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Inside the New Print Edition of Our Subscriber-Only Newsletter! Report From the Afghan Front
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Inside the New Print Edition of Our Subscriber-Only Newsletter!
Report From the Afghan Front
It's Obama's War and It's Going Very BadlyExclusively for CounterPunch subcribers, Patrick Cockburn files a special report from Kabul: the Taliban's tightening grip on most of the country; plumetting US popularity in a bankrupt country rotted by corruption. For fifty years, Seymour Melman waged intellectual war on Pentagon capitalism, making the case for peaceful conversion. David Price brings to light decades of FBI secret surveillance. Senator Jim Webb is launching the first determined bid in forty years to overhaul the US criminal justice system at whose call is the American gulag. Alexander Cockburn reports on the prospects for his success. Get your new edition today by subscribing online or calling 1-800-840-3683 Contributions to CounterPunch are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! CounterPunch books and gear make great presents.
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Today's Stories June 19 - 21, 2009 Patrick Cockburn Henry A. Giroux June 18, 2009 Uri Avnery Robert Sandels / Anthony DiMaggio Robert Weissman Joshua Frank Jonathan Cook Reza Fiyouzat Norman Solomon Ali Jawad James Ridgeway Website of the Day June 17, 2009 Carl Boggs Dr. Bryant Welch Winslow T. Wheeler Liaquat Ali Khan Jonathan Cook Binoy Kampmark Karim Makdisi Dave Lindorff David Swanson Gene Marx Website of the Day June 16, 2009 Patrick Cockburn John Ross Afshin Rattansi Marc Levy Paul Craig Roberts Behzad Yaghmaian Brian M. Downing Merle Lefkoff David Macaray Robert Jensen David Swanson Website of the Day June 15, 2009 Michael Hudson Reza Fiyouzat Patrick Cockburn James Ridgeway Marjorie Cohn Rannie Amiri Dave Lindorff Ron Jacobs Leonard Schwartz Martha Rosenberg Website of the Day June 12-14, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Gareth Porter Mike Whitney Mark Ames Esam Al-Amin Franklin Lamb Patrick Cockburn Andy Worthington Heather Gray Felice Pace Ron Jacobs George Wuerthner Jeffrey Buchanan / David Ker Thomson Renaud Lambert Kevin Zeese David Macaray Evelyn Pringle Chris Genovali David Michael Green Brian J. Foley Charles R. Larson Kim Nicolini David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
June 11, 2009 Kathy Kelly / James Bovard Tristan de Bourbon Dave Lindorff Kevin Zeese Ralph Nader Harvey Wasserman Nicole Colson Mark Weisbrot Dan Bacher Website of the Day June 10, 2009 Ismael Hossein-Zadeh Jennifer Van Bergen / Douglas Valentine Kathy Kelly Paul Craig Roberts Rev. William E. Alberts Peter Lee Carol Miller Emily Ratner Robert Weissman Dave Lindorff Website of the Day June 9, 2009 Winslow T. Wheeler Mike Whitney Stan Cox Sibel Edmonds Jonathan Cook David Macaray Robert Jensen Nadia Hijab Mark Weisbrot Website of the Day June 8, 2009 John Ross Paul Craig Roberts Franklin C. Spinney Franklin Lamb Uri Avnery Jonathan Cook Eric Toussaint Jim Goodman Norman Solomon Reza Fiyouzat Website of the Day June 5 -7, 200 Alexander Cockburn George Galloway Paul Craig Roberts Jennifer Loewenstein Franklin Lamb Mike Whitney Andy Worthington Missy Comley Beattie Farzana Versey Stanley Heller John V. Whitbeck Robert Weissman Lee Sustar Dave Lindorff William Blum Ernest Callenbach / Greg Moses Ron Jacobs David Yearsley Tim Stelloh Belén Fernández David Ker Thomson Karyn Strickler Christopher Brauchli Charles R. Larson Kim Nicolini Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend June 4, 2009 Arno J. Mayer Mike Whitney Gareth Porter Ayesha Ijaz Khan Mouin Rabbani Jordan Flaherty Adam Turl Nikolas Kozloff Yifat Susskind Website of the Day June 3, 2009 Paul Craig Roberts Kathy Kelly Alan Farago Franklin Lamb Bill Hatch Nadia Hijab Dean Baker Binoy Kampmark Manuel Garcia, Jr. Remi Kanazi Behzad Yaghmaian Website of the Day June 2, 2009 Uri Avnery Robert Weissman Conn Hallinan Gideon Spiro Roger Burbach Dylan Quigley Dave Lindorff Ray McGovern Belén Fernández Martha Rosenberg Willie L. Pelote, Sr. Website of the Day June 1, 2009 Pam Martens Yitzhak Laor Mark Weisbrot Ramzy Baroud Saul Landau Eugenia Tsao Afshin Rattansi Debra Sweet Abdul Malik Mujahid Bill Quigley John Wright Website of the Day May 29-31, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Patrick Cockburn Vijay Prashad Gary Leupp Ray McGovern Rannie Amiri Bill Hatch Chellis Glendinning, Stephanie Mills and Kirkpatrick Sale Phyllis Pollack David Yearsley Jean-Christophe Servant Dave Lindorff James McEnteer Missy Beattie James C. Faris David Macaray Harvey Wasserman Adam Federman David Ker Thomson Mark Seth Lender Stephen Martin Joseph Nevins Sophia Mihic Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend May 28, 2009 Joan Roelofs Paul Craig Roberts Ralph Nader Mouin Rabbani Joe Bageant James McEnteer Dedrick Muhammad Richard Morse David Macaray Harvey Wasserman Website of the Day May 27, 2009 Joanne Mariner Paul Craig Roberts Walden Bello Dave Lindorff Brian M. Downing Carlos