Alongside the recent military escalations in the Occupied Territories, a new voice of conscience is rising loud and clear inside Israel. Previously marginal, this voice now offers the country hope of breaking out of the past 17 months of crisis. The new voice permeates reports from the Occupied Territories and it has begun to mobilize Israelis on a scale inconceivable since the Palestinian uprising began in September 2000. Two consecutive rallies on Feb. 9 and 16 drew crowds of thousands. But the salient expression of the new voice is the public declaration of young Israeli Army reservists on Jan. 25 that they will not serve in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. The intensity of the reactions both negative and positive to these new “refuseniks” reflects the depth of the political challenge posed by the soldiers’ conscientious objection.
When Things Turn Weird, The Weird Turn Pro: Propaganda, The Pentagon And The Rendon Group
A few years ago, Washington media consultant John Rendon was regaling an audience of cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy with one of his favorite war stories.
When victorious U.S. troops rolled into Kuwait City, he noted, they were greeted by hundreds of Kuwaitis waving American flags. The scene, flashed around the world again and again on CNN, left little doubt that the U.S. Marines were welcome in Kuwait.
"Did you ever stop to wonder," he asked, "how the people of Kuwait City, after being held hostage for seven long and painful months, were able to get hand-held American, and for that matter, the flags of other coalition countries?"
A ripple of knowing chuckles passed across Rendon’s military audience.
"Well you now know the answer," he said, "That was one of my jobs then."
Nuclear Terrorism and US Nuclear Policy
As bad as September 11th may have been, it could have been far worse. Had terrorists attacked with nuclear weapons, the death toll could have risen into the millions. It is likely that even one crude nuclear weapon would have left Manhattan utterly destroyed, and with it the financial and communications center of the country. Were terrorists to obtain one or more nuclear weapons and use them on New York, Washington or other cities, the United States could cease to exist as a functioning country. The stakes are very high, and yet the US is creating new nuclear policies that increase the likelihood that terrorists will ultimately obtain nuclear weapons.
Why Can't the Democrats Get Tough?
On Nov. 22, 2000, it looked as if the presidency of the United States was about to be decided in Miami, Fla. That morning, a three-judge canvassing board in Miami-Dade County resolved to recount 10,750 "undervotes"---ballots which machines had read as showing no vote for president, but which, examined by hand, might reveal such evidence of voter intent as the now-famous "dangling chads." Outraged operatives for George W. Bush, fearing that Al Gore might pick up enough votes to win, labored to convince the judges to stop the recount. When their legal arguments failed, they turned to a different form of persuasion.
The media's right-wing bias is showing again. I refer to an axis of overexuberant conservatism spanning the outrageous Drudge Report, the famously Republican Chicago Tribune, the ever-eager commentator Fred Barnes, the loony Washington Times and, finally, our own little me-too chorus at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Determined to cushion George W. Bush from vulnerability for his bosom-buddiness with Enron, these right-wing conspirators, diligent if not vast, have endeavored to tie Kenneth Lay around Bill Clinton's tired and burdened neck.
With the right wing, the formula is always simple: When in trouble, slap Clinton.
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