Archives: December 2002

Informed Comment Is On Hiatus Until

Informed Comment is on hiatus until after New Year's Day. Enjoy the holidays!In the meantime, enjoy the following sites (the underlined parts are clickable):http://www.jerusalem.indymedia.org/ (Palestine Independent Media Center);http://www.indymedia.org.il/imc/israel/webcast/index.php3?language=en (Israel Independent Media Center)andhttp://www.iraqjournal.org/…

India Almost Went To War With Pakistan

India almost went to war with Pakistan twice in the last year, according to India Today. Last winter, Indian forces prepared to attack the Pakistani line of control in Kashmir, but were…

From Discussion Of So Called Koranic

From a discussion of so-called Koranic "belligerancy" in the Medinan chapters In general, theological explanations by themselves do little to explain foreign policy, while foreign policy debates tend to distort the meaning…

Letter By Ayman Al Zawahiri Bin Ladens

A letter by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden's right-hand man, has been published by Asharq al-Awsat. Dated February 1998, the letter speaks of Americans as "the foreign investors" who "must be hit." The…

In Response To Question Raised About

In response to a question raised about the request Paul Wolfowitz made to put 100,000 US troops into eastern Turkey on the Iraq border, and whether there was a prospect of Turkish…

Number Of Iraqi Expatriate Groups Will

A number of Iraqi expatriate groups will boycott the forthcoming dissident summit in London, according to Asharq al-Awsat. Al-Hizb al-Islami al-Iraqi, a Sunni Islamist party, complains that Sunni representation at the summit…

Al Qaeda Has Launched Campaign Against

Al-Qaeda has launched a campaign against Usama Rushdi, a former publicist in Holland for the Islamic Grouping (al-Gamaa al-Islamiyyah), he says. The Islamic Grouping was implicated in the assassination of Egyptian President…

Trial Of Suspected Al Qaeda Member

The trial of suspected al-Qaeda member Mounir El Motassadeq for having been part of the Hamburg cell that planned and carried out September 11, now being held in Germany, may be transferred…

Summit Has Been Set Up Between Pakistan

A summit has been set up between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan for the initialling of a deal to build a $3.2 bn. pipeline from Turkmenistan down to South Asia. It is scheduled…

More Kuwaiti Government Thinks About It

     The more the Kuwaiti government thinks about it the less it likes the speech Saddam Hussein gave the day before yesterday. All though it appeared to contain an grudging apology for the…

Shoulder Launched Missiles Are Being

     Stinger shoulder-launched missiles are being sold in the bazaars of Kabul for $200,000 according to foreign observers in that city. The geniuses in the Reagan administration (who we now have with us…

Saad Eddin Ibrahim Has Been Freed From

Saad Eddin Ibrahim has been freed from prison by an Egyptian appeals court, which nullified his earlier sentence of seven years of hard labor. But, it ordered a retrial rather than simply…

Saad Eddin Ibrahims Case Will Be

Saad Eddin Ibrahim's case will be decided today by the appeals court, which can set aside or confirm his sentence of seven years of hard labor. If the appeal is turned down…

Its Not Back To School For Palestinian

It's "Not Back to School" for Palestinian ChildrenChildren continue to be among the chief victims of the continuing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Although it is natural to concentrate on…

At Request Of Number Of Friends Im

At the request of a number of friends, I'm reprinting this piece here. -----Chronicle of Higher Education Tuesday, July 16, 2002 OPINIONWhy We Should Not Boycott Israeli AcademicsBy JUAN COLEI thought the…

At Conference In South Africa State

At a conference in South Africa, State Minister Ronny Kasrils, himself a Jew, condemned Israel's treatment of Palestinians and said it was actually worse than the Apartheid government's treatment of blacks in…