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Archives: March 2010
Singer: The pro-Israel lobby’s curious defense of an alleged Somali war criminal.
Sam Singer writes in a guest editorial for Informed Comment entitled: 'A strange alliance at the Supreme Court: The pro-Israel lobby’s curious defense of an alleged Somali war criminal: A Shared Interest…Chalabi Moves to Disqualify 6 Elected MPs, Demote Allawi’s Party to Runner-Up
The Justice and Accountability Commission (formerly the Debaathification Commission), headed by Ahmad Chalabi, is moving to disqualify 6 elected candidates in the March 7 election for their ties to the banned Baath…Alleged Christian Terrorists said to Target Moderate American Muslims
FBI raids on the Hutaree Christian militia brought to light this formerly little-known group based in Adrian, Michigan.Unlike the generally secular white supremacist organizations, Hutaree are explicitly Christians. Many seem to be…The Continuing Decline of a Self-styled Jihadi State
Christopher Anzalone writes in a guest editorial for Informed Comment entitled, "The Islamic State of Iraq’s Positions on Iraqi National Elections: The Continuing Decline of a Self-styled Jihadi State:" On February 12,…Sadrists Pivotal Party, Vows Liberation of Iraq from Foreigners; Tehran attempts to Broker Alliance
Al-Hayat reports in Arabic on the emergence of the Sadr Movement as the largest Shiite party within the Shiite fundamentalist coalition, the Iraqi National Alliance. The Free Independent (al-Ahrar) party that represented…Iraq: National Unity Government or Return to Sectarianism? 53 Killed in Diyala Bombing
Patrick Martin of the Toronto Globe and Mail gets the diction right when he says that Iyad Allawi's list won a thin plurality. The official results of the March 7 Iraqi parliamentary…Israel-US Row to Iran’s benefit; Sanctions Regime Watered Down
The far rightwing government of Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu may have a choice between expanding settlements in the West Bank or achieving a global consensus on the need to sanction and coerce…Sadr Emerging as Kingmaker in Iraqi Election; Will Muqtada demand Quicker US Withdrawal
The London pan-Arab daily al-Hayat [Life] reports in Arabic that that the Shiite State of Law coalition and the Shiite Iraqi National Alliance say they are prepared to make an alliance before…
Netanyahu Humiliates Obama with another E. Jerusalem Housing Expansion; Israeli Troops allegedly used live Ammo; UK expels Mossad Chief
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sets the tone for Israeli policy-- one that is earning him few friends in the West. Three embarrassments broke for him on Tuesday. First, yet another housing…
Empires Come and Gone in the Middle East
A propos this morning's posting, a good visual representation of all the empires coming and going in the Mideast:[This map follows the biblical narrative, showing a united kingdom of Israel in the…Top Ten Reasons East Jerusalem does not belong to Jewish-Israelis
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the American Israel Public Affairs Council on Monday that "Jerusalem is not a settlement." He continued that the historical connection between the Jewish people and the…Maliki calls for Recount, warns of renewed bloodshed; Is Iraq slipping into Semi-Authoritarianism?
I'm all for holding elections. But the US right wing misunderstands elections as equalling democracy, which they do not. In fact, what we have seen since George W. Bush began backing neoconservative…Khamenei Blames Obama for post-election Disturbances Demands non-intervention as prerequisite to improved ties
The USG Open Source Center summarizes the address of Leader Ali Khamenei of Iran on the occasion of the Persian New Year, in which he replies to President Barack Obama's offer of…Can US catch up to Iran in Providing Health Care to Least Privileged?
