A haunting silence
While the White House risks the horrors of war, the Senate is paralyzed, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
(This in Salon. Go ahead and get a free day pass — it's worth it.)

To contemplate war is to think about the most horrible of human experiences. On this February day, as this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war.

Yet, this Chamber is, for the most part, silent -- ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing.
[more]

A Sense of Fine Qualities Trampled and of Something 'Terribly Wrong'

When asked what they think of the United States in these uncertain times, European intellectuals tend to draw a swift distinction between the American government and the American people.

But European anti-Americanism is more than just straightforward opposition to the policies of the current administration. There is a growing sense here, reflected in interviews with writers, cultural figures and other intellectual leaders in Western Europe, that many of America's most admirable qualities — its respect for its great cacophony of voices, its belief in freedom, its proud democratic principles — have been so trampled in the debate over war as to have been rendered toothless or even nonexistent.
[more]

Flirting With Disaster

War is coming very soon, possibly as soon as the next moonless nights over Iraq at the beginning of March.

As best one can tell, the war plans are now smart, meticulous and comprehensive — with one exception that is blindingly irresponsible. It's the loose talk in the Bush administration about using nuclear weapons in Iraq.
[more]

1 million could join grassroots protest
Groundswell of public opinion across country surprises most hardened campaigners

Some more maps from The Agonist — Climate Conditions, The Oil Fields of Iraq , and Russian Oil Interests In Iraq.

Iraq? We Are Still Paying for Vietnam

Many of Vietnam's casualties survived long enough that their names were not included when the Vietnam memorial was unveiled but died in the years that followed from mental and physical wounds they brought back with them. Vietnam cost us 58,196 soldiers, men and women. Veterans groups estimate that 140,000 surviving veterans are totally disabled and that hundreds of thousands still suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder which results in suicides, incarcerations, alcohol and drug abuse. Three times as many veterans have died by their own hands as died on the field of battle. The Boston Shelter for Homeless Veterans estimates that one-third of the homeless are veterans; one-quarter are Vietnam veterans.

When funds are cut for homeless shelters, general assistance, and food programs; for veterans' hospitals and other benefits, the very people who were praised for their valor in offering their lives for our country, are shortchanged because of what they have become: throwaway people in a greedy culture that regards the bottom line as the ultimate measure of value.
[more]