U.S. Sends Wrong Message to the World
Because the United States has set a high standard for press freedom, any perceived weakening in U.S. protections provides cover for authoritarian regimes to justify crackdowns on their own press and others.
Posts
U.S. Arms for Terrorists?
/in The Nation/by Frank SmythTwo U.S. soldiers were arrested in Bogotá over arms and ammunition bound for an illegal paramilitary group identified by the State Department of being both a drug-trafficking and terrorist organization.
After Iraq’s Wartime Elections
/in Foreign Policy in Focus/by Frank SmythMany American progressives have never acknowledged the tragedy of the failed spring uprisings in 1991, what countless Iraqis at the time called their anti-Saddam intifada.
Next test: insurgents
/in Newsday/by Frank SmythThe Bush administration looks like it has finally scored a ringing success in Iraq. But, if one objective of Sunday’s elections was to help defeat Iraq’s ongoing insurgencies, then the exercise failed.
The question now is how Iraq’s next government will handle the insurgents. Before Sunday, they threatened voters. But U.S. troops led the effort to secure polling stations, while more than half of Iraq’s eligible voters defied insurgent threats and exercised their first real chance for self-empowerment in history.
Kven er dei progressive i Irak?
/in Dilettant/by Frank SmythEi hending i Irak denne månaden (september 2004, red.anm) vart ikkje nemnd i verken mainstream media eller i den alternative pressa, dette til trass for at hendinga gjev signal om at amerikansk kontroll over Irak…
Chi sono i progressisti in Iraq?
/in Amisnet/by Frank SmythSia la stampa “alternativa” che quella ufficiale hanno dimenticato di riportare un evento che dimostra come il controllo americano sul futuro dell’Iraq sta forse tramontando.
Ad agosto, la Casa Bianca ha sostenuto la nascita di un Consiglio Nazionale Iracheno, formato da oltre cento gruppi tribali, etnici, religiosi, nella speranza di influenzare la composizione di un corpo elettorale. Durante il mese scorso, due grandi partiti politici, entrambi guardati da sempre con sospetto a Washington, hanno guadagnato terreno.
Hasty elections could divide Iraq
/in Newsday/by Frank SmythSplitting Iraq along ethnic and religious lines is not what President George W. Bush’s administration had in mind for Iraq. But it will be one sure result of any attempt to hold elections in the middle of an escalating insurgent war.