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Archives: May 2011
Yemen in Flames
The political situation in Yemen continued to deteriorate on Tuesday. Since Sunday, 50 protesters have been killed by troops and security forces in the country's second-largest city, Taizz. The government insisted on…
Time to Begin Leaving Afghanistan
Memorial Day, in my view, should be a time of reflection not only on the sacrifices made for the nation in war but on whether our wars are necessary and whether they…
Egypt Lets Palestinians of Gaza Circulate
The new, transitional Egyptian government formed in the wake of a popular revolt took a step on Saturday toward lifting the Israeli-induced blockade of the civilian population of Gaza. Egypt, at Israeli…
The Revolution was not Televised: Gil Scott-Heron RIP
Gil Scott-Heron is dead at 62. Ironically, his obituary will not be televised because television news became just what he predicted. In memoriam:G8 ‘Marshall Plan’ for Arab Spring Nations Falls Short
The 8 wealthiest industrial countries, meeting at the G-8, urged that the world give Egypt, Tunisia and liberated Libya ('emerging democracies in the Arab world') some $40 billion in aid. The sum…Congress: Yankee Come Home; Iraq, Pakistan: Yankee Go Home
Between 70,000 and 100,000 members of the Sadrist Shiite political bloc rallied in Baghdad on Thursday, demanding that the some 47,000 US troops still in Iraq leave altogether. Sadrist leader Muqtada al-Sadr…Israelis Support Obama over Bibi
More evidence that Israel derangement syndrome is a malady among the American political class and a narrow sliver of the AIPAC elite, but that most Israelis and most American Jews are far…The Secret Patriot Act
Dear Tea Party: If all your distrust of the federal government doesn't cause you to vote against the so-called PATRIOT Act, your tea is weak. Very weak. Spencer Ackerman reports that Rep.…
Top 5 Arab Spring Stories Today
1. Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and his sons will stand trial for ordering deadly force to put down protesters in Egypt (several hundred were killed), as well as for corruption. Aljazeera…
Selective Outrage about War
This poster at reddit.com compares the various costs of Bush's illegal war in Iraq to those of the UN /NATO intervention in Libya (which is not illegal in internationaL law) and asks…
Rand Paul on Patriot Act Extension puts Obama to Shame
Sen. Rand Paul is among the few in Congress to oppose the 4-year extension of the misnamed PATRIOT Act, which violates the 4th Amendment against baseless and warrantless search of personal effects.Top Ten Green Energy Good News Stories
1. German Chancellor Angela Merkel became a green energy hawk after Fukushima. She wants to phase out Nuclear energy and coal, and move quickly to renewables. 2. A team headed by Patrick…Pressman: American Presidents and the Two-State Solution
Jeremy Pressman writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: “Clinton, Bush, & Obama on a two-state solution” This compilation of major Clinton, Bush (43), and Obama statements on a two-state solution…
What lies Behind Netanyahu’s Bluster on ‘1967 Borders’
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's high dudgeon over the world community's demand that Israel return more or less to '1967 borders' plays to two audiences, his domestic constituency among far rightwing 'Greater Israel'…
Pakistan’s Chinese Gambit
Pakistan's relations with the United States are troubled, and Islamabad may be turning to China as a result. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani just ended a 4-day visit to Beijing, which turned…
Saleh again Defies US, GCC, refuses to Go
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh refused again on Sunday to sign an agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council with his opposition agreeing to step down. He demanded that the opposition leaders,…Protest Backroom Deal to Extend Un-Patriot Act til 2015
There's an action alert by a supporter of Rand Paul over at Firedoglake saying that an attempt will be made at 5 pm on Monday in the Senate to extend the misnamed…
55 Dead in Syria’s Weekend of Rage
Syrian security forces opened fire again on Saturday, killing 11 protesters in the central city of Homs. The protest began as a funeral procession for demonstrators killed on Friday, when 10 died…Connecting the Dots: Doomsday & Education Cuts
Can you connect the dots? Right wing prophet convinces clueless Americans that May 21 is the end of the world. Kentucky legislature offers $42 mn. in tax breaks to fundamentalist Bible theme…
Netanyahu Humiliates Obama, Misrepresents Israeli Policy
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tried to embarrass his host, President Obama, at the White House on Friday, delivering a pedantic attack on him. Netanyahu made many false assertions about Israeli policy…Israeli MPs Slam Netanyahu Intransigence
The USG Open Source Center translates reactions from opposition members of parliament (the Knesset) in Israel to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's blunt rejection of President Obama's speech on the Middle East. '…Obama Disappoints Key Egyptian Activist
Excerpt from USG Open Source Center translation of remarks reported in the pan-Arab daily, al-Sharq al-Awsat [The Middle East] of Egyptian democracy activist Asma Mahfouz on her disappointment in President Obama's speech.…
Obama and the Dilemmas of US Middle East Policy
President Obama's major policy address on the Middle East got many things right. He pointed to al-Qaeda and terrorism, which targets civilians, as a dead end. He sided rhetorically with the grassroots…President Obama’s Address on Change in the Middle East
