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Today's
Stories
January
31, 2007
Patrick Cockburn
Waco
of Iraq?: US "Victory" Cult Leader was a "Massacre"
Jean Bricmont
What
is the Decisive "Clash" of Our Time?
January 30, 2007
Werther
Slapstick
on Jenkins Hill: DC's Botoxed Golems
Kathy Kelly
Engagement with War
Uri Avnery
"If Arafat Were Alive"
Franklin Spinney
Embedded Without Blending: Humvees and Tactical Madness in Iraq
William S. Lind
The Real Game in Iraq
Pariah
An Iron Curtain is Descending--and Most Americans Don't Know
Mike Whitney
The Mother of All Bubbles
Rev. William
E. Alberts
Hiding America's Surging Militarism Behind Children
Fran Shor
Shadow of a Resistance: Can the Anti-War Mvt. Dismantle the War
Machine?
Anthony Arnove
The Logic of Withdrawal: There's Nothing Precipitous About It
Website of the Day
Our Boys in Iraq
January 29, 2007
Nurit Peled-Elhanan
"We
Are All Victims of the Occupation"
Patrick Cockburn
Raid on the Soldiers of Heaven
JoAnn Wypijewski
The Demo in DC: Chirpy Slogans, Empty City
Ron Jacobs
Our Fire, Congress's Feet
Dave Lindorff
The Missing Word at the Anti-War Demo
Kevin Zeese
A Republican Peace Candidate?: Chuck Hagel's Challenge to America
Reza Fiyouzat
Iran, Bush and the Banging of the Ironsmiths
Pat Williams
Turnout and Same-Day Voting: Did It Sink Conrad Burns?
Website of the Day
Galloway's Indictment of Blair
January
27 / 28, 2007
Diana Johnstone
Do
We Really Need an International Criminal Court?
Eliza Ernshire
Exiled from Palestine
Patrick Cockburn
Slaughter in Baghdad's Bird Market
David Rosen
Pay-to-Play: the Double Life of Prostitution in America
Greg Moses
Children Without a Country: Maryam Ibrahim Remains in a Texas
Jail
Bernard Chazelle
Bush the Empire Slayer
Tao Ruspoli
CounterViews: a Video Interview with Jeffrey St. Clair, Part
Two
Hermán
Uribe
Murdering Journalists in Latin America
Ralph Nader
Democracy
in Crisis
Paul Craig
Roberts
Why Can't Americans See What's Coming?
Fred Gardner
The Suppression of Collective Joy: Barbara Ehrenreich at the
Commonwealth Club
Brian Cloughley
Dying for Lies
James Abourezk
The High Cost of Congressional Trips to Israel
John V. Whitbeck
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine: Ilan Pappe and the Nakba Deniers
Seth Sandronsky
Peace-In Politics: Localizing the Anti-War Movement
Alan Cabal
Mayday from the Circus Tent
Pam Martens
America's Money Honey Does Davos
Website of
the Weekend
Gil Scott-Heron: Winter in America
January 26, 2007
Charlotte Laws
Are
You the Terrorist Next Door?: AETA and the New Green Scare
Mike Ely /
Linda Flores
The
Workers at Smithfield
Joe DeRaymond
Paying
for Health Care and Not Getting It
Phil Donahue
Get Sarah Olson!
Zia Mian
The Three US Armies in Iraq: Grunts, Contractors and Laborers
Jeb Sprague
Haiti Struggles to Defend Justice
Evelyn Pringle
Eli Lilly, the Habitual Offender
Missy Beattie
Inside the Criminal Mind of George Bush: He Thinks; Therefore,
It is So
Martha Rosenberg
Cloned Food: From Designer Hens to the Transgenic Omega-3 Pig
Website of
the Day
Save Grand Canyon from Glen Canyon Dam!
January 25, 2007
Patrick Cockburn
What's
Really Going on in Baghdad
John Ross
Mexico
Under Calderon: Fake Left, Rule Right
Jeremy Scahill
Our Mercenaries: Blackwater, Inc and the Privatization of Bush's
War Machine
Frida Berrigan
"Hearts Ruptured with Sadness:" Protesting Gitmo
Paul Craig Roberts
Bush's State of Deception
Jason Yossef
Ben-Meir
Iraq Reconstruction Failure
Christopher Brauchli
Why Bush is Arming Fatah: When in Doubt, Start Another Civil
War
Holger W. Henke
Cuba at the Crossroads?
Dave Lindorff
Falling Dominos and Failing Presidencies
Julia Landau
From Your Young Cousin
Website of the Day
The Mighty Edwards Sisters
January
24, 2007
Tao Ruspoli
CounterViews:
a Filmed Interview with Jeffrey St. Clair
Paul Craig
Roberts
The
Empire Turns Its Guns on the Citizenry
Lt. Gen. William Odom
What Can be Done in Iraq?
Sharon Smith
Health Care Reform for the Insurance Industry
Brian M. Downing
Two Americas: the Grunts and the War Profiteers
Heather Gray
Surviving War
Ron Jacobs
SOTUS Quo
James Brooks
Out of Europe, Out of Time
Robert Day
Translating Snow
Website of
the Day
Defend Sarah Olsen
January 23, 2007
Trish Schuh
Lebanon
on the Brink of Civil War, Again
Robert Bryce
The
Politics of Cheap Oil
Stephen Soldz
Aliens in an Alien Land
John Blair
King Coal's Latest Con Job: Clean Coal is Not Clean
Gloria La Riva
Miami: a Place of Refuge for Anti-Castro Terrorists
Joshua Frank
Turning Silence into Gold: Hillary and Israel Lobby
Patrick Cockburn
In Iraq, All Foreigners are Targets
Ralph Nader
Questions for Bush on Iraq
Dave Lindorff
Pelosi and Iraq: Blunder or Treason?
Uri Avnery
Israel and Apartheid
Website of the Day
Down By the River
January
22, 2007
Manuel Garcia,
Jr.
China's
New Chip in Space War Poker
Jen Marlowe
Trapped
in Darfur: the Ordeal of Suleiman Jamous
George McGovern
War of the Belligerent Professors: Get Out of Iraq
Paul Craig
Roberts
Only Impeachment Can Save Us from More War
Norman Solomon
The Pentagon vs. Press Freedom
Amira Hass
Life Under Prohibition in Palestine
Mike Whitney
A Fool's Errand in Baghdad
Ramzy Baroud
The Things We Take for Granted
John Walsh
Support Jimmy Carter in Boston!
Website of
the Day
The Hagelian Dialectic
January
20/21 2007
Alexander Cockburn
First
Bomb Carter; Then Nuke Iran!
