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Archives: August 2009
Abdullah Will not Accept Karzai Victory; Ethnic Conflict could Flare; Pentagon using Rendon to Vet Journalists
Things to worry about on a lazy August Sunday: Abdullah Abdullah, the leading rival to incumbent Hamid Karzai in the Afghanistan presidential elections, told a gathering of hundreds of his campaign workers…Is Karzai trying to Steal the Afghanistan Election, taking a Leaf from Ahmadinejad’s Book?
The BBC is reporting that Obama's special envoy to AfPak, Richard Holbrooke, has had a shouting match with President Hamid Karzai over the desirability of a second round in the presidential election.…Khamenei Backs off on Charge of Western Plots; Ayatollahs Sani’i and Montazeri Attack Khamenei.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that he did not believe the leaders of Iran's protesters against the official presidential election results were instigated by the West. He added, however, that…Al-Hakim’s Death Unsettles Iraqi Politics
The big news in Iraq was the death from cancer in Tehran of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the clerical leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. He had been born in the…Palestinians Plan State, but Will Netanyahu Block it?
The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, has put forward a plan for a Palestinian state to be attained within 2 years. This is the first time such a blueprint with a timeline…41 Killed in Qandahar Bombing; Karzai & Abdullah Neck and Neck; Taliban Threaten Western Capitals; 4 US Soldiers Killed
A massive truck bomb was set off near a Japanese construction company in the southwestern city of Qandahar in Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing about 41 and wounding some 65 persons. All the…Ted Kennedy on How America Got Mired in Iraq
Senator Ted Kennedy's death Tuesday night has deprived the nation of one of the most insightful and committed progressive politicians the country had. Kennedy all along had opposed Bush's Iraq War, and…Congress Needs to Pass some Laws on controversial issues
The thing that concerns me most about the investigation of Central Intelligence Agency interrogators is that US law served as such a poor guide to them for what was permitted.Although administrations do…Shiite Fundamentalist Coalition Announced Al-Maliki Might Not win Second Term
Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that five major Shiite fundamentalist parties along with some other personalities and small parties have announced the National Iraqi Alliance, the successor to the United Iraqi Alliance that…Regime Broadcasts Baathist Confession re: Bombings;
Wissam Ali Kadhem Ibrahim was put on television in Iraq confessing his role in last Wednesday's bombings. The former Baathist official described an operation that drew on old-time Baathist assets in Diyala…Silverman: Religion and Politics in Iraq: What Type of Sectarianism Really Exists?
Adam L. Silverman writes in a guest op-ed for IC The recent increase in political violence in Iraq has once again led to renewed discussions of the potential religious component. Violence has…Top Ten Differences Between Bush & Obama First 7 Months
Obama, unlike Bush: 1. Has no plans to invade any new oil countries.2. Knows who president of Pakistan is3. Knows how to safely consume pretzels4. Does not take orders from his veep5.…Obama’s Fate as much in the Balance as Afghan Presidential Candidates
The Financial Times argues that the final judgment on how upright the Afghan elections were matters enormously to the Obama administration. If the US public decides these election results were phonied up,…Bush Admin. worse than our Nightmares
It was worse.Back in the bad old days of Bush's corrupt gang, we on the left were pilloried for suggesting that the administration was manipulating terrorism-related news in order to win the…Afghanistan: 50 Dead on Election Day, with Low turnout in Some Districts
Violence that left some 50 dead, and a relatively low turnout in some provinces marred Afghanistan's presidential election on Thursday. McClatchy reports that the largest election monitoring organization refused to sign off…6 US Troops Killed in Afghanistan; War Loses Majority Support
The US military announced on Wednesday that 6 US troops had been killed in Afghanistan. As Afghans go to the polls in what is being widely decried as a flawed presidential election,…Whodunnit in Baghdad
Speculation has been flying around in the news media and on the internet about who was behind Wednesday's gory bombings in Baghdad. Let me lay out the various theories behing put forward,…Nearly 100 Dead, 500 Wounded in 6 Bombings in Baghdad
A series of coordinated truck bombings targeted Iraqi government ministries and other facilities on Wednesday morning, killing nearly 100 persons and wounding some 500. Poorly equipped and staffed emergency rooms in the…Armed Band Takes Bank Near Presidential Palace; Charges Levelled of Foreign Money, Influence
