Football, Pot and Pain Justin Delacour Anti-Chavez Pollsters Panic: Fix Numbers; Reinvent Venezuela Brian Cloughley Persecuted by All; Supported by None: Who Would Be A Kurd? Joshua Frank The Outsider: a Talk with Ralph Nader Iain A. Boal On "Shame": Warmed-Over Orientalism and Racist Projection Chris Floyd All About Eve: Open Season on Women in DC and Rome Andrew Fenton Fighting for Democracy and Justice in Haiti Aseem Shrivastava Saga of an Anguished Afghan Neil Corbett See Cuba: Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar, Mr. Bush Carol Miller / Forrest Hill Rigged Convention; Divided Party: How David Cobb Won with Only 12% of the Vote Tarek Milleron Breaking the Principled Voter Donald Macintyre The Battle of Najaf Ron Jacobs Spirits of The Dead: Why I Love My Petty Bourgeois Tendencies Mickey Z. Kid Gavilan's Grave: Propaganda Scores a TKO Poets' Basement Adler, Ford and Albert WWW http://www.counterpunch.org   Keep CounterPunch Alive: Make a Tax-Deductible Donation Today Online! home / subscribe / about us / books / archives / search / links /