Gail Dines
I
Was Ambushed by Paula Zahn
Newton Garver
Evo
Morales' First Year
Gilad Atzmon
100
Years of Jewish Solitude
Seth Sandronksy
New
Push For Social Security "Reform"
Raphaelle Bail
Where
Nicaraguans Go to Work
Jim Goodman
Round
Up the Usual Experts: Make Them Live on a Dollar a Day
Larry Portis
Chouraki's
Oh Jerusalem
Website of
the Weekend
Press
Poodles Play it Safe
January
19, 2007
Jonathan Cook
Jimmy
Carter Doesn't Tell the Half of It
Glen Ford
Barack
Obama: The Mania and the Mirage
Dave Lindorff
Bush
Blinks on Illegal Spying--Don't let him off the hook
Larry Portis
Zionism
in the Cinema: Part Two
Website of
the Day
For
Whistleblowers
January
18, 2007
William Peace
Protest
From a Bad Cripple
Virginia Tilley
The
Steady March to War on Iran: What It Would Take to Stop It
Michael Donnelly
The
Real Reason I Can't Stand Obama
B.R. Gowani
Democracy:
Everywhere and Nowhere
Larry Portis
Zionism
in the Cinema: Part One
Jason Hribal
A
Horse is Worth More than Riches
Website of
the Day
Baghdad
Clampdown
January 17, 2007
Franklin Spinney
Why
Time is not on Bush's Side
John Ross
Oaxaca's
Rising: Vibrant as the Paint on the Walls
Susan George
Can
World Trade Ever Be Fair? Back to Keynes!
Paul Craig
Roberts
Attacking
Iran: What's In It For Bush
Joshua Frank
Obama
and the Middle East
David Lindorff
Towards
Oil at $200 a Barrel
January 16, 2007
Col. Sam Gardiner
Escalation
Against Iran
Marjorie Cohn
Stimson's
Outrageous Threat
Saul Landau
Gore
Vidal in Havana: Part 2
Ron Jacobs
Welcome
Back to 1965
Susan Block
From
Snowjob to Blowjob
Ken Couesbouck
Year
of the Pig
Website of
the Day
Amazon's
Hit on Jimmy Carter
January 15, 2007
Roger Morris
Another
War the Voters Hoped to End
Paul Craig
Roberts
Bush
Must Go
Kathy Kelly
Umm
Heyder's Story
William Blum
The
Anti-Empire Report
Ralph Nader
The
Class War's New Map
Saul Landau
Gore
Vidal In Havana
January 12
/ 14, 2007
Patrick Cockburn
"21,500
More Troops": Will America Ever Leave Iraq?
David Rosen
Bush's Domestic Sex Policy: the Teen Abstinence-Only Crusade
William S.
Lind
Less Than Zero
Laith al-Saud
The
Ironies of Bush and Iraq
Paul Craig
Roberts
Surge and Mirrors: What Bush Really Said
John Ross
Celebrating the "Sum of the World" in Chiapas
George Ciccariello-Maher
The Case of Venezuela's RCTV: Not About Free Speech
Christopher Brauchli
How to Avoid an IRS Audit: Become a Millionaire!
Robert Buzzanco
Rogue State, Redux
Evelyn Pringle
The Secrets in Eli Lilly's Cabinet
Peter Rost,
MD.
Promises, Promises: Playing Politics with Drug Reimportation
Mike Whitney
Baghdad Crackdown
Yifat Susskind
Beyond the Surge: Demanding an End to Bush's Wars
Saul Cohen
Latin America's Real Mr. Danger: Negroponte's Latest Gig
Missy Beattie
A Day of Action and Questions
Stephen Lendman
Holiday Hypocrisy
Website of
the Weekend
Bruegel on Bush War Plan
January 11,
2007
Ismael Hossein-Zadeh
The
Profits of Escalation
Paul Craig
Roberts
Carter's Inconvenient Truths
Kathy Kelly
Refugee Dreams
Dave Lindorff
Blood for Face
Jeff Leys
The War Widens
Richard W.
Behan
Barrels and Bodies
Col. Douglas MacGregor
Surging Right Into Al-Sadr's Hands
Website of
the Day
An Explanation from Google
Speech of the Day
Is There Even One Politician Alive Who Could Give This Speech?
January 10, 2007
Peter Linebaugh
A
Walk in Oaxaca
Robert Fantina
Punishing
Deserters: Prosecution or Persecution?
Patrick Cockburn
Why Troop Escalation Won't Bring Peace to Iraq
Paul Craig Roberts
Distracting Congress: Troop Escalation and Iran
Col. Dan Smith
Why U.S. Policy is Failing
Ben Tripp
The Politics of Bad Karma
Evelyn Pringle
How the FDA Protects Big Pharma
Ron Jacobs
Coalition of the Lunatics: Trying to Create the Next World War
Mike Ferner
If Not Now, When?
Dave Zirin
Judgment of the Juiced: Why McGwire Wasn't Elected to the Hall
of Fame
Website of
the Day
Revolting Students!
Bootleg of the Day
Bob
Dylan: Live at Scotia Bank Place
January 9, 2007
R. T. Naylor
The
Somalian Labyrinth
Jonathan Cook
Israel's
Purging of Palestinian Christians
Mike Ely and Linda Flores
The Smithfield Strikers: No Longer
Hidden, No Longer Hiding
Joshua Frank
The Democrats and Iran: More Bellicose Than Bush
Norman Solomon
The Headless Horseman of the Apocalypse
Sen. Russell
Feingold
An Open Letter to President Bush: So Now You Want to Snoop Through
Our Mail?
Joe Allen
Justice for the Omaha Two: Black Power, Racism and COINTELPRO
in the Heartland
James T. Phillips
"Lasciate Ogne Speranza, Voi Ch'Intrate": The Hell
That is Iraq
Brian Concannon
Resolutions for Haiti
Leonard Peltier
When the Truth Doesn't Matter: 30 Years of FBI Harassment and
Misconduct
Website of the Day
Kick Out the Jams, MFers!: Meet the New RRC
January 8,
2007
Werther
Why
We Fight
Jeff Leys
The Occupation Project: a Campaign of Civil Disobedience to End
Iraq War Funding
Paul Craig Roberts
Nuking Iran
Shulamit Aloni
Israeli Apartheid: Sorry, This Road is For Jews Only
Dave Lindorff
The Party of Invertebrates Reverts to Form
Sunsara Taylor
The Democrats' First Day: Same As It Ever Was
Seth Sandronsky
Syndicated Error: George Will and the Minimum Wage
Dr. Susan Block
Baghdad Cockfight Ends in Snuff Film
Website of the Day
Watch CounterPuncher Sunsara Taylor Take on Bill O'Reilly!
January 6 / 7, 2007
Alexander Cockburn
The
War and the NYT
Franklin C.
Spinney
Stalingrad
on the Tigris
Paul Craig
Roberts
The
Urge to Surge
Ralph Nader
Democrats in the Spotlight
Walden Bello
Globalization in Retreat?
Marleen Martin
The Needle and the Damage Done: Tortured in the Death Chamber
Brian Cloughley
We Do What We Like: Return Our Rapist or Else ...
Uri Avnery
The Kiss of Death
Saul Landau
Fidel Castro in the Fields
Ron Jacobs
From Cointelpro to the Patriot Act: a Legacy of Torture
Joseph Nevins
Crimes Against Humanity from Ford to Saddam
William S. Lind
A State Restored? Somalia and 4GW
Gary Leupp
Attention John Conyers: Impeach the President!
