Author: Norman Solomon
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Operation Withdrawal Scam
A few days ago, the White House launched a new phase of its propaganda siege for the Iraq war. The opening salvo came on July 27, when the commander of American forces in Iraq said that continuation of recent trends would make possible “some fairly substantial reductions” of U.S. troop levels in the spring and…
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‘This Guy is a Modern-Day Hitler’
Evil that warrants the large-scale killing of war needs a face. But that face cannot belong to some amorphous mass of an enemy population; in fact, it’s a ritual for the president to offer assurances that civilians who may be caught in the crossfire are not among the Pentagon’s targets. The bull’s-eye must be painted…
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In Praise of Kevin Benderman
Conscience is not in the chain of command. "Before being sentenced to 15 months for refusing to return to Iraq with his Army unit, Sgt. Kevin Benderman told a military judge that he acted with his conscience, not out of a disregard for duty," the Associated Press reports. Benderman, a 40-year-old Army mechanic,…
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Thomas Friedman, Liberal Sadist?
The acclaimed New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has often voiced enthusiasm for violent destruction by the U.S. government. Hidden in plain sight, his glee about such carnage is worth pondering. Many people view Friedman as notably articulate, while others find him overly glib, but there’s no doubt that he is an influential commentator with…
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“Wagging the Puppy” — and Unleashing the Deadly Dogs of War
Midway through this month, the Karl Rove scandal was dominating the national news — until the sudden announcement of a Supreme Court nominee interrupted the accelerating momentum of the Rove story. Since then, some anti-Bush groups and progressive pundits have complained that the White House manipulated the media agenda. But when it comes to deploying…