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Today's
Stories
October 16
/ 17, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
The
Free Speech Movement and Howard Stern
October 15,
2004
Paul Craig
Roberts
Where
Did These "Conservatives" Come From?: The Brownshirting
of America
Laura Carlsen
Wal-Mart
vs. the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon
Greg Bates
Empire of Insanity: Kerry's Iraq Troop Numbers
Michael Donnelly
News from a Swing State: Does Anyone Here Have a Spine?
Katherine Lahey
The Venezuelan "Threat": Why Do Kerry and Bush Fear
Hugo Chavez?
Robert Jensen
/ Pat Youngblood
Election Day Fears
Leah Caldwell
From
Supermax to Abu Ghraib: the Masterminds of Torture and Abuse
Website of
the Day
An Anti-Billionaire Policy? Why That Would Be Economic Racism
October 14,
2004
Darcy Richardson
The
Other Progressive Candidate: the Lonely Crusade of Walt Brown
Willliam A.
Cook
Turning
Myths into Truth
Laura Santina
Water, Women and War
Evelyn Pringle
Free Speech Banned by Big Pharma: What You Can't Say About Drug
Importation
Alan Farago
Lessons
from Nature
Rep. Maxine Waters
A Letter to Colin Powell on Haiti
Nicole Colson
Maimed
for Oil and Empire
October 13,
2004
Bishop Thomas
Gumbleton and Bill Quigley
Aftermath
of a Coup: The Other Disaster in Haiti
Sharon Smith
Barak
O-Bomb-a?: Democrats Target Iran
Christopher Brauchli
God and the Bush Administration
Mike Whitney
The Real Meaning of the Hamdi Case
Paul de Rooij
Amnesty
International: a False Beacon?
Website of
the Day
Operation
Truth
October 12,
2004
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
"Indian
Country"
Greg Bates
The Year of Voting Dangerously: a Survey Request of Nader Voters
in Swing States
Steven Conn
Progressives as Pawns: Kerry's War on Nader
Jason Leopold
Under Cheney, Halliburton Helped Saddam Siphon Billions from
UN Oil-for-Food Program
Security Scholars
for a Sensible Foreign Policy
Time for a Change of Course
Timothy J. Freeman
Dying for a Mistake
Pierre Tristam
Deconstructing Bush
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
The 2nd Debate: the Blurring of Act and Audience
Bill and Kathleen
Christison
Israel as Sideshow
Website of the Day
John Kerry's Personal Off-Shore Tax Shelters
October 11,
2004
Robert Fisk
Iraq:
Unforgivable Betrayals and Broken Promises
Kevin Pina
The
Untold Story of Aristide's Departure from Haiti
Patrick Gavin
Rethinking
Columbus Day
Chris Floyd
Tribes with Flags in the New Afghanistan
Daniel Wolff
Radioactive Money: Entergy, Political Cash and America's Most
Dangerous Nuclear Plant
Walter Brasch
The Only Ones Who Believe Saddam Had WMDs are Bush, Cheney...and
40% of All Americans
Mike Whitney
The Phony Afghan Elections: Ballot of the Disappearing Ink
Ari Shavit
"He Talks to Condi Rice Every Day": an Interview with
Sharon's Lawyer
Paul Craig
Roberts
The
Debates and the Big Lie
Website of the Day
Dylan's Greatest Recording?
October 9 /
10, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
"There
Are No Innocents"
Paul de Rooij
Northern Ireland is Still the Issue: a Conversation with Gerry
Adams
M. Shahid Alam
Making Sense of Our Times
Laura Carlsen
Protest and Populism in Latin America
Fred Gardner
Pot Shots: ASA Goes to Court
Col. Dan Smith
Bush's Credibility Gap
Paul Craig
Roberts
Faith-Based Economics
Greg Bates
What If Nader Critics Get What They Demand?