Villarreal Nadia Hijab Adam Federman Laray Polk Isabella Kenfield David Michael Green Website of the Day May 26, 2009 Manuel Garcia, Jr. Mike Whitney Sharon Smith Marjorie Cohn Dean Baker Deepankar Basu Fred Gardner Jordan Flaherty Josh Ruebner Brian Cloughley Website of the Day May 25, 2009 Diane Christian John Ross Kenneth Hartman Uri Avnery Fred Gardner Cindy Sheehan Sen. Russell Feingold Sibel Edmonds Franklin Lamb Dave Lindorff Daniel Wolff Website of the Day May 22-24, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Michael Teitelman Mike Whitney Ray McGovern Sonia Cardenas / Clive Hamilton Conn Hallinan Fred Gardner Carlo Cristofori Dean Baker Rannie Amiri Andy Worthington David Macaray Nadia Hijab Franklin Lamb Ted Newcomen David Ker Thomson David Rosen Mark Weisbrot Robert Fantina Heather Gray Farzana Versey Chris Genovali Ron Jacobs Jay Diamond Dr. Susan Block Ben Sonnenberg David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend May 21, 2009 Jeffrey St. Clair / Paul Craig Roberts Chris Floyd Gerald Paoli Zach Mason Uri Avnery Andy Worthington Niranjan Ramakrishnan Norman Solomon Dave Lindorff Website of the Day May 20, 2009 Michael Hudson Gary Leupp Michael D. Yates Jonathan Cook Peter Lee Binoy Kampmark Peter Zinn William Loren Katz Gary Lapon Trudy Bond Website of the Day May 19, 2009 Kristoffer Rehder Mike Whitney Ray McGovern Vijay Prashad Mirjam Hadar Meerschwam Mustafa Barghouthi Andy Worthington Binoy Kampmark John Walsh David Macaray Website of the Day May 18, 2009 Dave Lindorff Abdul Malik Mujahid Jonathan Cook Ben Rosenfeld Patrick Cockburn Ralph Nader Stephen Soldz Eugenia Tsao Walter Brasch Roberto Rodriguez Charlotte Laws Website of the Day May 15-17, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair David Rosen Mike Whitney Bruce Page Jeremy Scahill Fred Gardner Tom Barry Mats Svensson Ramzy Baroud Mark Engler Mark Weisbrot Farzana Versey Ron Jacobs Hannah Wolfe Cal Winslow David Macaray Christopher Brauchli Mark Seth Lender Robert Fantina David Ker Thomson Stephen Martin Charles R. Larson Chase Madar Kim Nicolini David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend May 14, 2009 Michael Hudson Andy Worthington Paul Craig Roberts Jonathan Cook Ray McGovern Lance Selfa David Green Dave Lindorff Frida Berrigan Sue Udry Website of the Day May 13, 2009 Brian M. Downing Gareth Porter Robert Sandels Ricardo Alarcón Eric Walberg Dave Lindorff Deepak Tripathi William S. Lind Kevin Zeese Franklin Lamb Website of the Day May 12, 2009 Gary Leupp Richard Neville Wajahat Ali Dean Baker Franklin Lamb Norman Solomon Paul Craig Roberts Lisa M. Hamilton Bob Fitrakis / David Macaray Website of the Day May 11, 2009 Andrea Peacock Michael Hudson Patrick Cockburn Ralph Nader John Kelly Saul Landau Dave Lindorff David Michael Green Anthony Papa Paul Krassner Website of the Day
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June 19 - 21, 2009 Corrupt Elections, Here and ThereIran, Obama and McCainBy ROBERT FANTINA As Iran roils with dissent following the apparent reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the world, or at least certain segments of it, apparently wait for U.S. President Barack Obama to condemn the election, criticize the lack of Iranian news coverage of the anti-election demonstrations, and generally behave as his predecessor did. Old habits die hard, but one must recall that Mr. Obama was elected on the mantra of change. Therefore, it should not be so difficult to see him handling the situation somewhat differently than President George Bush would have done. Mr. Obama, as is his style, reflected thoughtfully on the situation. Commenting on the situation in Iran, he refrained from any outright criticism of that nation, its president or the election. Said he: “It's not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling.” Leaving a nation to settle its own problems is certainly a change in U.S. policy. But it is one that Mr. Obama’s former opponent, Arizona Senator John McCain, could not tolerate. He minced no words: “He (Mr. Obama) should speak out that this is a corrupt, flawed sham of an election and that the Iranian people have been deprived of their rights.” The senator must be granted some latitude; the memory is often not as sharp when one reaches his age as it may have been decades earlier. In 2000, the U.S. had ‘a corrupt, flawed sham of an election’ when Mr. Bush ran against then Vice-President Al Gore. For those who need reminding, it was Mr. Gore who received the majority of the votes, but somehow it was Mr. Bush who wound up in the White House for eight, long, deadly, disastrous years. It would not be too much of a stretch to say of the U.S. citizens, as Mr. McCain said of the Iranian people, that they ‘have been deprived of their rights.’ But one must not expect much from Mr. McCain; after all, this is the man who propelled Sarah Palin onto the world stage where she made a complete fool of herself and him. It is certainly giving her too much credit to say she cost Mr. McCain the election; he would certainly have lost it regardless of who he had selected as his running mate. But his judgment regarding what Mr. Obama should say or do about the Iranian election and its aftermath is probably every bit as sound as his judgment in selecting his running mate. It seems that Mr. McCain clings to the ‘us vs. them’ mentality that initially worked so well for Mr. Bush, although one must suppose that he eventually came to regret it. Not that he ever did anything to change it, but with the legacy of disgrace, which is all he left, he might possibly wish he’d done a few things differently. Cutting loose the puppeteer-vice-president might have helped, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it is all too late now. Mr. Obama continued his comments on Iran: “It's important to understand that although there is amazing ferment taking place in Iran, the difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi (Mr. Ahmadinejad’s major opponent), in terms of their actual policies, may not be as great as has been advertised. Either way we were going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States, that has caused problems in the neighborhood and is pursuing nuclear weapons.” It is likely that Mr. McCain will continue to ramble on in his criticism of Mr. Obama. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, echoing the sentiments of her boss, said this: “We are obviously waiting to see the outcome of the internal Iranian processes, but our intent is to pursue whatever opportunities might exist in the future with Iran.” This implies engagement on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the war in Iraq and a possible host of other issues. Six months before he faced Mr. Obama in the polling booths of the U.S., Mr. McCain had already begun singing this particular song. After Mr. Obama expressed willingness to meet with the Iranian president, the Arizona senator expressed shock and horror: “Such a statement betrays the depth of Senator Obama's inexperience and reckless judgment. Those are very serious deficiencies for an American president to possess.” It was a tune not pleasant to the U.S. voter. They seemed to think that a candidate who wanted to prevent wars was probably a better bet than one who seemed content to continue two, and leave the door open for more. Mr. Obama, it appeared, would use diplomacy rather than belligerence; he would, as he later said, extend a hand a friendship to any nation that would unclench its fist. Mr. McCain, as a candidate and as a senator, seems to reflect the attitude of President James Polk who served from 1845 – 1849. It was said of him that he ‘held the niceties of diplomacy in contempt’. This contempt, along with the attitude of imperialism that Mr. McCain seems to share, was a major cause of the Mexican-American War. Mr. Bush’s disdain for diplomacy, supported and emulated by Mr. McCain, was a major cause of the Iraq War, which is now in its sixth year. Yet Mr. McCain babbles on, perennially being elected due to his rather foggy war record, and his equally cloudy years as a prisoner of war. The good people of Arizona, blinded by his self-described heroics, keep electing him. And as long as the incumbent Mrs. McCain continues to pour money from her vast inheritance into his campaigns, he will probably continue to win. The situation in Iran is probably dire for the Iranians. The repressive government is unlikely to perform a recount that will change the outcome, and violence against protestors will only increase. Yet Mr. Obama is wise in not becoming involved; as he stated during his recent European tour, he is president of the United States, not of the world. He must work with the world to prevent and solve shared problems, and a nuclear-armed Iran is worth working to prevent. He could use the tried and failed method of isolationism: not talking to those with whom the U.S. has serious differences, but that would result in what it always has in the past. But he is taking a higher road, meeting with those who, for a variety of reasons, many of them entirely legitimate, see the U.S. as the enemy, to be feared, loathed and certainly mistrusted. Mr. McCain would continue that disgraceful pattern; Mr. Obama wishes to break it. We are told that the Republican Party is seeking to re-energize and revamp itself. For some, this means a moderating of its strident, right-wing, ‘my way or the highway’, self-righteous attitude. For others, it means consolidating its base by emphasizing its conservatism. This includes imperialism, a merging of far-right Christianity with government policies, maintaining the policies of Mr. Bush and the exclusion of all dissenting opinions. Mr. McCain seems to be a champion of this wing. Should he and his cohort succeed in drowning the voices of moderation within the Grand Old Party (operative word: Old), it will take a huge effort by the Democrats to start losing elections (not that they are above running to the finish line only to fail to cross it). But for now, at least, the U.S. seems to have turned a corner, and is more than willing to try Mr. Obama’s approach. This is a good omen for the U.S. and the world.
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