Proponents of unregulated capitalism, or if you will, the 'free market,' maintain that it provides a better life for all than do other systems. This allegation is demonstrably untrue if the question…Jenkins: Bible Far More Violent than Qur’an
Philip Jenkins studied violence in the Bible and in the Qur'an, and found that the Bible is 'far more violent.'This conclusion is obvious to anyone who seriously studies the two scriptures. The…Public left Cold by GOP opposition to Health Care Reform
Daily Kos analyzes a Kaiser poll showing that a majority of Americans does not care one way or another that the Republican Party opposes heath care reform. Among those who in the…
Obama Addresses Iran Again on Persian New Year; Mousavi pledges to fight on; Call for Release of Derakhshan, ‘Blogfather’
Today Iranians mark Now Ruz, their ancient New Year's day, celebrated on the vernal equinox (which most often falls on March 21 but sometimes, as today, on the 20th). Now Ruz literally…
Cole on Aljazeera English re: Iraq
For the seventh anniversary of the launching of the Iraq War, Jasim al-Azzawi interviews Juergen Todenhoefer and myself:End/ (Not Continued)Jon Stewart on Weeping Beck
Jon Stewart uses satire to point to the real dangers of Glenn Beck's demagoguery (brought to you by the world's most evil billionaire, Rupert Murdoch) The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon -…
Jund Rocket Kills Thai Farm Worker in Israel; Israeli Jets Retaliate; Lady Ashton of EU calls for Resumption of Talks
The visit to Gaza of Lady Ashton, the head of foreign policy in the European Union, was marred Thursday when a small fringe militant group calling itself Jund Ansar al-Sunnah fired a…
Jeffrey Goldberg: The Movie
Here is the video version of Jeffrey Goldberg's punditry on the Middle East.End/ (Not Continued)Panetta: Al-Qaeda Effectively Disrupted; Yemeni Killed in Drone Strike; Nearly 6,000 Pakistanis Killed in Terrorist Incidents since 9/11
CIA director Leon Panetta said Wednesday that US strikes against targets in northern Pakistan have left al-Qaeda in disarray and without the command and control necessary to plan and carry out major…
French Television Demonstrates Cheney Effect
AP reports on a French reality show where contestants proved willing to administer torture-level shocks to human beings, replicating the findings of the classic Milgram Study at Yale:The show repeated the classic…
Lord Curzon on Palestine as a Class A Mandate: League of Nations said ‘Homeland for Jews’ not a Legal Claim on Territory
I posted Tuesday on the legal implications of the League of Nations' recognition of Palestine as a "Class A" Mandate, i.e. a former Ottoman territory nearly ready for national independence, to which…
100 Wounded as Israelis Crack Down on Palestinian Protests in Jerusalem
Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem were repressed by Israeli security forces on Tuesday, leaving over 100 persons wounded. Recent Israeli moves to claim sites in the Palestinian West Bank, holy to Christians…Cpl. Jeffrey Goldberg, Guarding the Prison of the Nationalist Mind
As a Middle East expert who lived in the Muslim world for nearly 10 years, travels widely there, speaks the languages, writes history from archives and manuscripts, and follows current affairs, I…
The Map: The Story of Palestinian Nationhood Thwarted After the League of Nations Recognized It
On March 10, I posted on the humiliation heaped on Vice President Joe Biden by the Israeli government of far-right Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu. Biden went to Israel intending to help kick…Jacoby: US Withdrawal on Schedule; Al-Maliki’s party has strong showing in Basra; Al-Maliki said Convinced he can retain Prime Ministership
Al-Hayat [Life] is reporting in Arabic that Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby now says that the US military withdrawal from Iraq is on schedule and that only 50,000 US troops will be in…
35 Killed, 56 Wounded in Qandahar Bombings
The Old Taliban of Mullah Omar hit Qandahar late Saturday with the largest coordinated bombing campaign since 2001, killing at least 35 persons and wounding 56. A spokesman said that the movement…
Bombings in Swat, Punjab likely to backfire on Taliban
The run-up to the Ides of March in Pakistan has been characterized by numerous horrific bombings, credit for which has been claimed by the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Taliban Movement of…Maliki ahead in Key Shiite Privinces
Al-Sharq al-Awsat [The Middle East] reports in Arabic that the Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq has released some information on the performance of the major political coalitions in two southern Shiite…Fathollah-Nejad: "Why ‘Smart Sanctions’ on Iran are Actually Stupid