May 19, 2011 Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery “A Moment of Opportunity” U.S. Department of State May 19, 2011 As Prepared for Delivery – I want to…
Syria Sanctions target al-Asad ahead of Obama Speech
The Obama administration is now targeting Bashar al-Asad and other top Syrian officials with financial sanctions. The US Treasury Department has extensive abilities to freeze assets and to influence financial institutions. Likely…12 Killed in Big Anti-NATO Demonstration in Afghanistan
The LAT reports that a night-time raid by NATO forces that left 4 dead provoked a big demonstration in Taloqan in northern Afghanistan, the repression of which killed 12 and wounded 70.…Salaita: Dressing like a Terrorist
Steven Salaita writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Dressing Like a Terrorist Like many others, I was dismayed to learn of the two imams wearing traditional Muslim garb who were…Drake the Heroic Whistleblower
Is Thomas Drake, the National Security Agency whistleblower a hero or a criminal? A hero, obviously. Drake revealed to the Baltimore Sun how how the NSA abandoned a legal and promising data…Tripoli’s Gradual Collapse: ICC Indictment of Qaddafi and Ghanem’s Defection
Libyan Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem has defected from the Qaddafi regime and fled to Tunisia. This defection is a big deal. Ghanem had been at OPEC when Libya was under economic sanctions,…
Shihade: A New Era for Palestinians
Magid Shihade writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The Palestinian Unity Agreement and the Beginning of New Era The agreement of reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, ending years of Palestinian…Arabs: 90% say Qaddafi illegitimate, 75% Want him Forcibly Removed
I received this press release from the Doha Debates (a member of the Qatar Foundation) by email. The results vis-a-vis Libya are not surprising, since Qaddafi is widely hated in the Arab…Meyer: After Bin Laden: Israel & Middle East Peace
Carlyn Meyer writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: I recently returned from a trip to Israel and the West Bank. I am not Jewish but work with JStreet, the trip’s…
The Arab Spring comes to Israel
Contrary to the line taken by the Israeli leadership, the Palestinian protests on May 15, Nakba Day, were not an Iranian or Syrian plot but rather the grassroots protests of a dispossessed…Why was Strauss-Kahn Arrested but W. & Cheney went Free?
What is it about the United States that makes for harsh prosecutions over sex crimes but lets leaders off the hook when it comes to war crimes? New York police rushed to…Pakistani Parliament Reacts against US Incursions
Pakistan's elected parliament held a 10-hour session on Friday and decided at the end of it that US incursions, including drone strikes, into Pakistan must cease. The American drone strikes in the…The Koch Brothers and the End of State Universities
The real scandal around the endowment by the Koch brothers of two chairs at Florida State University is that state universities now have to seek such outside money and accept strings. The…
Women Protest, Mourn in Liberated Misrata as UK Pledges Aid
Chairman of the Transitional National Council based in Benghazi, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, met Thursday in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Abdel Jalil said that the recent defense of the port…Stewart Skewers Bushies for claiming Bin Laden Credit
Jon Stewart of the Daily Show makes fun of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, Doug Feith and other figures from the Bush administration to take credit for the demise of Usama…
Bin Laden was Operational Leader
Kimberly Dozier of the Associated Press got the scoop. USG analysts going through the material captured at Usamah Bin Laden's residence in Abbotabad described to her some of what they were finding.…
FBI admits to Protecting spying Telecoms from Lawsuits
So, the Bush administration was caught with its pants down, spying on thousands of Americans without a warrant, with the complicity of telecom corporations. So to try to get this massive violation…Newt Gingrich Quote of the Day
In honor of the Newtie One's run for president: Newt Gingrich quote of the Day:' If combat means living in a ditch, females have biological problems staying in a ditch for 30…
Free Libya Forces Advance as NATO announces Phase 2 of War
The Libyan struggle will likely go on for some time, but the so-called stalemate did witness some movement on Tuesday. Indeed, NATO announced the inauguration of a Phase 2 of the war.…On Arab Uprisings & al-Qaeda: Cole Radio Interviews
Here are two recent radio interviews I've given on the Arab Spring and the end of Bin Laden: With Grant Reeher at Syracuse University and with Christopher Lydon at Radio Open Source,…The Green Gap with China: US falling Behind as Congress Fiddles (Cole in Truthdig)
My column is out at Truthdig , on the growing Green Gap between China and the United States with regard to clean energy technologies: "The New Sputnik.". Excerpt: ' In 1957, a…
Secret Pakistani Deal with US on Bin Laden
It turns out that when President Obama ordered the Navy SEALs to get Usama Bin Laden in Abbotabad, he did not infringe against Pakistani sovereignty after all. Rather, he was acting in…
Wilkerson wants to Waterboard Rumsfeld
On MSNBC's Ed Show, Lawrence Wilkerson, former aid to Colin Powell, asks if he cannot pretty please, please waterboard Donald Rumsfeld? He also reaffirms that former Secretary of State Powell said that…On Bin Laden: I ask myself ‘Why?’