Joshua Frank
Cobb, the Greens and the Collapse of the Left
Felice Pace
Wilderness, Politics and the Oligarchy: How the Pew Charitable
Trust is Smothering the Grassroots Environmental Movement
Walter A. Davis
Of Pynchon, Thanatos and Depleted Uranium
William A.
Cook
The Agony of Colin Powell
Phyllis Pollack
Twas No Crank Call Love Affair: London Calling, 25 Years Later
Poets' Basement
Klipschutz, Albert, Ford
Website of the Weekend
Abu Ghraib: the Taguba Annexes
October 8,
2004
Jennifer Loewenstein
The
Israeli Invasion of Gaza
Moshe Adler
Edwards' Gambit: He Hoped No One Would Notice the Similarities
David Swanson
Media Blackout: Press Continues to Ignore Labor's Opposition
to Iraq War
Dave Zirin
CounterPunch Contest: Let's Name the New DC Baseball Team!
Rep. Ron Paul
The Draft is a Form of Slavery
William S. Lind
Keeping Our SA Up
Samar Assad
Kerry v. Bush: No Difference When It Comes to Israel / Palestine
Jim Ingalls
and Sonali Kolhatkar
The Elections in Afghanistan
October 7,
2004
Dave Lindorff
All
Out of Volunteers: A Draft is in the Air
Masha Hamilton
Fear in Kandahar
Christopher
Brauchli
Master of Corruption: the Ripening Scandals of Tom Delay
Jason Leopold
Is There Still Time to Impeach Bush?
Bruce K. Gagnon
Bombing the Panhandle: Fighting the Pentagon in Rural Florida
Meredith Kolodner
Where
is the Urgency?: The Anti-War Movement's Election Year Challenge
October 6,
2004
Jeffrey St.
Clair
"Please,
Dude, Can I Take Them Out?": Targeting Civilians in Fallujah
Ron Jacobs
Going
Nuclear: the Ghost of Edward Teller Lives
Michael Colby
The National Flip-Flop: Suddenly Bush is Unfit to Lead?
Tarif Abboushi
More of the Same: Israel Wins the Debates
Matthew Behrens
Canadian Firms Profit from Iraqi Blood
Mike Whitney
Rethinking WMDs
John Pilger
Stealing Diego Garcia
Ben Tripp
Kerry's "Triumph"
Kevin McKiernan
Cheney's Poison Lab: Wrong Time, Wrong Target
Patrick Cockburn
Elections
Will Not End the Fighting in Iraq
Website of the Day
Is There an Islamic Problem?
October 5,
2004
Anthony Loewenstein
Rupert
Murdoch and the Marginals: "Personally Creating Outcomes"
Mark Clinton
and Tony Udell
The
Suicide of an Iraq War Veteran
Greg Bates
Trading
Idiots: an Open Letter to Eric Alterman
Dave Lindorff
What's
the Frequency, Karl?
Norm Dixon
Why Washington Won't Save Darfur Villagers
Larry Kearney
God Talk and Burning Children
Bill Linville
Dirty Politics in the Land of "Clean" Government
Gary Leupp
What
Edwards Should Ask Cheney
Website of
the Day
A Guide to Halliburton for Tonight's Debate
October 4,
2004
Diane Christian
The
Gates of Hell
Joshua Frank
An Interview with David Cobb
Doug Giebel
Incurious George: What If Bush Didn't Lie?
John Chuckman
Strange Victory: Sen. Obvious and the Pathetic Lump
Ramzy Baroud
Reverse the Picture: Anatomy of a Palestinian Outrage
Julia Stein
Remembering Mario Savio and the FSM
Sean Donahue
Outsourcing
Terror: Kerry and Special Forces
Website of
the Day
Mapping
Mt. St. Helens as She Rocks
October 2 /
3. 2004
Paul Wright
John
Kerry on Criminal Justice
Kathleen and Bill Christison
An Exchange with Israeli Historian Bennie Morris
Kathie Helmkamp
My Son Trent: a Marine Who Doesn't Want to Kill
Phillip Cryan
Indigenous Mobilization in Colombia
Lenni Brenner
The First Ex-Catholic Saint: Memories of Mario Savio
Fred Gardner
Pot Shots: In Case You Missed "Montel"
Ron Jacobs
It Did Happen Here: When Neo-Nazis Terrorized Olympia
Ben Tripp
Sticker Shock
William S.
