contributions

Having served as a doctor in the Army Medical Corps early in my career and as presidential physician to George H.W. Bush for four years, I might be expected to bring a skeptical and partisan perspective to allegations of torture and abuse by U.S. forces. I might even be expected to join those who, on the one hand, deny that U.S. personnel have engaged in systematic use of torture while, on the other, claiming that such abuse is justified. But I cannot do so.
It’s precisely because of my (…)

The defining international issue for America when I was in high school and college was the war in Vietnam.
Americans had a choice: continue the war, or get out.
People on both sides were backed by powerful political figures who provided leadership and voiced their arguments. In 1972, the presidential election matched Richard Nixon, who aimed to continue the war, and South Dakota Sen. George McGovern, who pledged to withdraw our military forces within 90 days.
The political system gave (…)

No Bounce: Bush Job Approval Unchanged by War Speech; Question on Impeachment Shows Polarization of Nation; Americans Tired of Divisiveness in Congress-Want Bi-Partisan Solutions-New Zogby Poll
President Bush’s televised address to the nation produced no noticeable bounce in his approval numbers, with his job approval rating slipping a point from a week ago, to 43%, in the latest Zogby International poll. And, in a sign of continuing polarization, more than two-in-five voters (42%) say (…)

“Not only can they not find WMD in Iraq,” I commented to E. as we listened to the Bush speech, “But they have disappeared from his speeches too!” I was listening to the voiceover on Arabiya, translating his speech to Arabic. He was recycling bits and pieces of various speeches he used over two years.
E., a younger cousin, and I were sitting around in the living room, sprawled on the relatively cool tiled floor. The electricity had been out for 3 hours and we couldn’t turn on the air (…)

To have spent a life largely in service, duty and sacrifice because you truly, honestly, believed and valued in the highest esteem the truths of Truth, Justice and Liberty, fervently held dear the rallying battlecries of Democracy and Freedom, only to one day reach a sudden epiphany of realization, in a renching horrible instant ... to understand that those beliefs had become mere hollow words, tools and lies to be mouthed by a political system long corrupted to the core for something (…)

George W. Bush on President Clinton not setting a timetable for exiting Kosovo
“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is.” George W. Bush, 4/9/99:
“I think it’s also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn.” George W. Bush, 6/5/99 Speaking to a captive audience of soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., June 28, President George W. Bush resorted once (…)

While Americans were President Bush’s primary target audience for his nationally televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Iraqis were also very interested in what he had to say.
Walid Phares, a terrorism expert for MSNBC and senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, joined MSNBC’s Amy Robach on Wednesday to discuss how Bush’s words may be playing in Baghdad, Basra and all around Iraq.
"Days ago I had met with the (Iraqi) prime minister at a meeting here in (…)

Blair denies US rushed to war
INTERVIEW: The British prime minister said ensuring victory in Iraq is more important than debating the case for invasion, especially when memos are taken out of context
British Prime Minister Tony Blair firmly denied that the Bush administration signaled just months after Sept. 11 that a decision was made to invade Iraq, saying he was "astonished" by claims that leaked secret memos suggested the US was rushing to war.
In an interview a day after US (…)

SAN STEFFAN / WESTMINSTER DATGANIAD I’R WASG PLAID CYMRU THE PARTY OF WALES PRESS RELEASE Wednesday 29 June 2005 - for immediate release
The Prime Minister has confirmed the authenticity of a Downing Street memo in which Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, tells Mr Blair that the Bush administration was "fixing" the intelligence and facts about Saddam Hussein’s regime to back up a decision that had been taken to invade Iraq as early as July 2002.
The Downing Street memo which (…)

– Venezuela has greater oil reserves than any Middle Eastern nation To contribute $50 million initially for Petrocaribe to immediately begin functioning
BY JOAQUIN RIVERY TUR Granma daily special correspondent
PUERTO LA CRUZ, Venezuela, June 29 ­ President Hugo Chávez explained during the 1st Energy Summit of Caribbean Heads of State and Government that the Venezuelans had designed a plan for Petrocaribe, according to which oil supplies would be directed toward three points: Cuba (…)