Ali Fathollah-Nejad writes in a guest editorial for Informed Comment:Collateral Damages of Smart Sanctions on Iran The prospects for democracy, socio-economic development and conflict resolution will suffer if the West continues to…
The Mahmoud and Robert Show comes to Afghanistan
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates traded insults on Wednesday in Kabul. Gates accused Iran of claiming to support the Karzai government in Kabul but of playing…
Abbas Reported to have Withdrawn from Israeli-Palestinian talks; Obama Mideast Policy Sabotaged by Netanyahu
Obama's Mideast policy lies in tatters this morning and US credibility as a broker of any future settlement was deeply wounded.Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, announced Wednesday that he…
Israel Humiliates Biden, Announces Further Colonization on Eve of US-Brokered Talks
The far rightwing government of Binyamin Netanyahu in Israel majorly sandbagged Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, demonstrating once again that it has not the slightest interest in pursuing a just peace…Ahmadinejad Calls 9/11 a ‘Big Lie’; Says Collapse of Zionist Regime will Herald Return of Christ, Mahdi
As I reported in January, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has begun taking the line that the September 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaeda on New York and Washington were actually stage-managed by US…Petition to Save Palestinians’ Mamilla Cemetery from the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s plans to Build over It
Received from the Mamilla Campaign, which notes: THE SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER AND THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL ARE BUILDING A “MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE” ON CENTURIES-OLD MUSLIM GRAVES.History - Since the Seventh Century, the…Secular National Iraqi List of Allawi reported to have surged in Sunni Arab Provinces; Implications for Iran, US
Sunday's vote for a new parliament in Iraq on Sunday could result in two possible geopolitical futures for that country.If the Iraqi National List of former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi did…Iran Briefing on the Hill Wednesday
Announcement: The National Iranian American Council is pleased to present “Iran at a Crossroads: Assessing a Changing Landscape” on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 9 AM in Dirksen Senate Office Building Room…Will Muqtada and Ammar force the Next Prime Minister to Demand a US Withdrawal? Turnout Heavy with two Dozen Dead in early Election Violence
Voting in Iraq began early Sunday, and turnout appeared to be heavy. The BBC analysis is that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition will do well enough at the polls…Sadr Calls for Election of MPs Who will Demand immediate US Departure; Forbids Violence, calls for Sunni-Shiite Unity
The USG Open Source Center translates an interview with Shiite clerical leader Muqtada al-Sadr, broadcast in Arabic into Iraq by the Iranian al-Alam satellite television channel, which is widely watched by Iraqi…Muqtada Calls Voting an Act of Defiance against the US
In an apparent bid to divide Shiites and Sunnis on the eve of Sunday's parliamentary election, guerrillas on Saturday morning set off a bomb only 900 feet from the shrine of Imam…
Al-Hayat: Main Iraqi Party Alliances in Sunday’s Election
The USG Open Source Center translates a guide to the main party coalitions in the March 7 elections in IraqReport Lists Main Iraqi Alliances Contesting Parliamentary ElectionsUnattributed report: "List of [Iraqi] Political…
14 Killed in Special Election Day Attacks in Baghdad; Expats begin Voting today; US Withdawal Likely on Course
Iraq's campaign season will come to an end Friday evening, in preparation for the voting on Sunday. But a special vote was held Thursday for certain groups, such as the military, which…Bzzz. That’s just wrong, on Health Care Reform
The invented Republican/ Foxy News talking point du jour is that the Democrats intend to 'ram health care reform down our throats' even though 'the American people don't want it.'Bzzz. That's just…Harper’s A history of the Iraq war, told entirely in lies
The revision thing: A history of the Iraq war, told entirely in lies—By Sam Smith (Harper's Magazine)Or, a preview of the Rove, Bush & Cheney memoirs.End/ (Not Continued)Chalabi met Iran Quds Brigade commander; Voting begins in Iraq; Sadr’s warrant an Error
Al-Sharq al-Awsat says that it has gotten hold of an American intelligence document detailing undue Iranian influence in Iraq and in the Iraqi elections. The document says that Ahmad Chalabi and Ali…