Word: persian
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...times of national emergency, Americans tend to rally round the flag and get behind the President. So it is with the crisis in the Persian Gulf. Public-opinion polls demonstrate solid support for George Bush's handling of the showdown with Saddam Hussein, and there have been only a few peeps of criticism from members of Congress. Thus it comes as a surprise that the loudest dissent against the President's policy is being voiced by, of all people, prominent figures on the Republican right wing...
...language reminiscent of Vietnam-era protests, a host of conservative skeptics have been warning against American involvement in the Persian Gulf. To President Bush's assertion that nothing less than America's "way of life" is on the line, the critics reply that no vital U.S. interest is at stake. Buchanan has been leading the charge, arguing, "There are lots of things worth fighting for, but an extra 10 cents for a gallon of gas isn't one of them." Ted Galen Carpenter, director of foreign policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, cautions that "making the U.S. the guardian...
...these muscular formations are of little use if they cannot arrive quickly where they are needed. The embarrassing fact is that the Pentagon was not ready to fight even the war it was supposed to be preparing for. One revelation delivered by the long, slow sea-lanes to the Persian Gulf is that the U.S. could never have made good on its NATO commitment to move 10 Army divisions to Europe in 10 days in the event of a Soviet attack...
That should be no surprise -- even though the call-ups are the first in 20 years. It is virtually impossible today for the U.S. to sustain a military undertaking the size of the buildup in the Persian Gulf without mobilizing some of the million-odd weekend warriors. Until 1976, no reserves could be activated unless the President or Congress declared a national emergency. But the law now permits the White House to call as many as 200,000 reservists for an initial term of 90 days (easily stretchable to 180 days) without any proclamation...
After all the gloomy forecasts, all the frenzied selling of the first few days, the mood of the world's financial markets brightened a bit last week -- from near hysteria to mere anxiety. War could still erupt in the Persian Gulf; oil prices could remain relatively high. Yet for the moment it appears that ahead lies not a global depression of historic proportions but an old- fashioned recession -- painful, though probably not fatal. Saddam Hussein's oil shock has not destroyed the foundations of the world economy, but it has exposed serious weaknesses in the beams...