Elisa Salasin
Bringing Life to Numbers
George Ciccariello-Maher
Beyond
Chavistas and Anti-Chavistas: Deepening the Bolivarian Revolution
Stefan Wray
Confronting Recruiters: the Story of the Bush Street Raiders
Michael Leonardi
Toward an International Moratorium: Italy's Crusade Against the
Death Penalty
Richard Rhames
Reality TV: Triumph of the Thugs
Jeffrey St. Clair
Playlist: What I'm Listening to This Week
Barbara LaMorticella
Two Poems
Website of the Weekend
FBI Witch Hunts
Song of the
Weekend
End Times: a Soundtrack
January 5, 2007
Jorge Mariscal
Growing
the Military: Who Will Serve?
John Walsh
Clash of the Elites: Beltway Insiders vs. Neo-Cons!
Christopher Brauchli
The Great Relaxer: Bush and Federal Regulations
Travis Sharpe
No More New Nukes, Please
Tom Barry
Hawk for Hire: Roger Noriega's New Gig
Linda Schade
/ Kevin Zeese
Americans Voted for Peace: Has the New Congress Already Let Them
Down?
Tiffany Ten Eyck
Workers' Centers and Unions: a New Alliance
Mahmoud El-Yousseph
A Challenge to Pelosi
Lucinda Marshall
3003 Funerals: "And They're Still Burying Ford!"
Website of
the Day
Van the Man: Warm Love
January 4, 2007
Patrick Cockburn
The
Martyrdom of Saddam Hussein
Winslow T.
Wheeler
A Guide to Earmarks: Will the Democrats' Reforms Do Anything
to Curb Pork Barrel Spending?
M. Shahid Alam
Has Regime Change Boomeranged?
Raed Jarrar
So This is Plan B? The US Attack on Saleh Al-Mutlaq's Headquarters
Bert Sacks
Can the US Legally Kill Iraqi Children?: a Challenge to the Supreme
Court
Kathy Rentenbach
Report from Oaxaca
Stephen Fleischman
The Rain of Riches: Bonuses, Then and Now
George Bisharat
Carter's Truths
Peter Rost, MD
Hail the Hangman, Jail the Cameraman!
Evelyn Pringle
Can Eli Lilly be Held Criminally Liable for Zyprexa?
Website of the Day
Courage to Resist
January 3,
2007
Kathy Kelly
Wrapped
Around a Bullet
Paul Craig
Roberts
His Last Hurrah: Bush Cuts and Runs from Reason
William Johnson
No Worker is Illegal: SEIU Members Push Their Union to Change
Its Policy on Immigration
Stan Cox
Under a Brown Cloud: Money vs. the Monsoon
Trita Parsi
A Lose-Lose Situation with Iran
Declan McKenna
Ireland's Slavish Hostility Toward Cuba
Joe Bageant
Dispatch from the Chinese Landfill
Nicola Nasser
Somalia: New Hotbed of Anti-Americanism
Missy Beattie
Dead Wrong
Website of
the Day
Pharmed Out
January 2, 2007
Michael Watts
Oil
Inferno
Amina Mire
Return of the Warlords: Death and Destruction for Somalis
James Brooks
Pushing the Wedge in Palestine
Alevtina Rea
The Tyrant is Dead! Long Live ... ?
Al Krebs
Global Food Security: a Call to Action
Peter Rost
Invitation to a Hanging: the Saddam Hussein Execution Video
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
A Deadly December
John Stanton
Appetites for Destruction
Website of the Day
Out Now: Petition
January 1,
2007
Patrick Cockburn
Iron
Man, Tin God: the Meaning of Saddam Hussein
Uri Avnery
What
Makes Sammy Run?
Joshua Frank
Eliot Spitzer's Constitutional Hang Up: Architect of New York's
Patriot Act
December 30
/ 31, 2006
Weekend Edition
Alexander Cockburn
2006,
Hard to Call It Vintage, But 2007 Could Finally Be Bobby Byrd's
Year
Patrick Cockburn
Iraq
2006: a Nation Soaked in Blood Tears Itself Apart
Paul Wolf
Dying for Our Sins: A Lawyer for Saddam Describes How His Execution
on the First of Eid May Transform Him Into a Martyr
Manuel Garcia,
Jr.
Executing
Saddam, Protecting the Rackets
Tariq Ali
Saddam
at the End of a Rope
Paul Craig Roberts
The New Dark Age: Official Lies, Dogma and Unaccountable Power
Douglas Valentine
At the End of My Rope: Hanging With Saddam
Brian M. Downing
The New Iraq Policy: Escalation
Michael Donnelly
Injustice in Black and White: the Duke Non-Rape Case
Stephen Lendman
Did Sharon Order the Assassination of Arafat? The Revelations
of Uri Dan
Fred Gardner
Comes Now the Ghost of "Decrim:" Nixon and Marijuana
Bailly / Caudron / Lambert
Who Owns Ikea?: the Opaque Legacy of Ingvar Kamprad
Ralph Nader
The Prospects for Progressive Politics
Nick Dearden
The War on Terror Hits Africa
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Third Degree: an Interview with AC Thompson on the Origins
of the CIA's Secret Rendition Flights
Missy Beattie
In Harm's Way: How Our National Coward Describes War
Ron Jacobs
Sigh of the Oppressed: Religion and Politics
Dan La Botz
Defend Illegal Immigrants: Help Them! Harbor Them!
Andrew Wimmer
An Act of Contrition: the Peace Movement in 2007
Dr. Carol Wolman, MD
Psychiatrist: Impeach Bush for Good of Country
Martha Rosenberg
New Year's Resolutions for Big Pharma
Dick J. Reavis
News Before It Happens: Bush's 2007 MLK Day Speech
Jeffrey St.
Clair
Listening to James Brown and His Followers
Poets' Basement
Grima, Curtis, Davies, Orloski and Engel
Website of
the Weekend
Charlie Fowler's Photolog: a Life at Altitude
Music Video of the Weekend
"We're Winning the War on Drugs!"
December 29, 2006
Bill Quigley
A
Tale of Two Sisters: Why is HUD Spending Tens of Millions in
Katrina Money to Bulldoze 4,534 Public Housing Apartments in
New Orleans?
Norman Finkelstein
The Dershowitz Treatment
John Borowski
Curb Your Environmentalism: Laurie David and Me
Abid Mustafa
The Re-Talibanization of Afghanistan
Greg Moses
World Responds to Palestinian Family's Jailing Despite Media
Blackout
Uri Cohen
Stand Up for Herod: a Seasonal Story of Ancient Palestine
Bailly / Caudron
/ Lambert
The
Secrets in Ikea's Closet
Website of
the Day
Justice for New Orleans
December 28,
2006
Norman Finkelstein
The
Ludicrous Attacks on Jimmy Carter's Book
Anthony Cowell
Highway Robbery: Privatizing New Jersey's Toll Roads
John Ross
Gateway to the Next Mexican Revolution?
