Nation Topics - War and Peace | The Nation

The article reflects on the U.S. President George W. Bush administration's handling of the prewar intelligence information about Iraq in the days before the United States invaded Iraq. It argues that Bush and his aides did not study the intelligence to ascertain if an urgent danger really existed and that the administration made the decision for war based on their own reasons.

The article focuses on the data mining of e-mails and phone calls by National Security Agency computers. Many similar attempts have been made to quantify and profile personal information in the interest of National Security. The author argues that phrenologists, eugenists and forensic fingerprinters all have claimed scientific certainty in identifying persons. Such claims should be met with suspicion.

The author comments on the U.S. President George W. Bush administration and its role collecting information. The Open Source Center, created by the Central Intelligence Agency, is designed to gather unclassified information and piece together information to give a better sense of where trouble may arise. The problem is that this is happening at a time when Bush seems to think that the process of such collection does not need to be subject to review.

The article reports on the growing international concern over Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. The author suggests a number of reasons why the Iran crisis is not as critical as it is widely thought to be. Iran will not have viable weapons until at least 2008, if they are developing them now. The U.S. and Israel have much stronger militaries than Iran does. The Iran problem should force nuclear states to consider multilateral diarmament as the only way to stop profileration.

The article presents New York Representative Major Owens' views on education policy in the United States. The author suggests that eduction become the top federal budget priority. Statistics related to education spending are reviewed. The importance of a first-rate education system in the United States is discussed.

The article presents the author's views on media ownership in the United States. According to the author, the number of major U.S. media companies fell by more than one half in the past two decades. It is the author's view that the marketplace of ideas in the U.S. is shrinking large conglomerates continue to by up medial outlets. The history of media consolidation is reviewed.

Several letters to the editor in response to articles in previous issues including "Students Confront Sweatshops," by Richard Appelbaum and Peter Dreier, "Germ Boys and Yes Men," by Jeremy Scahill, and "Subject to Debate," by Katha Pollitt, in the November 28, 2005 issue, ¿Mismanaged Care," by Trudy Lieberman, in the December 12, 2005 issue, and "Beat the Devil," by Alexander Cockburn in the December 26, 2005 issue are presented.

The article presents the poem "Pentagon Secretly Paid To Place Article In Iraqi Newspapers: Another Lesson In Democracy," by Calvin Trillin. First Line: Democracy's the only way; Last Line: But better if it's bought and paid for.

The article focuses on the relationship between popular culture and torture. The author reviews how torture is one of film and television's favorite themes, and is used in crime dramas, spy thrillers and motion pictures such as "Rambo" and "The Passion of the Christ." It is the author's view that popular culture rationalizes torture as necessary to preserve not just the national security of the United States but law and authority in general. The article focuses on the issue of torture as it relates to the television series "24."

The article looks at how torture has been used as part of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush's global war on terrorism. The author suggests that uniformed servicemen and CIA employees have beaten, maimed, sodomized and killed prisoners held in custody. The article reviews various Defense Department reports and government memos related to the issue. It is the author's view that the Bush administration has attempted to hide facts while trying to derail investigations into various instances of tortures.