Daily Op/Ed Wrap-up

Shibley Telhami: Double Blow To Mideast Democracy

"No matter what else we do in the region, the Arab-Israeli conflict remains the "prism of pain" for Arabs through which they read U.S. intentions, in the same way that the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, and associated terrorism are now the prism of pain through which Americans will continue to see the Arab and Muslim worlds. Regardless of the objective meaning of the administration's support for Sharon, the regional perception of that support is likely to outweigh anything we say on reform -- or even Iraq..."

Boston Globe: Abused by Americans

"That said, the story is one not only of depravity but also of colossal stupidity. How could these Americans not know that in addition to persecuting the detainees in gross violation of the Geneva Conventions, they would subject the already fragile US occupation of Iraq to global condemnation?..."

Joyce Marcel: Her Beautiful Mind

"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths," Barbara Bush said on ABC's "Good Morning America" on March 18, 2003. "Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?..."

Timothy Karr: Nightline Snub

"The political leanings of Sinclair executives also may have played a part in the company's decision to block the popular ABC news program. In 2004, Sinclair executives gave 98 percent of their political contributions to GOP candidates..."

Jim Lobe: Congress Ignores 'Dirty War' Past of New Iraq Envoy

"At that point, he stood up and, in a determined voice, said: ''There is no sovereignty, Mr Ambassador, if the U.S. continues to exercise security. Senators, please ask the ambassador about Battalion 316. Ask him about a death squad in Honduras that he supported''.

Security personnel quickly confronted Conteris and escorted him from the room, while Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar gaveled the hearing back to order, and Negroponte, the smooth-as-silk career diplomat fluent in five languages, went on as if nothing had happened..."

International Herald Tribune: Nearly defenseless in Iraq

"It's hard to imagine what the Pentagon was thinking when it told the U.S. Army and Marine replacement divisions bound for Iraq earlier this year to leave their tanks and other heavily armored vehicles behind. U.S. military planners seem to have ignored evidence that armed resistance to the occupation was far from suppressed. As a result, they failed to anticipate the kinds of ambushes and urban firefights these troops are now face and against which tanks and armored personnel carriers afford the best protection..."

Ben Hubbard: Degrees Of Separation

"The irony in all of this, of course, is that Horowitz is seeking political affirmative action on campus (the very practice conservatives despise) to protect oppressed conservative victims. He's doing it by passing laws in state legislatures (the same government conservatives wish would leave us alone)?a move that would infringe academic freedom while purporting to protect it. But mythmakers have little need for facts, and opportunists rarely stick to principle..."

St. Petersburg Times: Privatization nightmare

"Welcome to the future. The Correctional Privatization Commission, created to oversee some $90-million in private contracts for five state prisons, is being delivered the legislative equivalent of a lethal injection. It is being disbanded primarily because it dared to question the two companies, Corrections Corporation of America and the GEO Group, that are paid to run the prisons. The commission's attempt to explore whether other companies could do the job cheaper was met with legal challenges and a full-scale lobbyist assault..."

Los Angeles Times: National Parks Hypocrisy

"The National Parks Conservation Assn. estimates that the annual $1.6-billion National Park Service budget for operations and maintenance is $600 million short of what's needed. The administration has acknowledged advising regional park directors to quietly cut services to save money. Suggested "service level adjustments" included closing visitor centers on federal holidays, cutting back ranger talks and tours and closing entire parks for some days of the week. David Barna, a Park Service spokesman, suggested that the reductions be spread out as much as possible "so that it won't cause public or political controversy..."