Hilaria Cruz
I'm Going to Stay Right Here: Story of a Oaxacan Prisoner
Greg Moses
Palestinian Immigrant Jailings in Texas
Brittany Bond
The Blood Trail of Luis Posada Carriles, Washington's Preferred
Terrorist
Website of
the Day
Godfather of Soul and Father of Funk
December 27,
2006
Alexander Cockburn
Farewell
to Our Greatest President: Adieu, Gerald Ford
Faruq Ziada
Is
There a Sunni Majority in Iraq?
Christopher Brauchli
Burning EPA's Books: What They Don't Want You to Read Might Save
Your Life
Michael Ortiz
Hill
Journey to Vietnam: Dare We Not Say Genocide?
Nikolas Kozloff
Saving
Caracas
Mark Schneider
Why Hope? Reasons for Optimism
December 26, 2006
Peter Stone
Brown
James
Brown: Please Don't Go
Tito Tricot
Chile: the Ghosts of Torture
Gary Leupp
Cowboys Differ on Iran Attack: Cheney/Bush vs. the Baker Commission
John V. Walsh
Dershowitz vs. Carter in Beantown: Peace Movement AWOL, Again
Reza Fiyouzat
Red Christmas: Why Santa Was Hot in China This Year
Ron Jacobs
The Golem: a Conversation with Marc Estrin
Website of
the Day
JB:
Prisoner of Love
December 25, 2006
Saul Landau
A
Jeep Trip with Fidel
Lang / McGovern
To
Surge or Not to Surge?
Michael Dickinson
Should Stupid Thoughts Be Crimes?: Deny Santa If You Will, But
...
Website of
the Day
James Brown, RIP
December 23 / 24, 2006
Marjorie Cohn
What's
Going On?
Jeffrey L.
Gould
The Capital of Salvadoran Memory: El Mozote After 25 Years
Diane Christian
The Rape of Iraq
William Loren
Katz
From the Raid on "Fort Negro" to Iraq: Lessons from
the First US Invasion
Greg Moses
This War Can't be Made Right by Winning
M. Shahid Alam
An Islamic Civil War: Chaos by Design?
Fred Gardner
Exposé as Inoculant: HRT, Zyprexa, Lilly and the Press
Dave Lindorff
Crime of the Century
Azmi Bishara
Ways of Denial
Ralph Nader
The BCS: a Monopoly on College Football
Seth Sandronsky
Fiscally Imperiled Social Security?
William Hughes
Cop Assaults Activists at Lockheed Protest
Ron Jacobs
Making Stones Weep
Jeffrey St.
Clair
Playlist: What I'm Listening to on New Year's Eve
December 22,
2006
David Rosen
Bush's
Foreign Sex Policy: Imperialism's Second Front
Christopher
Brauchli
When the Secret is the Question: Secret Prisons, Top Secret Interrogations
John Ross
Flashlights
in the Tunnel of Hate
J.L. Chestnut,
Jr.
Political
Sell-Outs in Black and White
Rahul Mahajan
Dennis Kucinich: Maverick or Stalking Horse?
Arthur Neslen
Provoking Civil War in the Occupied Territories
Peter Rost, MD
The Secrets of His Success: Fired Pfizer CEO Walks Away with
$198 Million
Website of
the Day
10 Ways to Change the World in 2007
December 21, 2006
Rosa Mariam
Elizalde
An
Interview with Gore Vidal: "I am Jealous of Cuba"
Arundhati Roy
Breaking the News
Brian Cloughley
Poppies Rising: Afghanistan's Drug Catastrophe
Daniel White
Jimmy Carter in Austin: Time to Come Clean on the Shoot Down
of That Itavia DC-9
John V. Whitbeck
On Israel's Right to Exist
Sam Smith
Still Smearing Ralph Nader for 2000
Paris Reidhead
GM Ice Cream: Something's Fishy in Your Good Humor Bar
Kevin Wehr
Denying Disaster: Katrina and the Case for Impeachment
Website of the Day
Pesticides and Amphibians: a Vital New Database
December 20, 2006
Gabriel Kolko
Rumsfeld
and the American Way of War
Winslow T.
Wheeler
The Pentagon Measures the Chaos in Iraq
Tariq Ali
The War is Lost
Saree Makdisi
Israel, Apartheid and Jimmy Carter
Bruce Jackson
Saying "Oh!": John Mohawk and the Power to Make Peace
Dave Lindorff
Democrats Walk Into a Bush Trap on Iraq
Leslie Radford
The Winter Harvest of the South Central Farmers
Dave Jansson
Divided We Stand, United We Fall: Secessionists Confront the
Empire
Johnny Barber
Jesus is a Terrorist
Website of
the Day
Is It for Freedom?
December 19, 2006
Alexander Cockburn
Democrats
Prepare to Fund Longer War
Jonathan Cook
End
of the Strongmen
Greg Moses
Globalized Gulag: Palestinian Refugees and Children Held in Hutto,
TX Jail
Sean Penn
Georgie,
There's a Crowd Downstairs
Dave Lindorff
Innocents Abroad: Cracking Down on Gitmo Detainees Despite Overwhelming
Evidence Most Are Not Terrorists
Ralph Nader
Going
Postal
Laura Carlsen
Latin America's Pink Tide?
Carlos Villarreal
The
Well is Poisoned: Victory Requires an Immediate Pull-Out
Website of
the Day
Chuck Spinney on the Pentagon
December 18, 2006
Luis J. Rodriguez
En
Lak Ech: Chicanos, Mayans and Mel Gibson
Norman Solomon
Washington Refuses to End the War: Powell, Baker, Hamilton--Thanks
for Nothing!
Uri Avnery
Lebanon: War Without a Plan
Ron Jacobs
More Troops, More Body Bags
Phil Gasper
Afghanistan: Bush's Other War Unravels
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi
Iran's Elections: The World Isn't Florida and Bush Isn't Its
Supreme Leader
William Blum
The United States of Punishment
Jim Goodman
So What's the Big Deal If Wal-Mart Makes a Mistake?
James Brooks
Talking Surge: Let's Kill Some More Before We Go
Maria C. Khoury
Walking Into the Art World: Designing a Palestinian Academy for
the Arts
Website of the Day
Got Powell
December 16 / 17, 2006
Weekend Edition
Vijay Prashad
A
Perilous Way to Socialism
Saul Landau
Filming Fidel
Anthony Arnove
The US Occupation of Iraq: Act III of a Tragedy of Many Parts
Paul Cantor
The Puppet and the Puppeteer: Pinochet and Kissinger
Annie Nocenti
Baluchistan's Fight: The Khan of Kalat Gathers the Tribes
Nicole Colson
Hard Times on the Killing Floor: Smithfield's Rotten Record
Stephen Gowans
Tehran's Holocaust Conference
Jordan Flaherty
A Catastrophic Failure: Foundations, Nonprofits and the Second
Looting of New Orleans
Fred Gardner
Dustin Costa Faces 15 to Life
P. Sainath
There's No Such Thing as a Free Cow
Seth Sandronsky
The Democrats and Social Security: Watch What the Party Says
and Does
Nadia Hijab
An AIPAC Shot Across Baker's Bow?
