Current Events and the Psychology of Politics
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Archive for January, 2011

Jan 21st, 2011

Summary: Weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, compiled from U.S. Department of Defense news releases and iCasualties.org. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 21, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that, for the second year running, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann figured prominently in 2009 year-end lists documenting outrageous political behavior.


Jan 20th, 2011

Summary: As Anbar province became a stronghold for al-Qaida and other Sunni extremist groups after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Christians and Shiites, feeling singled out, fled the area, until the town of Habbaniya Cece (population 10,150) had only one Christian family, down from about 70 families before the American invasion. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 20, 2010, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.



Summary: Rep. Michele Bachmann, founder of the House Tea Party Caucus, is calling the 2010 health care reform law — derisively labeled “Obamacare” — “the crown jewel of socialism.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 19, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that Taliban militants struck in the heart of the Afghan capital of Kabul, launching suicide attacks at key government targets in a clear sign the insurgents plan to escalate their fight as the U.S. and its allies ramp up their own campaign to end the war.


Jan 18th, 2011

Summary: A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of police recruits in Tikrit, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120 as Iraq struggles to protect itself without foreign help. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 18, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that Baitullah Mehsud, commander of the Pakistani Taliban until he was killed in a U.S. missile strike in August 2009, had said in March 2009 that his group was planning an attack on the White House that would “amaze” the world. In that regard, it’s notable that Osama bin Laden reportedly told planner Ramzi Binalshibh that he preferred the White House over the Capitol as a target in the attacks of 9/11. Hence, it must be assumed that the White House remains at the top of al-Qaida’s high-value target list.


Jan 17th, 2011

Summary: An Associated Press-GfK poll finds disapproval over President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul has subsided, with fewer than one-third of respondents strongly opposed to the law and only about one in four saying they want to do away with “Obamacare” completely. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 17, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that despite Pakistani protest, the Obama administration was ramping up its missile campaign against insurgent targets in North Waziristan along Pakistan’s northwest frontier with Afghanistan, where al-Qaida’s top leadership, possibly including Osama bin Laden himself, had taken refuge.


Jan 16th, 2011

Summary: Now that they’re freshmen in a GOP-run House, the Tea Party movement’s candidates are running smack into the traditions, partisan divisions, and powerful competing interests that make it so hard to redirect the government. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 16, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that Spanish lawmaker Gaspar Llamazares was horrified to learn that the FBI used an online photograph of him to create an age-enhanced image showing what Osama bin Laden might look like today.


Jan 15th, 2011

Summary: Two U.S. troops were killed by an Iraqi soldier who apparently smuggled live ammunition into a training exercise and opened fire, raising fresh concerns about insurgent infiltration in Iraq’s security forces as the Americans prepare to leave by the end of 2011. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 15, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that the Obama administration would allow Haitians who were in the United States illegally prior to the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake to remain in the country for 18 months under temporary protected status (TPS). Some critics cautioned, however, that TPS has a track record of devolving into de facto “backdoor amnesty” for illegal aliens.


Jan 14th, 2011

Summary: Weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, compiled from U.S. Department of Defense news releases and iCasualties.org. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 14, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that a group of prominent Muslim clerics, led by Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, warned they would call for jihad, or holy war, if the U.S. sent troops to fight al-Qaida in Yemen. Meanwhile, Taliban suicide bombings and other attacks caused Afghan civilian deaths to soar in 2009 to the highest annual level of the war, a U.N. report found.


Jan 13th, 2011

Summary: Information about Tucson shooter Jared Loughner’s mental state, signs and symptoms of mental illness, and his likely diagnosis according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 13, 2010, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.



Summary: A spate of attacks against Afghanistan’s intelligence service and international forces killed at least nine people, including five NATO troops, on a bloody day during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the country. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 12, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that thousands of Somali boys and teenagers fleeing war and chaos at home are sailing to Yemen, where officials worry that the new arrivals could become the next generation of al-Qaida fighters. U.S. and Yemeni authorities also fear that Islamist fighters from Somalia could slip into the country among the throngs of refugees, deepening ties between al-Qaeda leaders in Yemen and the particularly hard-line al-Shabab militants of Somalia.