HOME

Readings 2007

    More Readings:    2008    2007    2006    2005    2004    2003   


  • Dropping Out of Electoral College – Martha Biondi
    Maryland is the first state to pass the National Popular Vote (NPV) into law, and several others are right behind – In These Times, December 31, 2007

  • Sizing Up the 'Bush Agenda' -- Corporate Globalization, Oil, Wealth and Power – Antonia Juhasz
    Pushing aggressively forward on rewriting Iraq’s oil infrastructure to allow greater control and access to U.S. corporations for its oil under the ground, for exploration and production. – BuzzFlash, January 5, 2007 01/05/2007

  • Hired Guns – Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
    While the volunteer Army struggles, the business of war booms. The armed security contractors in Iraq–from 20,000- to 70,000-strong–do everything from feeding and providing basic services to the U.S. military, to constructing bases, transporting equipment, and rebuilding Iraqi infrastructure. And they die. – The American Conservative, November 19, 2007

  • The torture tape fingering Bush as a war criminal – Andrew Sullivan
    The president conceded that the CIA “used an alternative set of procedures”, which were “safe and lawful and necessary”. Zubaydah was waterboarded. That much we know - it was confirmed recently by a former CIA agent, John Kiriakou, who even used the plain English word “torture” to describe what was done. – The Sunday Times (UK), December 23, 2007

  • Easy Out – Gregory Cochran
    Most public discussions of the actual mechanics of withdrawal have emphasized how difficult it will be. Army sources estimate that it will take 12 to 20 months. Of course, military experts have said many things about Iraq over the years, and how often have they proved correct? – The American Conservative, September 24, 2007

  • Guns Beat Green: The Market Has Spoken – Naomi Klein
    If you are looking for a sure bet in a new growth market, sell solar, buy surveillance; forget wind, buy weapons. Despite all the government incentives, the really big money is turning away from clean energy and banking on gadgets promising to seal wealthy countries and individuals into high-tech fortresses. – The Nation, November 29, 2007

  • Holocaust Denial, American Style – Mark Weisbrot
    Institutionally unwilling to consider America's responsibility for the bloodbath, the traditional media have refused to acknowledge the massive number of Iraqis killed since the invasion. – AlterNet, November 21, 2007.

  • Fallibility + Unchecked Power = Trouble – Peter Erlinder, St. Paul Pioneer Press
    While the Bush administration claims it needs the power to tap all foreign phone calls without asking a court to issue a warrant, the American people got concrete evidence why limits on executive-branch power are built into the Constitution. – CommonDreams.org, October 25, 2007

  • Empire and the Bomb: How the U.S. Uses Nuclear Weapons to Dominate The World – Will Shapira
    A terrifying book, but read it anyway. This book review tells how the US uses our atomic weaponry to support a policy of blatant imperialistic, capitalistic global hegemony and apparently doesn't mind running the risk of starting a nuclear war to advance our policies, – American Friends Service Committee, September 18, 2007

  • Guilty relief – Annie McCabe
    Annie McCabe's husband is home from Iraq, but she can't stop thinking of Iraqi families. "Thoughts of the families in Iraq keep my peace work going. As overpowering as the fear and worry were for me while he was gone, I cannot imagine the lives of my Baghdad counterparts." – Minnesota Women's Press, October 16, 2007

  • Academic Freedom and Outside Speakers (2007) – American Association of University Professors
    Universities' rescinding invitations to outside speakers have multiplied in recent years. Because academic freedom requires the liberty to learn as well as to teach, universities should respect the prerogatives of campus organizations to select outside speakers whom they wish to hear. – Prepared by a subcommittee of a Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, July, 2007

  • Occupation is Oppression – Rt. Rev. Desmond Tutu
    This speech, given in Boston, Massachusetts in 2002, was the one that caused the University of St. Thomas to un-invite him to an event on campus. – The Witness Magazine, May 2002