Lind
The Grand Illusion: Iraqi Security Forces
Dave Zirin
The Swindle of the Century: Baseball Comes to DC
Dave Lindorff
Lies from the Great Debate
Luscon Pierre-Charles
Haiti's Elections: a High-Tech Sham is Underway
Zoe Moskovitz
& Sasha Kramer
Separating Lies from Truth About Haiti
Nelson P. Valdes
Habana Night vs. Latin American Scholars in Vegas: 61 Banned
Cuban Academics
Alan Farago
The "Ownership Society" and the End of the Everglades
Nancy Haley
What is the Historical Jesus Trying to Tell Us?
Alex Billet
Long Live The Clash: London Still Calling After 25 Years
Steve Fesenmaier
Save and Burn: The War on Libraries
Poets' Basement
Smith, Holt, Albert
October 1,
2004
Steve Breyman
Kerry's
Missed Opportunities
Rose Gentle
My
Son Died for a Lie
Lee Sustar
Iran
in the Crosshairs
Ralph Nader
What
We Didn't Hear at the Debate: Where's the Exit Strategy?
Walter Andrews
We Are Less Secure Now Than Ever
Mike Whitney
Pandora's
Government
Mickey Z.
Debate
This
Saul Landau
The
Iraq Invasion: Lessons from the Pinochet Cases
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.
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Weekend Edition
October 16 / 17, 2004
When History
Looks Back
Thinking
the Unthinkable
By
DOUG GIEBEL
"But history will look back and I'm
fully prepared to accept any mistakes that history judges to
my administration. Because the president makes the decisions,
the president has to take the responsibility."
President George W. Bush during
the 2004 second debate.
The revelations keep coming, proving
the Bush Administration's reasons for invading and occupying
Iraq were deviations from the truth. Members of the club such
as Bremer and Rumsfeld have been contradicting their leader and
their own earlier statements. The facts (as opposed to the many
misstatements of fact) are incriminating, not only regarding
President Bush, Vice-President Cheney and their colleagues-in-conspiracy,
but also regarding war-eager legislators, editors, reporters
and pundits who suckered for the never-ending tale (reasons changing
daily) that immediate attack was this nation's only option.
How many of the suckers have
admitted error? Not very many. In the second debate, Wily Charles
Gibson chose for last this question to George W. Bush: "President
Bush, during the last four years, you have made thousands of
decisions that have affected millions of lives. Please give three
instances in which you came to realize you had made a wrong decision
and what you did to correct it. Thank you."
Linda Grabel, who politely
asked the question, did not get an answer, because, acting true
to form, George W. Bush, President of the United States, could
not admit to having made three mistakes, and he did not specify
any corrective action he'd taken either. As leader of "the
most powerful nation on earth," George W. Bush sets the
standard for the rest of us, including those millions of children
who are not to be left behind. The message: never admit error!
How puzzling, therefore, that a majority the president's most
ardent supporters would surely not, as parents, instill this
example of family-values in their own children. Apparently it
is now a demonstration of one's "strength" if one refuses
to say (and mean it), "I was wrong."
Apart from some jocularly-unspecified
"appointments," as President of the United States,
George W. Bush appears to believe he has not made any mistakes
worth noting. Therefore, he has no mistakes to correct. Not even
three little-tiny-bitty ones. As for choosing the path of war,
the confident Bush went on to defend his choice. "They're
trying to say, 'Did you make a mistake going into Iraq?' And
the answer is, 'Absolutely not.' It was the right decision."