I ask myself why. Some Pakistanis are complaining about the violation of their country's sovereignty during the Navy SEALs' raid at Abbottabad. But why aren't they complaining about Usama Bin Laden's violation…
Junun Musician Ahmad: Bin Laden Demise a Great Good thing for Muslims
In this excellent Dawn article, rock musician Salman Ahmad of Junun explains why it is a great good thing that Usama Bin Laden was taken out. Ahmad, who favors the mystical, often…
Jahanpour: Is Iran Next? Supreme Leader Versus Ahmadinejad
Farhang Jahanpour writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The tug of war between Supreme Leader Khamene’i and President Ahmadinejad Despite the political turmoil and subsequent crackdowns in Iran since summer,…
Taliban, al-Qaeda Flee N. Afghanistan as Morale Collapses with al-Qaeda admission of Bin Laden’s Death
While Usamah Bin Laden's passing will not destroy al-Qaeda altogether, it is a horrible blow to their morale, despite the bravado in al-Qaeda's message acknowledging Bin Laden's death at American hands. (By…
Pakistani Military between Rock and Hard Place
One of the reasons for which Pakistan's military is so incensed about the unannounced US raid into Pakistan territory is that they are afraid the operation might form a precedent that could…
Koch Brothers Exposed
Robert Greenwald's Brave New Foundation is attempting to expose the billionaire Koch brothers and their attempt to buy American democracy. Here is the video: Here is the Variety article about it.Anzalone, After Usama: The Jihadi-Takfiri Trend after Bin Laden
Christopher Anzalone writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The killing of Usama bin Laden, the founder of Al-Qa‘ida Central, this week in Pakistan has opened the door to intense speculation…Obama right not to Release Usama Photo
President Obama's decision not to release photographs of Usama Bin Laden's disfigured corpse is wise and decent. Obama is right that the photo would be used by radicals to whip up emotions.…No need for Torture. Did a Telephone Call to al-Qaeda in Iraq Unravel Bin Laden?
The Obama team is said to have been dismayed by the rapidity with which the national subject has switched from the death of Usama Bin Laden to the use of torture in…Top Ten Myths about Bin Laden’s Death
New details of the operation against Usama Bin Laden have emerged. Here are the myths that people keep bombarding me with and which are now known to be untrue. 1. Pakistani President…
Libyan Opposition: ‘Extremely Happy’ at Bin Laden’s Death, Combatting al-Qaeda
The Qaddafis have repeatedly accused the Free Libya forces to the east and south of Tripoli of being Muslim radicals and even al-Qaeda sympathizers. On Tuesday, the Libyan opposition responded in the…Cole Interview: Bin Laden an Utter Failure
My interview on the significance of Bin Laden's passing with Detroit Channel 2's Bill Gallagher is now available. I argue that to take full advantage of this political moment, the US must…
The Muslim World Sounds off on Bin Laden’s Demise
Usama Bin Laden, a mass killer, passed virtually unmourned from the scene. There were no demonstrations against his killing in the Arab world. A few Taliban protested in Quetta and Afghanistan, as…Obama and the End of Al-Qaeda
An American president, himself the son of a Muslim father and a Christian mother, has taken down notorious terrorist Usama Bin Laden. Despite being a Christian, Obama, it seems to me, had…
Birth Certificate silliness Really Looks Petty Now
From hhur at reddit.com
President Obama’s Wicked Satire of Trump & the Birthers
President Obama's satire of Donald Trump and the birthers at the 2010 White House correspondents' dinner should reposted every time the issue comes up. It slays. They say that Mel Brooks's satire…