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A trove of secret intelligence cables obtained by The Intercept reveals Tehran’s political gains in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

The post How Iran Won the U.S. War in Iraq appeared first on The Intercept.

~ Today's Water Cooler ~

Via the New Yorker: Two decades ago, Bush and the Republicans were nearly united in their embrace of a brash militarism that sought to topple Saddam and transform Iraq and the broader Middle East in the process. Iraq, after paying a terrible price in the death of hundreds of thousands and disruption of millions of lives, was indeed transformed. But so, too, was American politics, where the backlash to the conflict arguably gave rise to the Presidencies of both Barack Obama—who first rose to fame as an antiwar state legislator—and Donald Trump. Trump is a Bush-basher of long standing, and he often framed his takeover of the Republican Party as an explicit repudiation of the extended Bush family and its internationalist legacy. Trump has said Bush “lied” to start the war, that he should have been impeached for how badly it was conducted, and that, over all, Bush had a “failed and uninspiring Presidency.” Seven years after Trump won the White House by attacking the last Republican to hold the office, his views of foreign policy are now ascendant, if not yet dominant, in the G.O.P.

Lest we forget the consequences, today we recall the great lie of ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ in Iraq which led to the smashing of that country and the slaughter of hundreds of thousand of innocent men, women and children. Peace Rally – Address, 18 March 2023 When the lie was revealed, our precious alliance with Continue reading »

Little that was distinctive about Penny Wong’s foreign policy has survived the signing of the AUKUS agreement. In her first speech to DFAT staff she observed that the department had lost influence under the outgoing coalition administrations and she intended to bring it back to the centre of government. And here we are now with Continue reading »

What are the budgetary implications of the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine deal? Here are some numbers provided by a Defence spokesman to select journalists. It is expressed in today’s dollars so does not include future inflation. Since it was a background briefing not an official communique it’s not clear who takes responsibility should these costings prove Continue reading »

Crikey sets its sights on “human rights abuse” of China’s LGBTQI+ community relying on a single source for its investigation – the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The recent Nine Newspapers “Red Alert” series was lambasted from many quarters, including Crikey whose David Hardaker called the report “alarmist” and an “insight into the kind of pompous, Continue reading »

In the Canberra press gallery, policy analysis takes second place to ephemeral politics, as highlighted by the response to Paul Keating’s criticisms of the AUKUS submarine deal. The former PM’s blistering National Press Club attack on AUKUS – and on journalists for the quality of their questions – provoked a curious Twitter response from Anna Continue reading »

Don’t cut spending, raise taxes; what’s wrong with the government’s carbon credit proposal?; and Stan Grant on the wounds of history. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy. Don’t cut spending, raise taxes Even before AUKUS, and before Continue reading »

But if we could communicate with the mosquito, then we would learn that he floats through the air with the same self-importance, feeling within itself the flying centre of the world. On Wednesday at the National Press Club (NPC), former Labor prime minister, Paul Keating, was invited to speak about the AUKUS submarine deal, and Continue reading »

I was recently sent an interesting article titled “Who Stands for Freedom” by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz. The article is a review of the book “The Big Myth” by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. It raised a fundamental question: Does China have more true freedom than the United States? Stiglitz’s message Continue reading »

The augmentation was installed earlier this week in order to give the Governor ample time walking at higher elevation.

The promise—and the threat—of artificial intelligence is that the world as we know it is...

“During an interview on The Hill’s online program ‘Rising,’ conservative author Bethany Mandel was stumped when co-host Briahna Joy Gray pressed her to give a definition of the word ‘woke,’ which has been used incessantly by the right to criticize all things vaguely liberal.” — The Daily Beast

Wait, sorry, I still can’t. Yes, I realize I wrote a book about wokeness, but the purpose of that book was to rile up racists, misogynists, and homophobes who don’t like how unpopular their ideas are anymore. Frankly, the definition isn’t nearly as important as the fear and rage the word arouses among a particular demographic, so it’s fine.

Honestly, stop asking me what that word means. I’m telling you that I can’t define it. All I can tell you is that woke people are destroying the world, and the only people who would even dare ask me what woke is are definitely woke.

MAGA writes a new script on January 6th As the GOP presidential primary campaign gets underway it’s fascinating to see how the Republican Party has changed since Donald Trump descended onto the scene back in 2015. Ever since the successful White House runs of Ronald Reagan, virtually every Republican seeking higher office called themselves “conservative” and hewed to the Reagan revolution ideology — described as a “three-legged stool” — that centers global leadership and a strong national defense, traditional family values, low taxes and small government. Within that framework, there were minor differences on specific issues but generally speaking, in order to win the GOP nomination it was required that Republican candidates adhere to that basic philosophy. In hindsight, it’s clear that this may not have been the huge winner Republicans assumed it to be since the party’s nominee has won the popular vote for president only once in 35 years.

My Lords, I join other noble Lords in paying tribute to the remarkable maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Moyo. It was very thoughtful and thought provoking, and I very much appreciated her reference to me—she will have a great future here. The Budget was crafted in the shadow of disruptive world events over … Continue reading Speech on the Spring Budget Statement 2023

Mike Luckovich is a treasure The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is lucky to have him.

More Medicare "buyer beware" alerts.

Mark Temnycky looks at the turbulence in Tbilisi, Georgians’ desire to join the EU, and the authoritarian drift of the ruling Dream Party

From Doctor Who star David Tennant co-hosting to sketches from Ghosts, The Traitors, and more, here's a rundown of Red Nose Day 2023.

Techies should know that. Should. Believe it or not, a pair of tweets about last Friday’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank are still current. Eugene Robinson writes about those conditionalities this morning: Question: What is a socialist? Answer: A libertarian tech bro who had money in Silicon Valley Bank. There is nothing funny about the second-biggest bank failure in the nation’s history, which has roiled financial markets at a time when the economy is already unsettled. It is richly ironic, though, to hear luminaries of the tech sector, after years of complaining that “big government” was the problem, suddenly clamoring for massive federal intervention and largesse.