opinions

“JFK’s Legacy Forty-Four Years Later”?
by Arthur I. Cyr

“Al Gore — Political and Environmental Renewal”?
by Arthur I. Cyr
“Environment Al”? Gore is riding high, including growing global media prominence. The Nobel Peace Prize honoring his efforts follows two Oscars for his global warming documentary, ”˜An Inconvenient Truth’. This environment of celebration is fueling political speculation.

“Pentagon Numbers on Iraq Insurgents Killed Are Misleading”?
Arthur I. Cyr
Domineering Donald Rumsfeld may be gone from the Pentagon, but his legacy lingers. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld was often compared to predecessor Robert McNamara, another strong personality with a habit of making up his mind in advance of events. As the Vietnam War unfolded in the 1960s, McNamara, an accountant and statistician, fixated on quantitative measures of progress. Attrition was the order of the day, enemy body counts and weapons captured the measure of progress.

“Blackwater, Iraq and Mercenary Soldiers”?
by Arthur I. Cyr
Blackwater is bad news, currently quite literally. The firm, established in 1997, has evolved into one of the most prominent — and profitable — of a growing array of sizable corporations that provide military services, including firepower.

“Ethnicity, Immigration and National Security”?
by Arthur I. Cyr
China’s Communist leader Mao Zedong famously observed that the guerrilla is a fish, and the people are the sea providing the support leading to victory. That victory might be historically determined, according to strict Communism, but understanding the population was an important component. Mao’s insight was often quoted during the most intense years of the Cold War, the dramatic imagery reinforcing the extraordinarily strong sense of threat that spurred much of the foreign policies pursued by anti-communist governments.

“September 11, 2007”?
by Arthur I. Cyr
Six years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the impacts of the bloody slaughter of that day continue to reverberate. What has been the effectiveness of the American response to this murderous menace?

“Korea Hostage Crisis: An Unfortunate Incident In A Durable Relationship”?
by Arthur I. Cyr
To general relief, the last seven Christian Korean aid workers held hostage by the radical Islamic Taliban in Afghanistan have been released. They were part of a group of twenty-three missionaries from South Korea abducted July 19. Two were killed as part of Taliban terror tactics in pressuring the government of the Republic of Korea. Two women also were released earlier this month.

The selection of former foreign minister and practicing Moslem Abdullah Gul as the new president of Turkey by the parliament has led to fears of Islamic extremism and political instability. The new president’s wife Hayrunnisa publicly wears the religious headscarf, formally banned in public buildings, and has become an iconic figure for the rise of religion in modern Turkey.

“Freedom of Speech and Our Freedoms”?
by Arthur I. Cyr
Professors John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard University are two very senior scholars who are currently taking very intense heat. Next month, their book 'The Israel Lobby' will be published. They argue that the U.S. is too closely allied with and too accommodating of Israel. Predictably, their viewpoint has generated very hostile criticism. Several organizations which had scheduled appearances by the authors have cancelled under pressure, including at least one East Coast academic institution. That is regrettable.

Controversy escalates over the arrogant decision by British Petroleum to pollute Lake Michigan. Without serious public hearing, the oil company has secured permission from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Indiana to increase the amount of ammonia and other chemicals dumped into the giant body of water.