Deb Reich
Dear Santa, (Or Someone): Greetings from the Occupied Holy Lands
Susie Day
Cops Shoot Another Rich White Man!
Albert Wan
Why Does It Take 50 Bullets?
Missy Beattie
Will the Next Leader Stand Up? Please!
Martha Rosenberg
Kicking the Wyeth Habit Saves Women's Lives
Lee Ballinger
The Devil's Highway: Clinton, Border Checkpoints and the Deaths
of the Yuma 14
Michael Dickinson
Kingdom of Fear
Jeffrey St.
Clair
Live/Evil: Listening to Miles Davis
Poets' Basement
Davies, Buknatski and Ford
Website of
the Weekend
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
December 15,
2006
Eliza Ernshire
Palestinian
"Civil War" and the Israeli Chocolate Ration
Virginia Tilley
What
Are You Going to Do Now, Israel?
Mike Ferner
Roll Call for the Choir: If They Vote for War, Occupy 'Em!
John Ross
Mad Mel's Mayan Apocalypse
Fred Wilhelms
The Flip Side of Ahmet Ertegun: Where Did You Get Those Shoes?
Kevin Zeese
Dennis Kucinich's Strange Mission: Can You Be a Real Anti-War
Candidate in a Pro-War Party?
David Severn
Social Engineering Begins at Home: Jeffrey Skoll, Billionaire
Philantropist
Dave Lindorff
Sen. Tim Johnson Death Watch: Senate Gridlock May Be Best Outcome
Sunsara Taylor
As American as Shopping and Torture
Website of
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June 2, 2004: When Iraq Was There For The Looting
December 14,
2006
Jonathan Cook
The
Recognition Trap
Riz Khan
An Interview with Jimmy Carter
Jason Hribal
Kasatka, the Sea World Orca
Pennick / Gray
The Plight of Black Farmers: Racism in the US Farm Program
Richard Levins
That Embezzled Anti-Castro Money
Pat Williams
The College Crisis: Universal Access, Student Loan Debts and
Pell Grants
Peter Rost, MD
Simply Irresistible: Do Women Prefer Bad Boys?
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The Sound of Rummy
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Patrick Cockburn
Iraq
is Beyond Repair
Greg Moses
The Dixie Chicks Come Home to Roost
Elizabeth Schulte
Hungry for the Holidays
Joshua Frank
Death By Coke
Debra Eschmeyer
Corporations Control Your Dinner
Leon Hadar
Baker's Rescue Mission: Too Little, Too Late
Peter Rost, MD
I've Been a Very Bad Boy
Margaret Knapke
Mow bé and Malachi, Presenté!
Reza Fiyouzat
Are Cows Free?
Fred Wilhelms
A Last Minute Appeal: If You Know One of These Musicians Let
Them Know They Are Owed Money--By Friday!
Website of
the Day
The Crimes of Augusto Pinochet
December 12, 2006
Fernando A.
Torres
The
Last Man of the Junta: an Open Letter to Kissinger from One of
Pinochet's Political Prisoners
Paul Craig
Roberts
America's
Injustice System is Criminal
Stephen Soldz
Abusive Interrogations
Uri Avnery
Baker's Cake
William S. Lind
Knocking Opportunity: From Vulcans to Vultures in Iraq
Missy Beattie
Convicted for Our Convictions: Trespassing for Truth at the UN
Dave Lindorff
The 35-Year Long Scream: Torture, Impeachment and a Vietnam Vet's
Tears
George Pyle
Our Perverse Farm Plan: Where Christmas Comes Every Five Years
Norman Solomon
Is the USA the Center of the World?
Website of
the Day
Citizens' War Tribunal
December 11,
2006
Virginia Tilley
Banning
Mandela
Roger Burbach
The Condor Model: the Atrocities of Pinochet and the US
Col. Douglas MacGregor
There's Only One Option Left: Leave!
Fawwas Traboulsi
Lebanon on the Brink
Ron Jacobs
Death of a Pig: Poetic Justice for Pinochet
Gideon Levy
The Cruel Line into Gaza: Elbow to Elbow, Like Cattle
Mary McGrane
Burning Books at Harvard Law
Bernardo Ruiz
The Disappeared of Oaxaca: a Message from One of the Actors in
Apocalypto
Website of the Day
La Cancion de la Unidad
Video of the
Day
Killing
Castro: Congresswoman as Contract Killer?
December 9
/ 10, 2006
Weekend Edition
Alexander Cockburn
Liberal
Consensus for More Troops in Iraq
Sen. Gordon Smith
Out of Iraq: Cut and Run or Cut and Walk
Greg Grandin
Jeane
Kirkpatrick, Mid-Wife of the Neo-Cons
Paul Craig Roberts
How Many More Will Die for Bush's Ego?
Col. Dan Smith
The Vietnamization of Iraq: Inside the Military Training Program
Ralph Nader
The Man from NAM: John Engler's Trail of Destruction
Behrooz Ghamari
The Donkey and the Date: Iran's Upcoming Municipal Elections
Rev. Willliam Alberts
Doing Unto Others: Pastor Haggard and President Bush
James T. Phillips
The James Gang: "Did You Kill Her?"
Bennis / Leaver
A Bi-Partisan Occupation
Dave Lindorff
A Congress of Hucksters and Pipsqueaks
Nikolas Kozloff
Robert Gates and Venezuela: Another Saber Rattler in Latin America
Seth Sandronsky
Activating White Racism
Lucinda Marshall
McKinney and Karpinsky: Silenced for Telling the Truth
Mike Whitney
Something's Gotta Give: James Baker vs. the Lobby
John V. Whitbeck
Recommendation No. 80
Faisal Kutty
Is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Merely a Western
Construct?
Hugh Sansom
Smearing Jimmy Carter: an Open Letter to the New York Times
Robert Gold
My South American Journey: Impunity in Colombia
Boots Riley
Crash and Burn: an Urgent Message from The Coup
Jeffrey St.
Clair
Playlist: What I'm Listening to This Week
Poets' Basement
Engel & Buknatski
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the Weekend
Alive in Mexico
December 8, 2006
Patrick Cockburn
The
Iraq Study Group's Cautious Appraisal
Leutisha Stills
Just
How Progressive is the Congressional Black Caucus?
Norman Finkelstein
The Media Lynching of Jimmy Carter
Will Youmans
Mr. Lieberman Comes to Washington: Brookings Hosts an Ethnic
Cleanser
Peter Rost, MD
What Went Wrong at Pfizer?
Jonathan Demme
My Friend Bruce Langhorne: a Great Musician Needs Your Help!
