Progress in Syria…Even Without US Invasion

The violence the government has been unleashing on the Syrian people unfortunately continues, with Syrian troops Monday reaching towns near the Lebanon border "guns echo[ing]" and "claiming to look for terrorist groups." But Monday also saw more than 150 Syrian...

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War Rhetoric: Enforcing Conformity

The rhetoric used to marginalize dissenting opinion and coddle the herd into unity conformity is the same in Libya as it has been in other recent wars. I see two main tactics. The first is the attempt to detract attention and emphasis away from any potential domestic...

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Real Numbers of “Troops” in Afghanistan

I'm waiting for Obama's announcement of the new policy of troop levels in Afghanistan to become old news by about Monday, but while it's still the weekend, let's consider further exactly how many people we've got in that country smaller than Texas. From a...

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Another Proxy for Imperial Preemption

As has been reported and discussed at length here at Antiwar.com, the national security establishment, in conjunction with the Obama administration and surely whatever succeeds it, is planning on an essentially permanent U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Secret...

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Congress Split, Weak-Kneed on Libya

This week's news of a resolution from senior Senators to permit military operations in Libya for one year was met with muddled reaction in Congress. The splits within both parties have been preventing clear assertions or definitive action going forward. Today's WSJ...

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Israel Eases Blockade, Still No Sign of Progress

News yesterday that Israel is finally allowing building materials into Gaza, which has been deprived of them since Operation Cast Lead reduced much the infrastructure to rubble, was good to hear, but I'm still left slightly skeptical. First of all, it's limited:...

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Political Calculations of Absurdity on Libya

The attempt on the part of congressional leaders to obstruct growing discontent with Obama's war in Libya by jumping the gun (so to speak) and approving the war without even having been formally asked to approve it brings with it a whole new host of questions. First...

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Not the Oil? Really?

In a rather surprising article over at Reason, Shikha Dalmia writes not only that oil is not a driving force in the U.S. intervention in Libya, but that it doesn't even drive our broader Middle East policy. Indeed, it is a "tired saw invoked by U.S. critics." Dalmia...

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