In mid-May, Iraqi officials and U.S. advisers expressed deep concern that Islamic State fighters defending the city of Fallujah would employ “human shields.” On May 31, Islamic State fighters began using human shields — hostages — to blunt an Iraqi Army attack in Fallujah’s southern neighborhoods. Fox News reported that the shields consisted of “several […]
Op-Eds
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Analysis: Is the decline of local news ruining Congress?
For several senators up for re-election this year, a significant problem is that no one in their home states knows who they are. This is a consequence, as The Washington Post’s Paul Kane points out, of the collapse of local newspapers: “Overall, there are more reporters covering Congress than ever, except they increasingly write for […]
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Obama and Hiroshima’s moral lessons
Obama and Hiroshima’s moral lessons WASHINGTON — Unless you are a pacifist, you accept that evil acts — the destruction of other human lives — can be justified, even necessary, in pursuit of good and urgent ends. But unless you are amoral, you also acknowledge the human capacity for self-delusion and selfishness. People are quite […]
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Positive stories a better choice to push change
My musical tastes do not include rap and hip-hop, but when Snoop Dogg comments on the “Roots” remake, saying he is tired of movies about slavery and would prefer a series “about the success that black folks are having,” he is singing my song. The original “Roots” drew a phenomenal 130 million viewers when it […]
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Locker-room scenario won’t happen
Dear Roz: OK, I think I have an answer for you. But I must say, your email, which I highlighted in this space a few weeks back, had me stumped for awhile. That’s why I asked readers to weigh in on the question you posed: Namely, how should you, a self-described left-wing progressive and supporter […]
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Some good news for the middle class
WASHINGTON — Maybe the middle class isn’t quite so stressed any more. We in the media are rightly criticized for a pessimistic bias. We cover the unfortunate, the grim and the tragic. News is what people don’t know and, as often as not, is sad or shocking. Our prism on the world distorts reality, because […]
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Trump has taught me to fear my fellow Americans
What word comes to mind when you see the name Donald Trump? For some people, it might be “anger,” since he provokes it and stokes it. For others, it might be “ignorance,” since he knows so little and, like many unburdened by knowledge, is untroubled by facts. Some might say “fear,” since it would take […]
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Hillary Clinton — candidate by default
Hillary Clinton may be the weakest prohibitive favorite ever to run for the presidency. She is generally given strong odds of beating Donald Trump in the fall, yet she is tied with him in the early going as she struggles to shake a 74-year-old socialist who persists in notching victories in the Democratic primary contest. […]
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Bernie needs a hard dose of reality
“You can’t always get what you want.” — The Rolling Stones A few words in defense of pragmatism. That ideal has taken quite a beating lately, mostly at the hands of Bernie Sanders and his supporters. The Vermont senator faces a virtually impossible deficit in his battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. […]
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U.S. the greatest but needs to stay strong
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s positions on public policy have shifted over the years, months, even days. Last week, he managed to express two contradictory thoughts within one sentence: “I don’t want to have guns in classrooms, although in some cases teachers should have guns in classrooms, frankly.” But on one issue he has been […]