Ray McGovern
Senate Democrats Give Gates a Free Pass
Lucinda Marshall
What She Wore
Tariq Ali / Robin Blackburn
The Lost John Lennon Interview
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John Lennon's FBI Files
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2006
Alex Friedman
Rev.
Phelps' Hate-Fueled Fanatics Find a Home in the Kansas Prison
Industry
Maureen Webb
Risk Scoring and the National Insecurity State
Paul Craig Roberts
Catastrophe Still Awaits
Dave Lindorff
Prosecutor Admits: Mumia Abu-Jamal Had "No True Defense"
Matt Vidal
Drug Pushers, Inc.: Power and Profit in the Legal Drug Trade
Yifat Susskind
Looking for a Few Good Principles: What Should be Done in Iraq
Rodriguez / Jones
NYPD's Death Squads: From Diallo to Sean Bell
Website of
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2006, Remixed
December 6, 2006
Robert Bryce
Omitting
the Obvious with James Baker: From the S&L Crisis to the
Iraq Study Group
William S. Lind
The Boomerang Effect: When Will the First IED Strike Cincy?
Zoe Blunt
The Clearcut Truth About the Great Bear Rainforest
Corporate Crime Reporter
The New Conventional Wisdom: Prosecute Individuals, Not Corporations
Amira Hass
A Regrettable Indifference: Israel's Treatment of Palestinian
Prisoners
Richard W. Behan
The Surreal Politics of Premeditated War
Sophie McNeill
Why Hezbollah is Broadcasting Sunday Mass
December 5, 2006
Virginia Tilley
Apartheid
Israel: a Beacon of Hope?
Sharon Smith
The New Washington Consensus: Blame the Victims in Iraq
Joe Bageant
Somewhere a Banker Smiles
Ron Jacobs
A War Washington Can't Win
Norman Solomon
Media Consensus, Stay in Iraq!
Mike Whitney
Rumsfeld's Final Snowflake: "I Was Just About to Change
Everything ... "
Derrick O'Keefe
Regimes Unchanged: Chavez's Victory Strengthen's Cuba
Julian Assange
The Road to Hanoi
Missy Beattie
Bush, the Unhappy Helmsman
Website of
the Day
Lessons of Suez and Iraq
December 4,
2006
Alexander Cockburn
Gaza
and Darfur
George Ciccariello-Maher
Tears of the Escualidos: Election Diary, Venezuela
Ray McGovern
Lame Ducks, Hold That Nomination!: a CIA Insider's Take on Gates
John Ross
Repression on the Menu in Mexico
Walden Bello
Hurricane Milton: Friedman, Bayonets and Markets
Peter Rost,
MD
Pfizer's Clueless Executives
Stephen Lendman
The Withering of the Bush Dynasty
Gideon Levy
This Ceasefire will Go Up in Flames
Website of the Day
The "Babes" of Hizbullah?
December 2
/ 3, 2006
Weekend Edition
Barucha Calamity
Peller
The
Dirty War of Oaxaca
Paul Craig
Roberts
Is Bush Sane?: When Denial Goes Pathological
Ralph Nader
The Big Boys of Financial Crime
Winslow T.
Wheeler
Committee of Enablers: Is Gates Fit to Serve? Are the Senators?
Amira Hass
The Checkpoint Generation
Maymanah Farhat
Depoliticizing Arab Art: Christie's and the Rush to "Discover"
the Arab World
Dave Lindorff
Fighting the Iraq War--At Home
Fred Gardner
Dr. Jimenez Defends His Practice Methods
Col. Dan Smith
The Semantics of Civil War
Raed Jarrar
Maliki's Monopoly of Power
Seth Sandronsky
US Prison Nation: Locking Up Surplus Labor
K.-Y. Taylor
The Bride Wore Black: the Shooting of Sean Bell and the Resurgence
of American Racism
Yifat Susskind
Greed, Dogma and AIDS
David Rosen
Made in China: the Global Trade in Sex Toys
Ron Jacobs
All Hands on Deck!: the New Pirates of the Caribbean
Nikolas Kozloff
Venezuela Prepares to Vote
Talli Nauman
Fighting La Choya: the Secret Toxic Dump on the Border
Alan Gregory
Shadow Trout: Why Hatchery Fish Aren't Real
Joe Allen
RFK and Hollywood Mythmaking: Emilio Estevez's Beatification
of Bobby Kennedy
St. Clair /
D'Antoni
Playlist: What We're Listening to This Week
Poets' Basement
Davies, Engel, Ford and Orloski
Website of
the Day
Demo for Oaxaca
December 1,
2006
Greg Grandin
Midnight
in Mexico: Calderón's Inauguration Behind Closed Doors
Linn Washington,
Jr.
The
Mumia Case After 25 Years: Still More Keystone Kops Antics
George Ciccariello-Maher
Sleeping with the Enemy: At Home with the Anti-Chavistas
Brian J. Foley
Taking Responsibility for Iraq
Dave Zirin
Rebel Athletes: Organizing the Jocks for Justice
Joshua Frank
The Montana Formula: Jon Tester's Neopopulism
Chris Floyd
Hideous Kinky: Thomas Friedman Comes Undone
Ingmar Lee
Atomic Porker Strikes Indian Point Nuke Plant
Manuel Garcia,
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Dark Fire: the Fall of WTC 7
Website of the Day
No Gun Ri Revisited
Video of the
Day
Drunken Hack Goes Ape at Aussie "Pulitzers"
|
January
31, 2007
A Hawk in Drag
Dershowitz
and the Iraq War
By TIM WILKINSON
Not so long ago, the prospect of the
US and UK taking military action against Iran was inconceivable.
In September 2005, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw explicitly
said as much in an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, obedient as ever to the Bush administration,
demoted Straw at the next opportunity the May 2006 Cabinet
reshuffle. Around that time, Alan Dershowitz published an article
in right-wing British political weekly The Spectator, entitled
'We can't attack Iran'. The article seems to put Dershowitz on
the side of the Doves on the issue. But appearances can be deceptive.
Dershowitz is no stranger to
the pages of The Spectator. In September last year Alan Dershowitz's
short essay 'How to protect civil liberties' appeared as its
cover-article. A week later, Counterpunch published my response:
'Paradigm? What Paradigm?'. In the article I exposed Dershowitz's
use of a dishonest 'camouflage' strategy: sending one message
under cover of a quite different--and to the intended audience,
much more acceptable--one.
News of Dershowitz's reaction
to this criticism recently arrived in my pigeonhole. According
to my sources, Dershowitz's talent (it is for litigation) was,
as ever, on display as he dismissed my criticisms at a stroke.
By alleging two inessential--but telling--falsehoods in the very
first sentence of my modest article, he attempted to discredit
the entire case. The falsehoods in question? First, that Dershowitz
is a Neo-con. I very evidently did not make that claim. Second,
that he is a Hawk. I did make that claim. The evidence adduced
in rebuttal? The accused testified that he had been opposed to
the invasion of Iraq.
