Juan Cole

McCain says, “In the twenty-first century, nations don’t invade other nations:” And imagine him all sweetness and light now about wanting good relations with Moscow after his rants all the past week. An experienced diplomat pointed out to me that “McCain’s behavior on Georgia is a perfect example of putting personal political advantage over the […]

William R. Polk writes in a guest editorial for IC: Rushing toward War As the Bush Administration begins its final months in office, it has embarked upon two courses of action that will pre-empt the scope of the incoming Obama or McCain administration and will plague America for years to come. The first of these […]

The Haaretz article that made such a stir by reporting that the Pentagon had turned down Israeli requests for high-powered equipment to aid an attack on Iran’s nuclear research facilities has a coda that I looked at again this morning: ‘Russia, however, is considered key to efforts to isolate Iran, and Israeli officials have therefore […]

My column, , “Putin’s War Enablers: Bush and Cheney (Russia’s escalating war on Georgia reveals the consequences of the Bush administration’s long assault on the international rule of law.) is now out in Salon.com. Excerpt: ‘ The run-up to the current chaos in the Caucasus should look quite familiar: Russia acted unilaterally rather than going […]

McCain’s campaign strategist Randy Scheunemann was a lobbyist for Georgia until recently, and remained part of Orion Strategies until May 15. OS had signed a $2 mn. deal to provide “strategic advice” to the Georgian government. Update: Bob Scheer entertains dark suspicions that Scheunemann, a leader of the Neoconservative Project for theNew American Century, put […]