  • When the CIA Got It Right – David Ignatius
    Knowing that President Bush was pushing for war, a CIA analyst felt a duty to warn of the likely consequences. So in late 2002, he prepared two estimates -- one on the likelihood of domestic turmoil in postwar Iraq and another on the risky consequences for the region. – The Washington Post, September 23, 2007

  • Healing the prisoners – Michele St. Martin
    Deanna Germain, author of "Reaching Past the Wire: a Nurse at Abu Ghraib," joined the Army as a way to get the rest of hr nursing school tuition paid. – Minnesota Women's Press, November 19, 2007

  • Taking On Torture – Shelly Fling
    After seeing photographs of abused prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in May 2004, Miles, a professor in the Medical School and the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota, wanted to know where the prison doctors were while these abuses were taking place. – Minnesota Magazine, July-August 2007

  • Is Justice Possible After Torture? – Deborah Pearlstein
    The U.S. decision five years ago to torture detainees has infected a generation of terrorism cases where it might have once been possible to do justice -- but may not be anymore. – The American Prospect, August 17, 2007

  • Crocker Blasts Refugee Process – Spencer S. Hsu and Robin Wright
    The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned that it may take the U.S. government as long as two years to process and admit nearly 10,000 Iraqi refugees referred by the United Nations for resettlement to the United States, because of bureaucratic bottlenecks. – Washington Post, September 17, 2007

  • Green: The New Red, White and Blue – Thomas Friedman, NY Times
    Being green, focusing the nation on greater energy efficiency and conservation is actually the most tough-minded, geostrategic, pro-growth and patriotic thing we can do. – The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, January 6, 2006

  • Justices To Learn How Israel Handles Detainees – Renee Montagne
    A Supreme Court case will test whether detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have the right to challenge their detentions in federal court. A brief will provide information about how Israel has dealt with detainees and terrorism, noting that more than a thousand Israelis have been killed and 6,000 injured in terror attacks overall since 2001. – NPR Morning Edition, Aug 27, 2007

  • Connecting the silos – Mary Shafer
    U professor, Barbara Frey, explores the link between human rights and small firearms, as director of the Human Rights Program in U of M's Institute for Global Studies. In 2002 the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights appointed her to study how countries could prevent human rights violations committed with small arms and light weapons. – UMNnews, August 15, 2007

  • Powerhouse GOP firm working to undermine Iraqi PM – Ed Henry
    A Republican lobbying firm with close ties to the White House has begun a public campaign to undermine the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, CNN has confirmed. – CNN.com, August 24, 2007

  • A New Group with an Old Message on the War – Jesse Singal
    An organization to advocate for our continued involvement in Iraq reinvigorates a failed PR strategy in the hopes of regaining the support of moderate Republican voters -- and smoothing the path for a pro-war presidential candidate. – The American Prospect, August 24, 2007

  • Protest the War in September, and October, and ... – Tom Gallagher
    Will people one day wonder what all the ‘good Americans’ were doing during the Iraq War? The Iraq Moratorium is a pledge to publicly oppose the war in some way on the third Friday of every month until the war ends. – Common Dreams, August 24, 2007

  • August Heats Up – Eleanor Clift
    Inside the antiwar movement's effort to embarrass the GOP into changing its position on Iraq. The idea: to bird-dog 40 lawmakers, all Republicans, much the way Cindy Sheehan did to Bush, including Minnesota's Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. – Newsweek, August 3, 2007

  • Guantánamo man's family release 'torture' dossier – Vikram Dodd
    A British resident held by the US as an alleged terrorist has claimed his captors repeatedly tortured him, subjecting him to beatings, sexual abuse and threats of execution. – The Guardian, August 11, 2007

  • 'Signing Statements' Study Finds Administration Has Ignored Laws – Jonathan Weisman
    President Bush has asserted that he is not necessarily bound by the bills he signs into law, and a congressional study found multiple examples in which the administration has not complied with the requirements of the new statutes. – Washington Post, June 19, 2007