This is a claim Dershowitz
makes frequently and with an air of pride. It is rarely if ever
challenged. He uses the claim to repel all kinds of apparently
unrelated accusations for example, in his response to a
much-discussed paper by Walt and Meirsheimer, he writes: "my
own colleague accused me of being part of this anti-American
conspiracy [the Zionist lobby]--they call me an 'apologist' for
Israel (p.11)--despite my frequent criticisms of specific Israeli
policies and my opposition to the war in Iraq." Yet there
appears to be a distinct shortage of evidence for this claimed
Doveish attitude to Iraq.
To find out whether the public figure Alan Dershowitz opposed
the war, we can only look at his public statements on the matter
to see whether they called for his country, the USA, to refrain
from military action in Iraq. If so, he opposed the war. If he
was neutral, or even suggested that waging war would be a good
thing, then he did not oppose the war. So what did Dershowitz
write at the time when military action was under consideration?
Dershowitz's clearest--and surely definitive--statement about
the proposed war from that time is an article which was published
in Canada's National Post and in the Jerusalem Post on 10 September
2002 (six months before the war). It is accessible on his website
via the link entitled 'Is An Attack On Iraq Justified?'. There
are two 'camouflage' aspects to the article, corresponding to
its two main sections.
2.
The first element of camouflage
is the pretence that the bulk of the article--the section entitled
'The right of preemptive self-defence'--is a moral or legal argument
concerned with justification of that rather Hawkish-sounding
doctrine. But the first half of the section is not a theoretical
argument--instead it consists of a story about the supposed rise
of an unprecedented danger in the form of terrorism. The tale
culminates in this terrifying assessment of the situation:
"...Iraq has emerged as
a credible threat against the west. It has demonstrated its capacity
to develop, and its willingness to use, chemical weapons against
the Kurds and the Iranians. We know that it is desperately seeking
to develop the capacity to manufacture and deploy nuclear weapons,
both as an independent threat and as a deterrent against efforts
to dismantle its chemical and biological arsenal. So now, for
the first time in the nuclear age, the question has been raised
about the justification for a preemptive strike by a superpower
to prevent a smaller rogue state from developing and deploying
weapons of mass destruction."
Because these outlandish claims
are camouflaged as part of the background to the issue of justification,
the claim that Iraq is a 'rogue state' with a 'chemical and biological
arsenal' which is 'desperately seeking to develop the capacity
to manufacture and deploy nuclear weapons' might well slip under
the radar, unthinkingly accepted by the reader impatient to progress
the argument.
The argument which follows
is short and takes the form of arguing a case.
The conclusion is couched in
an admonitory tone, giving the impression that Dershowitz is
placing strict conditions on his reluctant acceptance of a doctrine
that some Hawk has put forward. But the doctrine is his own brainchild,
and his none-too stringent conditions on the legitimacy of pre-emption
match, with suspicious exactitude, his initial fevered assessment
of the situation. "The right to take preemptive military
action," he warns, "should require a high level of
hard evidence that a rogue state, which has demonstrated a willingness
to use weapons of mass destruction, is on the verge of developing
them."
The first part of this formula--a
'high level of hard evidence'--sounds a suitably exacting test.
It is yet to be seen how much evidence, of what strength, will
actually be demanded once this fine-sounding sentiment has faded
somewhat from the reader's memory. Dershowitz does immediately
address the question whether Iraq fits the second part of the
formula, and concludes without argument that it is indeed a 'rogue
state'. Exactly what a rogue state is supposed to be is not made
clear. The category appears to be ad hoc, stipulated to
exclude countries such as India and Pakistan while including
Iraq.
Predictably enough, we are
told that Iraq fits the third condition too: it "has used
illegal weapons of mass destruction in the past". This seems
to refer to the use of poison gas during a local conflict or--possibly--internal
repression. This is not obviously a sign of the desire to use
nuclear weapons. But that, apparently, is not important. Dershowitz,
under cover of his investigation into moral or legal theory,
is in full advocacy mode. The only remaining question, he states,
is whether Iraq is on the verge of developing nuclear weapons
"which", he adds, taking the opportunity to throw in
a couple more unsubstantiated claims camouflaged as argument,
"would make it far more difficult to deter it from using
the chemical weapons and biological weapons it currently has
in its secret arsenal". This arsenal could not, apparently,
be kept secret from Alan Dershowitz.
3.
Dershowitz's second main camouflage
tactic is embodied in the second part of the article, entitled:
'The evidence against Iraq'. The factual and casuistic argumentation
in this section has the appearance of being impartial investigation.
The effect Dershowitz seeks to convey is of issues judiciously
weighed, countervailing viewpoints adduced and assimilated, some
progress made in clarifying the issues, but no firm recommendation
made. Even if the article did have this character, it is far
from an expression of opposition to the war. But it is only at
first glance that Dershowitz appears even-handed. This appearance
is belied both by the section's title--this defence lawyer makes
no mention of evidence in Iraq's favour--and by the fact that
Dershowitz has already in the previous section stated flatly
that Iraq is 'desperate to develop nuclear weapons'.
The section begins with a paragraph
dealing with the difficulty of assessing the accuracy of the
administration's claims. "The world is rightly suspicious
of the 'trust me' argument. That argument has often proved to
be flimsy", he tells us. As though making a concession to
the most conspiracy-minded of dissidents, he adds: "or even
false"! But this sceptical banner-headline is sandwiched
between more Bush-friendly sentiments. By alluding to the difficulties
faced by a government which cannot reveal sensitive intelligence
data--"by its nature the best evidence is likely to be classified",
"an administrationwill have to strike a balance between
protecting its intelligence sources and making its case to the
public", Dershowitz hints darkly at the existence of a 'smoking
gun' which unfortunately has to remain secret. In any case, as
we proceed to the 'evidence' itself, any concern about its reliability
seems to evaporate:
"Here is what we are being
told about Iraq. Over the past 14 months, Iraq has been trying
to buy thousands of specially designed aluminum tubes, capable
of being used as components of centrifuges to enrich uranium.
They are also developing a capacity to use drone aircraft to
spray chemical and biological agents. Most frightening, it is
expanding its efforts to enlist terrorists as carriers of weapons
of mass destruction. If these facts are true--and there seems
little dispute about their accuracy--then we can be relatively
certain of two conclusions: one, Iraq is determined to develop
nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver them, and two, they
do not yet have that capacity. The third, and perhaps most crucial,
conclusion is the most hotly disputed: how much time do we have
before these weapons become operational, and is it enough to
warrant further efforts short of attack, such as U.N. inspections
and other diplomatic actions?"
Dershowitz seems to assume
the truth of these claims. The last of them is 'frightening'--it
tells us that Iraq is 'expanding its efforts to enlist terrorists'.
By this point, the reader may
be forgiven for forgetting that this is supposedly only a report
of 'what we are being told' (told by the advocates of the war,
that is, not by Hans Blix). Furthermore, the phrasing suggests
that the existence of such efforts is known, and that the only
new claim we need appraise is that they are being 'expanded'.
But of course there was never an attempt to enlist terrorists,
and it is quite ludicrous to have imagined that there was.
