The war in Iraq is yet to acquire a title which is accepted by all. For the neo-cons in the Pentagon it is “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. For those with an historical bent, the conflict is “The Second Gulf War”. It may yet come to be known as “The Iraqi Civil War”. The word “Iraq” is often used without the word “war” as if the country and the conflict were synonymous. <BR
Since Bush did his “Top Gun” impression last May and declared an end to “major combat operations”, there have been very few British deaths in Iraq. For Americans, the famous “Mission Accomplished” banner has proven bitterly over-optimistic. Most days at least one US soldier is killed in Iraq, often it is more than one. The British Army though, with far fewer troops co
I like to write my blogs by hand before I type them up. As I write this, I’m travelling on a bus from Dublin to Belfast. We are in the town of Drogheda in the Irish Republic. By the time I finish writing, we’ll be in Northern Ireland. It is three days until Easter. For Catholics today is Holy Thursday, for Protestants, Maunday Thursday. Either way, tomorrow will be Go
"And spare me the "US puts Taiwan and China against each other." That's utter nonsense. It would be a lot easier for the US to just let China go ahead and conquer Taiwan. After all, that's France's position." You ask for specifics, but then you dismiss specific points as "utter nonsense". Using Taiwan to limit Chinese influence is long-standing US policy. Maybe one day the US will green light a Chinese invasion, at the minute that would be ba
Thanks Steven. I've had five or six blogs featured recently. I'm more concerned about getting lots of comments on my opinions, whether for or against. Sometimes I get a blog on the home page and it gets very little response. Other times I get a good response on blogs that aren't on the home page. I think it's the subject matter more than whether or not the blog is featured. If your blog title contains the words "John Kerry" then you'll get a big respon
Brad, Haiti was a US colony from 1914-34 Why do you keep saying Western Europe is getting "uppity"? You mean like a child that doesn't know its place?
Now for the nitpicking "The US helps ensure the freedom of countries like Taiwan." Not that simple. The US plays China and Taiwan off each other. At best the US is a part-time ally of Taiwan. The US supported the government in Taiwan when it was a dictatorship. In the election last month the US virtually demanded that Taiwan not hold a referendum on defence against Chin
The US does what's in the interest of its ruling elites. Sometimes this is beneficial to other countries. But it doesn't act out of altruism, no country does. The US is no better or worse than France or Britain, it just happens to be the mega-power at the moment. The problem with American power is the noun, not the adjective.
I’ve been strongly opposed to the war in Iraq from the outset. As each day passes Paul Bremer’s optimism gets more laughable, Tony Blair’s lies become more apparent and more people, mostly Iraqis, are killed. Each new day brings no news of those mysterious WMD. And each day I grow more convinced that this war was wrong. Having said this, I don’t pretend to p
It’s easy to forget how much we rely on stability. So much of our daily activity depends on the proper functioning of government and business. When you press the light switch, you expect the room to be illuminated. When you go to the supermarket, you expect there to be food on the shelves. When you post a letter, you expect it to arrive at its destination. When you wa
Steve, Good article but no need to use terms like "rag-head". It's really unnecessary. I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all response. The US has always put a premium on individual rights so banning people from wearing religious symbols goes against the grain. As Jepel noted, in France the history is different and the emphasis is on separating religion from the state. If the French want to go ahead with this ban (and there was a
Getting back to my original blog. Media coverage is very different in the US compared to Europe but why, in both places, is there so much coverage? Why does it matter so much? Any ideas or suggestions?
"Americans and Europeans look at the same data in the middle east." No way. The media coverage is very different. The American media is very pro-Israel compared to Europe. Chicken/Egg etc, etc. but either way your assertion is incorrect.
Brad, Americans are free to elect who they want. Every one else is free to have an opinion about who you elect. Go ahead and elect whoever you want but if you re-elect the current brash unilateralist, don't expect relations with the EU to improve. "Many Europeans are unaware that individual European nations are not a major concern to most Americans" I totally disagree. In Europe the stereotype of Americans is the exact opp
They mustn’t have had corn syrup in Hollywood back in the 50s. In the era of John Wayne westerns, the idea that a person bleeds when they’re shot was not accepted. In those days the Duke would plug the bad guy who’d go down clutching his miraculously blood-free chest. Either he’d be dead as soon as he hit the dirt or he’d survive just long enough to mutter a few last
Jill, "who said anything about Clinton?" Aaaron did. "Sure, you can't prove that he didn't knowingly lie, but you can't prove he did either." http://www.politicalstrategy.org/2003_03_10_weblog_archive.htm
Larry, thanks for your comments. Just to clear something up. This comment: "They believe that Israel is condemned around the world not because it is unjust, but because it is Jewish" The "they" refers to Israelis who respond to every criticism of their country by alleging anti-Semitism. Obviously this "they" do not believe that Israel is unjust. They believe their country, is humane and is criticised because it's Jewish. I'm not prese
"And French people live where generations of Germans used to live. And Poles live where generations of Germans used to live. And ad naseum across Europe. But you don't see Germans blowing up Polish children on school buses do you? How about the Native Americans in the United States?" Until recently Fench and Germans fought over territory, ditto Poles and Germans. Native Americans don't fight any more because they were defeated. When an invader
Brad, "Or maybe, one might conclude that anti-semitism is still quite in play in Europe but it is no longer so prone to violent action against Jewish people and instead they take it out against (as one European diplomat put it) "that shitty little country"." The EU doesn't "take it out" on Israel. If the EU wanted to hurt Israel it could, diplomatically and economically. "It's hard for us Americans to not conclude that the p
"At the very least, one can argue that there is ample evidence of European anti-semitism which could cloud their views on Israel." This is a very tricky situation. All of us who criticise Israel could be anti-Semites. Only the individual knows what motivates their feelings towards Israel. I can swear blind that I'm not an anti-Semite but you'll never know for sure if I'm being truthful. "Could it be that the Palestinans make great e
Superbaby, I happily accept the charge of bias, I am biased, I am pro-Palestinian. The question is does my bias cloud my judgement. Clicked on your link, full of the usual half-truths and sitortions as far as I'm concerned. Just two examples: mention of Palestinians who supported the Nazis but no mention of Zionist groups who backed the Nazis. The point about 242 not containing the word "the" is true only of the English language version. In F
The world is full of ethnic conflict. In Papua New Guinea, the Bougainville islanders fight for their independence. Over in Indonesia, the government suppresses an uprising in West Papua. The Muslims of Mindinao struggle to be free of the Philippines. Chechens fight Russians, Albanians fight Serbs, Christians fight Muslims in Sudan, everyone fights everyone else in th
Did I say that? I don't agree with Yassin's methods. I was objecting to the tone of the article which seeked to portray Hamas' attacks in a vacuum.
We Irish pride ourselves on our hospitality. In a smug way, we convince ourselves that we’re better than less welcoming nations (perhaps starting with the letter “E”) who refuse to get out the nice biscuits when company comes round. This June however, when a former Texan oil man comes to town, he is unlikely to get a warm reception. George W. Bush is due to visit Irel
From CNN: "At the annual dinner of Radio and Television News Correspondents Association on Wednesday, Bush showed photographs of himself in awkward poses as he looked behind furniture in the Oval Office. "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere ... nope, no weapons over there ... maybe under here?" Bush joked."
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