The debate marked Bush's second
try at giving a reasonable response, since Grabel's question
mimicked a reporter's inquiry during an earlier Bush press conference,
Linda Grabel deserves a standing tribute at the Kennedy Center
for her question and the direct, no-nonsense way in which it
was asked. She had the courage on national television to ask
for Truth from Power, and Power took a powder when it came to
giving a response. That more of the public, the legislators,
reporters, editors and pundits have not found this particular
Bush performance disgraceful is in itself a national disgrace.
The Rush
to War
Because Saddam Hussein constituted
no immediate threat to the security of the United States, the
invasion of Iraq was rushed forward in order to terminate the
ongoing work of U.N. inspectors whose final report would have
been the same as those of David Kay and the Duelfer report. Having
chosen the WMD fiction to frighten the nation into the need for
war, President Bush and his co-conspirators could not risk having
the inspectors publish a report that would take the air out of
the administration's elaborately-manufactured blimp.
A Sweet
Tax Named "Desire"
In light of the Duelfer report's
damning evidence, the Bush Administration now justifies action
against Iraq because Saddam Hussein desired a weapons
of mass destruction program. Saddam was punished for what he
desired. Consider how this standard would apply to tax policy.
As a not-wealthy citizen and sometime lottery player, my persistent
desire is to have a million (or more) dollars. Under the Bush
dream-no-more approach, I should be taxed not on my actual income
but on the income I desire. Enacted nationally, this policy
would wipe out that big Bush deficit in no time.
Presidential
Disappointment
In a national test, each voter
should be asked, "What was the real reason the United States
invaded Iraq?" No fair asking President Bush, of course.
During the second debate he woefully declared, "I wasn't
happy when we found out there wasn't weapons . . ." President
Bush desired to find weapons capable of killing thousands, even
millions of human beings. With his desire unfulfilled, he "wasn't
happy."
No Weapons
of Mass Destruction
In earlier columns, I have
written at length about the apparent fact that at least some
in the government knew our troops would not encounter WMD during
the invasion of Iraq and the march into Baghdad. Certainly this
confidence game was one of the most cynical scams ever perpetrated
on the American people. The fear our military forces would be
attacked by some unspecified and highly lethal weaponry made
for great drama on television and in the newspapers. Fear of
ruinous WMD also helped to paint the Iraqis as bad hombres. Sophisticated
reporters and editors failed to consider how foolhardy it would
have been for the United States to send thousands of "embedded"
reporters and our finest troops into a battle against WMD. While
the media and the public concentrated on administration language,
they forgot to examine the actions being taken on the ground
where convoys of soldiers accompanied by world-famous reporters
rushed forward without being clad in protective gear. The nation
was misled into an expensive and unnecessary military action,
and it was misled about the nature of the opposition its military
would face on the ground in Iraq.
Over There,
Over Here
A standard Bushvolk defense
of the "war" in Iraq is that we are fighting terrorists
over there so we don't have to fight them over here in the U.S.A.
Iraq is a giant Electrolux that sucks in terrorists so they can
be captured and/or killed as the world is cleansed of their ranks.
At the same time we're bludgeoned with the fact that terrorism
is a "global" business, so according to the administration's
own language, not all terrorists are in Iraq (and Afghanistan).
Iraq may be a country as large as California, but it is only
a small part of the earth's land mass. Because terror is a global
criminal enterprise (can you name any others?), terrorists not
in Iraq could still do mischief over here, or so it would seem
to a reasonable person. Will no one ask President Bush why battling
in Iraq prevents other terrorists from striking within the United
States?