Dershowitz then adds some mild
and eminently forgettable caveats which provide more camouflage,
before proceeding to the conclusion that Iraq will have, but
does not yet have, nuclear weapons. He then poses the question
(or 'conclusion' as he revealingly misterms it): is there time
to carry out further inspections?
"The Bush Administration
says no, time is on Iraq's side, and as soon as they develop
a nuclear capacity, all hope of inspections and diplomacy will
be futile. Critics of the Administration argue for more time
and more diplomacy. The stakes are high and the facts are uncertain.
In the age of conventional warfare, the presumption might well
favor waiting. But if waiting realistically increases the risk
that we or our allies may be exposed to nuclear, biological or
chemical attack by Iraq or Iraqi-sponsored terrorists, then the
presumption may well favor immediate preventive action, especially
if it can be taken so as to minimize civilian casualties. Whatever
course we pursue, we may turn out to be wrong."
For a start, we may observe
that Dershowitz misrepresents the issue as a choice between 'diplomacy'
and military action. Weapons inspections and monitoring are not
a form of diplomacy, any more than police searches and surveillance
are a form of negotiation. No doubt the inspections were complied
with only grudgingly and with much foot-dragging--one wonders
how the US would react if Hans Blix turned up at their top secret
military installations brandishing a search warrant. Nonetheless,
the monitoring program would certainly make it very difficult--if
not impossible--for Iraq to operate a nuclear programme. Dershowitz
gives the impression that the only alternative to war was some
sort of ineffectual talking shop. In fact inspections and monitoring
were quite sufficient to see off any danger of Iraq becoming
a nuclear aggressor.
Leaving that aside, let's look
at the considerations Dershowitz adduces for and against military
action. The only argument offered against attack is the baffling:
"In the age of conventional warfare, the presumption might
well favor waiting." As an outline statement of a case for
pursuing a peaceful course this is notably deficient, since it
is clear that Dershowitz means to imply that 'the age of conventional
warfare' is over. This is the mere appearance of an argument--included
merely as camouflage for the real agenda.
The corresponding statement
concerning the possibility of taking "immediate preventive
action"--a camouflage term for a military assault--is of
a very different character. Dershowitz says that we should favour
war "if waiting realistically increases the riskofattack
by Iraq". This condition seems an odd one--unless you are
expecting Dershowitz's duplicitous tactics--because 'realistically'
is such a feeble word. What is the alternative--that waiting
unrealistically increases the risk?
So, as Dershowitz says, "the
presumption may well favor immediate preventive action."
The addition of "especially if it can be taken so as to
minimize civilian casualties" is a splendid bit of camouflage.
First, the term 'especially' signifies something desirable but
not necessary. So it may be preferable to minimise casualties,
but we needn't insist on it.
Furthermore, to minimise casualties
is to kill and injure no more than necessary to achieve one's
goal. So, unless Dershowitz is suggesting that we somehow include
in our calculations the imaginary casualties which might have
been incurred by an Iraqi attack of unknown type, scope and likelihood,
the proviso is meaningless, since it is always possible in this
sense to 'minimise' casualties. So long as one kills only to
further one's aims, and avoids utterly gratuitous murder, one
has minimised casualties. Realising this on some level, the reader
may be tempted to interpret the term as meaning 'keep casualties
within acceptable limits'. But that is not what it means, and
it is not what Dershowitz is saying.
In any case this whole passage
with its superficial appearance of reasoned argument is mere
camouflage, since it becomes largely irrelevant once we get to
the point of the article, which lies in the final sentence:
"The real question is,
would it be worse to err on the side of action that turns out
to be unnecessary, or of inaction that exposes us to preventable
devastation?"
Camouflaged as a question (albeit
a near-rhetorical one), this final statement of the problem offers
us a choice between two risks: the risk of finding our action
to have been unnecessary, and the risk of devastation. Unnecessary
action, or devastation. Devastation, or unnecessary action. You
choose. But hurry!
It hardly seems worth pointing
out that the article is not an expression of opposition to the
invasion. This fact alone entails that Dershowitz did not oppose
the war in Iraq. Moreover, he did not even present a neutral
position. The article--question marks notwithstanding--has the
effect of calling for the invasion to go ahead, and soon. On
my analysis, Dershowitz actually supported the war on Iraq, by
minimising the case against war, hugely exaggerating--even inventing--the
case for war, and finally, under the guise of a balanced assessment,
reducing the issue to a choice between unnecessary effort and
near-certain devastation.
4.
But Dershowitz's chameleon-like
approach to argument, and the accompanying lack of concern for
consistency means he has a quote for every occasion. Accused
of supporting one view, he can always point to some text in which
he has seemingly adopted the opposing view. For example, in the
preface to the paperback edition of his popular-history book
The Case for Israel (Sep 2004), Dershowitz provides a
revised account of his earlier position:
"I was opposed to the
war in Iraq, although I thought it was a close question based
on my belief that Saddam Hussein did have weapons of mass destruction
and was tyrannizing his own people. My 51 to 49 percent opposition
was based on the 'law of unintended consequences', which seems
very much in operation on the ground as I write this preface"
The earlier article--written
while the debate about whether to have a war was still worth
having--contains absolutely no mention of anything resembling
the so-called 'law of unintended consequences'. The only allusion
to possible untoward consequences is of the civilian deaths he
meaninglessly hopes be 'minimised'. Again note that he only says
that military action may be presumed best especially if--not
only if--civilian casualties can be minimised. Perhaps
Dershowitz would now claim that he opposed the war later, once
it became evident that civilian deaths were not being minimised
by any standard. But opposing the tactics used in fighting the
war is not the same as opposing the war.
So this revised account appears
to be neatly contrived to suit Dershowitz's purposes. Dershowitz
must continue to claim that he was against the war. He can hardly
change that story now--and he wouldn't want to, given the way
the war has gone, and given his carefully maintained public image.
But he evidently realises that his contemporaneous publications
make it very clear that he thought the war justified. So he has
invented a cover story: that he was wise and insightful enough
to recognise that there was a high likelihood that the war would
not go as planned, or would have undesirable side effects. He
even has the audacity to sound rather smug about having supposedly
predicted the chaos that now reigns in Iraq. There is, though,
no sign of embarrassment at his Hawkish eagerness to believe
that Saddam posed a military threat to the USA.
5.
The conclusion of our investigation
must be that--contrary to his current claims and to superficial
appearances at the time--the Hawkish Alan Dershowitz did not
oppose the war in Iraq. Trading on his past as a civil rights
lawyer and critic of the 2000 presidential election scandal,
Dershowitz used a thin veneer of caution and balance to provide
camouflage, allowing his Hawkish views to blend in against the
background of liberal opinion. This tactic enabled him to reach
and influence an audience that was resistant to standard gung-ho
war rhetoric. His article about the looming war in Iran, and
any other comments he may publish on the topic, should be read
with this in mind.
Tim Wilkinson is a writer and political philosopher.
He can be contacted at otisblue@googlemail.com.
|
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