  • Cheney: Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power – Barton Gellman
    Dick Cheney is the most influential and powerful man ever to hold the office of vice president. This series examines Cheney's largely hidden and little-understood role in crafting policies for the War on Terror. – Washington Post, June 25, 2007

  • Exit Strategies – Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks
    Would Iran Take Over Iraq? Would Al-Qaeda? The Debate About How and When to Leave Centers on What Might Happen After the U.S. Goes. – Washington Post, July 17, 2007

  • How will Iraq share the oil? – Gail Russell Chaddock
    In the US, the demand that Iraq pass an oil law is a 'benchmark' that is becoming a flashpoint. – The Christian Science Monitor, May 18, 2007

  • Will the Progressive Majority Emerge? – Rick Perlstein
    Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007, a massive twenty-year study of public opinion from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: today, 69% say it is the responsibility of government to care for those who can't take care of themselves. – The Nation, July 9, 2007

  • The Palestine follies – Jeffrey Sachs
    A two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute is still possible, but thanks to American foreign policy failures it is becoming more difficult. – The Guardian Unlimited, June 21, 2007

  • Radicalism is Destroying Muslim Societies – Ian Wendt
    The Muslim world is struggling with numerous challenges: absolute monarchs, dictators, internal inequalities, confrontation with modernity and social change, the poison of oil wealth, economic stagnation, human rights abuses... But the paramount ordeal for contemporary Muslim societies is the disease of radicalism. – Real Clear Politics, June 22, 2007

  • Silent Partner – Philip Giraldi, Ray McGovern, Larry Johnson, Jim Marcinkowski, Vince Cannistraro, David MacMichael, Tom Maertens, Pat Lang
    The agency he headed found no cause for war, but George Tenet told the president what he wanted to hear. This letter was sent to retired CIA Director George Tenet by a group of former intelligence officers. Tenet reportedly received a $4 million advance for his new tell-all. – The American Conservative, May 7, 2007

  • Alberto’s Harvard Class (’82) Places Ad – Washington Post Ad
    An Open Letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: "We were united in our deep respect for the Constitution... So it has been with dismay that we have watched your cavalier handling of our freedoms time and again." – The Daily Kos, May 15, 2007

  • How to Get Out of Iraq – Juan Cole
    President Bush will continue to veto any attempts by congress to end the war in Iraq. At times he has warned that Iraq could become an Al Qaeda stronghold, at others that violence could spill out across the region, both attempts to frighten the public. – The Nation, April 23, 2007

  • The Prize of Iraqi Oil – Michael Schwartz
    In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, oil was seldom mentioned. Oil did make it prominently onto the signs of war protestors at home and abroad, but "No Blood for Oil" was just so simplistic. – Tom Dispatch, May 6, 2007

  • If War Is Not the Answer, What Is? The Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict – Friends Committee on National Legislation
    In the fall of 2002, the Bush Administration enshrined in U.S. policy a unilateral right to take military action against "emerging threats before they are fully formed." Here's a more effective path to lasting security – FCNL, Sept. 7, 2005

  • W A M M: Making Waves for 25 Years –Polly Mann, W A M M
    When a group of women began meeting to discuss the formation of an antiwar organization back in 1981, there were no blueprints or examples. There were antiwar organizations, but none that fit the model we had in mind. – Women Against Military Madness, April 2007

  • Moving towards sustainable security – Chris Abbott, Paul Rogers and John Sloboda
    Since 9/11, Western leaders have held up international terrorism as the greatest threat to world security. However, the evidence does not support this claim. Our research shows the fundamental threats that we all face are: climate change, competition over resources, marginalisation of the majority world, global militarisation. – Oxford Research Group, April 2007

  • Civilians without protection (PDF)
    The conflict in Iraq is inflicting immense suffering on the entire population. Civilians bear the brunt of the relentless violence and the extremely poor security conditions that are disrupting the lives and livelihoods of millions. – International Committee of the Red Cross