Fear and
Trembling
Are Americans at home truly
possessed by the fear of terrorism? Most of us seem to go on
with our lives as we did prior to 9/11/01. It seems doubtful
many citizens hide in duct-taped safe rooms, fearing to breathe
or walk abroad because a terrorist might strike. For awhile in
the campaign, Safety Moms replaced Soccer Moms as a significant
group to be pandered to, but most moms have always been concerned
about the well-being of their children. Although polls and interviews
turn up voters who say their primary concern is to be safe from
terrorists, that concern has not dampened their interest in going
to work, dining out, living well, loving, watching the latest
episode of "Lost" or "Survivor." One wonders
whether "I'm afraid" is not an easy way to avoid thinking
more deeply about a significant issue of our time, just as the
Bush Administration's not-so-subtle call for the nation to "be
frightened but let Uncle George protect you" is a convenient
substitute for a more nuanced discussion of terrorism and the
real threat it may pose.
A Draft
for All Seasons
There is good reason to worry
about the reinstatement of a military draft because both President
Bush and Senator Kerry have made campaign promises vowing that
no draft will happen on their respective watches. The future
is notably difficult to predict, although true-red-white-and-blue
partisan Republicans and Democrats cheer on their respective
candidates oblivious to the fact. Surely the most ridiculous
charge that could be made against almost any politician is that
of "flip-flopping."
If a draft should become necessary,
it will result from the actions of George W. Bush and his administration's
eagerness to depose Saddam Hussein and establish permanent U.S.
influence over a major portion of the Middle East. If during
the second debate any citizen submitted a question regarding
our building permanent military bases in Iraq, it wasn't selected
by Charles Gibson to be asked of the candidates.
This Bush military action against
and occupation of Iraq is becoming increasingly unpopular, even
though half the voters would seem to favor "staying the
course." Because so many Americans stand ready to follow
their present Commander-In-Chief wherever he leads them, instituting
a new military draft should not present a problem: Let those
who support the war fight the war.
It's that simple. Americans
from all socio-economic groups cheer on the Bush team as Iraq
spirals increasingly out of control. The most aggressive fighting
force we could put together: those who most aggressively support
the battle for Iraq. Why am I wrong?
Administration surrogates such
as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and their like
have spawned a huge cadre of followers who would surely put their
bodies where their mouths have been: on the front lines in the
war against terrorism. If Hannity, Limbaugh, Savage and the rest
want to lead their troops in the charge, so be it. Drafting
those who support the "war" in Iraq would be much simpler
than the lottery drafts of old because it would eliminate all
those who are reluctant to suit up for a conflict that has been
lied about, manipulated, misreported and misunderstood.
Under this Draft Supporter
doctrine, millions of Americans from 18 to 80 will rush to enlist.
The cry of "Send Me!" will be heard throughout
the land. As a consequence, Iraq will be flooded with freshly-minted
"troops" willing to stay the course and overrun the
ancient nation to such an extent that "insurgents"
will simply throw up their dirty hands and surrender.
The idea is practical in every
way. Only those who want to fight will be sent to fight. Only
those willing to put their lives on the line for this particular
"war" will die or be wounded. Because the new military
has supported President Bush through his kaleidoscope of misstatement,
deception and rationalization, a grateful administration and
Congress will provide all necessary body armor, weaponry and
combat pay. At the same time, the war will be "insourced,"
not outsourced, ending a need for contracted outsiders and worries
about whistle-blowing or desertion. America's favorite source
of prescription drugs, Canada, will not be over-run with Yanks
fleeing from an unpopular draft as happened during the Vietnam
debacle.
For the sake of true fairness,
no supporter of the war, whatever his or her status in life,
will be exempted from the draft. Corporate big-wigs will serve
alongside secretaries and janitorial personnel. Publishers, editors
and pundits will fight side by side with advertisers, readers
and delivery persons. With such a draft, freedom (including freedom
of choice) will be truly on the march.
Whose Life
Was Worth Saddam?
