Analysis

Gen. David Petraeus’ testimony to Congress was long-awaited. Many moderate Republicans who claim to be uncomfortable with President Bush’s ongoing Iraq war policy insisted on waiting for Petraeus’ September report rather than making “rash” decisions about troop withdrawal. If they were hoping for some fig leaf to continue to support Bush’s war, they got it — but only if they ignored the truth.

The Sunday Times of London is reporting that the Pentagon has plans for three days of massive air strikes against 1,200 targets in Iran.

Close to a million families lost their homes last year. This year, it will likely be 2 million. There were 25,000 layoffs in the mortgage industry in the first 3 weeks of August. With home construction 25 percent below last year and falling, hundreds of thousands of building trades workers could lose their jobs. The word recession is back in the media. This time, all the happy talk from business leaders and administration flaks won’t make it go away.

José Padilla, a U.S. citizen and convert to Islam, was convicted by a federal jury in Miami, on Aug 16, on three charges of conspiracy and material support for terrorism. The verdict may be appealed. The case, however, continues to be central to accusations that the Bush administration has gone berserk in its attacks on due process.

“Esta es, por mucho, la economía mundial más fuerte que he visto yo en toda mi vida empresarial,” declaró recientemente el secretario del Tesoro, Hank Paulson, durante su visita a las oficinas de la revista Fortune. ¿De veras? ¿Fuerte para quién?

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger says the union is not entering the upcoming contract talks with Detroit automakers with givebacks in mind. “We’re not going into negotiations in a concessionary mode, I’ll tell you that,” Gettelfinger said July 11 after speaking at the NAACP national convention in Detroit.

The Senate last month failed to pass the Bush-backed immigration reform plan, known as the “grand bargain.” It’s now widely reported that any immigration reform measures will have to wait until after the 2008 elections.

Darfur has almost become a household word, and with good reason. The first human-made catastrophe of the 21st century, its death count combined with the huge humanitarian crisis staggers the imagination. Whether it’s the 400,000 claimed by some or the 70,000 suggested by the UN in March, the human toll combined with rapes, burned villages and destroyed lives has torn a gaping hole in the fabric of humanity.

Security measures for the G-8 summit, which was attended by leaders of the eight largest world economic and military powers — the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia — were overwhelming, and reportedly included the largest massing of armed force in one place in Germany since the Second World War.

A dispute has arisen within the Czech Republic over Bush administration plans to set up a “Star Wars”-type anti-missile base south of the capital, Prague, and another in Poland