  • Study: Thousands of veterans return with mental illness
    Nearly a third of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who received care from Veterans Affairs between 2001 and 2005 were diagnosed with mental health or psychosocial ills. – CNN, March 13, 2007

  • Hang Up on War: Get a Tax Refund – Amy Goodman
    If you are upset that Congress won't defund the war in Iraq, there's something you can do: Stop paying a tax. Legally. Individuals and businesses have one chance to obtain a refund on this telephone war tax, by asking for it in their 2006 income tax returns. – AlterNet, April 5, 2007

  • The Conscience of the Colonel – Jesse Bravin, Wall Street Journal
    When the Pentagon needed someone to prosecute a Guantanamo Bay prisoner linked to 9/11, it turned to Lt. Col. V. Stuart Couch. But, nine months later, he refused to proceed with the prosecution. He concluded that the incriminating statements had been taken through torture. – Candide's Notebooks, March 31, 2007

  • Address Root Causes of Terror, Expert Advises – Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star
    The holy book expressly forbids violence against civilians. The message slowly sunk in. Engaging the militants on their own theological turf was “a bold and courageous move.” – CommonDreams.org, April 8, 2007

  • The Redirection – Seymour M. Hersh
    To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East... A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda. – The New Yorker, March 5, 2007

  • The Must-Do List – The New York Times Editorial
    It will require forceful steps by this Congress to undo the damage of the Bush administration. Here are some suggestions. – truthout, March 4, 2007

  • The time is ripe for the US to engage Syria on Mideast issues – Helena Cobban
    Damascus seems willing to work with the US on the Arab-Israeli conflict and Iraq. – The Christian Science Monitor, March 8, 2007

  • The Iraq Effect: The war has increased terrorism sevenfold worldwide – Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank
    The administration’s own National Intelligence Estimate states that "the Iraq War has become the ‘cause celebre’ for jihadists...and is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives." – Mother Jones, March 1, 2007

  • Whatever It Takes – Jane Mayer
    The politics of the man behind “24,” the popular counterterrorism drama on Fox. “People in the Administration love the series." Toture is always the solution. – The New Yorker, February 19, 2007

  • Victory is Not an Option – William E. Odom, Washington Post
    The new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq starkly delineates the gulf that separates President Bush's illusions from the realities of the war. – Hudson Institute, February 11, 2007

  • Pentagon unit defied CIA advice to justify Iraq war – Suzanne Goldenberg
    An "alternative intelligence" unit operating at the Pentagon in the run-up to the war on Iraq was dedicated to establishing a link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, even though the CIA was unconvinced of such a connection, the US Senate was told – The Guardian, February 10, 2007

  • Stand Up Against the Surge – Molly Ivins
    Molly's last column: "The purpose of this old-fashioned newspaper crusade to stop the war is not to make George W. Bush look like the dumbest president ever..." – Creators Syndicate, January 11, 2007

  • Missing Molly Ivins – Paul Krugman, New York Times
    She was, as she wrote, “a card-carrying member of The Great Liberal Backlash of 2003, one of the half-dozen or so writers now schlepping around the country promoting books that do not speak kindly of Our Leader’s record.” – CommonDreams.org, February 2, 2007

  • A Criminal Escalation of An Unjust War – Jim Wallis
    When the American people make it clear in the election, and in every public opinion poll, that they want an end to the war in Iraq, he ignores them. – God's Politics Blog, January 11, 2007

  • The US-Iran-Iraq-Israeli-Syrian War – Robert Parry, Consortium News
    At a not-for-quotation pre-speech briefing on Jan. 10, George W. Bush and his top national security aides unnerved network anchors and other senior news executives with suggestions that a major confrontation with Iran is looming. – truthout, January 12, 2007

  • Bush Policies Are Weakening National Guard, Governors Say – Robert Pear, New York Times
    Governors of both parties said that Bush administration policies were stripping the National Guard of equipment and personnel needed to respond to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, forest fires and other emergencies. – Common Dreams, February 27, 2007