President Bush and his claque
have repeatedly said, "Saddam Hussein was a unique threat,
and the world is better off without him in power." George
W. Bush defines the word "unique" as Saddam's having
had WMD he could have passed on to terrorists. But Saddam had
no WMD, and there is no proof he would have given away his deadly
treasure if he'd had it. Was Saddam unique in that he "deceived"
us by telling the truth when he said he had no weapons of mass
destruction? Was he unique when he violated a number of U.N.
sanctions, as other nations have done and will continue to do?
Was he unique when he slaughtered thousands of his own citizens,
as other dictators have done and continue to do? Was he unique
when he invaded a sovereign nation, as the U.S. did when it invaded
Iraq and Afghanistan?
Was invasion and occupation
the only way to remove Saddam from power? To that question the
answer is an obvious "no." The Bushvolk invasion of
Iraq was a "war" of choice, not of necessity, as was
Hitler's September invasion of Poland. Therefore the horrible
death and wounding, the devastation and destruction might have
been, could have been, avoided. But the lives we live are so
much determined by the choices that we make.
While conventional wisdom applauds
the notion that "the world is better off" without Saddam
in its face, the truth remains to be seen. If the invasion to
depose Saddam descends further into a hellish nightmare, getting
rid of Saddam may seem of little benefit to the world, to security,
to stability and peace.
So I ask: Whose life was
worth giving to remove Saddam Hussein?
This nation's most ardent supporters
of the Bush decision to invade Iraq have, for the most part,
been unwilling to put their lives on the line. The politicians
who talk a good "game" aren't pulling the triggers,
driving the trucks, manning the tanks or even rebuilding the
booby-trapped roads and the schools. President Bush is not flying
hot spirals over the skies of Baghdad. Neither the oft-deferred
Richard Cheney nor the true veteran John Kerry is guiding a swift-boat
up the Tigris.
Go to the list of coalition
war dead, pick a name, and ask, "Was this life worth it?"
If you can find one, go to
a list of innocent Iraqi men and women who have been killed in
the fighting as ask, "Were their lives worth it?"
Gather up the names, ages,
faces of all the children killed or left without a parent because
of the sanctions before the invasion and because of the invasion
of Iraq: "Were their lives worth it?"
Who died for Saddam? Would
one of those who died, if he or she had lived, have found a cure
for cancer, composed a symphony, wrote a novel or great poetry,
fathered a family, been chosen parent of the year, served friends
and neighbors throughout the long and happy life he or she hoped
to have, expected?
The greatest threat to civilization
is not weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists,
but hubristic politicial and religious zealots claiming their
God is on their side, bent on having what they want, no matter
what the cost.
Doug Giebel is a writer and analyst who lives
in Big Sandy, Montana. He welcomes comments at dougcatz@ttc-cmc.net
Weekend
Edition Features for September 18 / 19, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Forgeries,
Fingerprints and Forensic Fakery
Jeffrey St. Clair
High Plains Grifter: Bush's Mask of Anarchy
Patrick Cockburn
Into the Abyss: the Week Iraq's Dream of Peace Fell Apart
Fred Gardner
Pot Shots: Financial Torture (Asset Forfeiture)
Joe Allen
The Comrades Kerry Abandoned: the Real Story of Vietnam Vets
Against the War
George Corsetti
Poletown Revisited: Finally, Some Vindication
Scott Handleman
The Knock-Knock of a Sledgehammer: Sequestered in Nablus
Richard Ward
Two Weeks in Beit Arabiya
Conn Hallinan
Ashcroft and Indonesia
Lori Smith
Health Care in America: And Then I Got Sick...
Dave Zirin
Hold the Booyah!: SportsCenter Out of the Middle East
John L. Hess
Rather Will Take the Heat, As Bush's War Deteriorates
Brian J. Foley
W is for Wimp: So Why do Manly Men Love Him?
Mickey Z.
Pat Tillman and Osama bin Laden: Odd Juxtapositions
Poets' Basement
Vest, Landau & Albert
Website of the Weekend
Eye on the NYTs
/
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