On Wednesday morning, on the eve of Afghanistan's elections, gunmen in the Seraji district of Kabul invaded the Pashtani Bank while laying down small arms fire and setting off explosions, a little…Iraq between Accelerated Withdrawal and bringing US Troops back In
Today's story about Iraq is a story of conflict between Gen. Ray Odierno and the Iraqi parliament. Elements in the cabinet and the parliament put pressure on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki not…Obama Defends Afghanistan War; Campaigning Wraps up with Karzai calling on Warlords
President Barack Obama gave a major speech on the Afghanistan War to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday. Ironically, the American Taliban was milling around outside the hall…Karzai Takes Steps to Regain Lost Momentum
Incumbent Afghan president Hamid Karzai is clearly feeling the breath of his main rival in the presidential contest on the back of his neck. He haughtily declined to debate his leading rivals…Kurdish, Arab Leaders Accuse Each other of Terrorism over Ninevah Attacks; 12 Killed, 52 Wounded in Iraq Attacks;
In Baghdad, two bombs went off near a falafel stand and killed 8 and wounded 21 persons Al-Zaman [The Times of Baghdad] reports in Arabic on other attacks on Sunday. In Fallujah,…No Health Reform for Gaza; But Death Panels they Have
While Americans are debating their own health system, they are unindicted co-conspirators in an effort to degrade the health, mental and physical, and to half-starve the people of Gaza. The callousness, ruthlessness…Hamas Crushes Islamist Group in Gaza
Some 22 militants died in fighting in Gaza between Hamas and the Army of God's Helpers on Friday, the latter being a radical fundamentalist cult that took some of its cues from…American Grassroots Diplomacy in Damascus
Check out this blog of an interesting experiment in American public diplomacy in Syria:"The American MidEast Leadership Network’s (AMLN’s) Virtual Scrapbook is an online collection of the thoughts, musings, favorite things, photographs,…7 Killed, 91 Wounded in Suicide Bombing at NATO HQ in Kabul
A suicide bomber penetrated several rings of security in Kabul and detonated his payload outside NATO headquarters next to the American Embassy, killing 7 persons and wounding 91. Police and a parliamentarian…Epic Fail: Time Magazine on Uselessness of Exercise for Weight Loss
I am sure they are smart people, but every once in a while the journalists working for the mainstream media deliver themselves of the opinion that exercise does not help you lose…Twin Bombings Kill 21 Yazidis; Al-Maliki Seeking ‘Nationalist’ Coalition
Two suicide bombers hit a cafe in the Yazidi town of Sinjar, Iraq, on Thursday, killing at least 21 persons and wounded many more. The Yazidis are a religious group among the…Cheney shoots W. in the Face with Memoirs
Former VP Richard Bruce Cheney says he will air his dissatisfactions with George W. Bush's policies, especially in the second term when Cheney feels he yielded to politics as usual.Cheney believes in…4 NATO Troops Killed; Assassination attempt on Rabbani Fails; 50,000 Greet Abdullah in Mazar
Four NATO troops, including one American and three Britons, were killed in Afghanistan on Thursday. The American was killed by small arms fire. The three British soldiers fell victim to a roadside…70 Killed in Taliban / Bhittani Clashes in Pakistan; US Soldier Killed in Afghanistan; Abdullah Pledges Negotiations with Militants
Pakistani Taliban loyal to slain leader Baitullah Mahsud attacked the forces of Baitullah's former supporter turned enemy, Turkistan Bhittani in the frontier region of Jandola. Some 70 fighters perished in the battles,…Who Benefits from Israel’s Colonization of the West Bank?
The Real News Network asks and answers the question of who, exactly, benefits economically from the Israeli colonization of the West Bank.See also Lamia Khatib's account of life in the Occupied West…10 Killed in Attacks, including Brig. Gen.; Al-Maliki May Run with Sunni Parties; Return of Censorship?
10 Iraqis were killed in political violence on Wednesday, including Brig. Gen. Abdulhameed Khalaf Asfoor of troubled Ninevah Province. Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that that January 15 will probably be the day…Spike in Bombings in Iraq Unrelated to lack of US Patrols
Bombings killed 8 and wounded 50 in Iraq on Tuesday. There were two bombings in eastern Shiite neighborhoods in the capital. A boy and two soldiers were wounded near Baqubah.These attacks are…Marines Take Dahaneh in Helmand; 35 Announced Dead on Tues. including 3 US Troops; Election could go to Second Round
500 Afghan troops and US Marines on Wednesday morning launched an assault on the long-time Taliban stronghold of Dahaneh in the southern Helmand province. They faced heavy resistance, though mostly from light…Taliban Briefly Take Logar Capital Near Kabul; 12 Taliban Killed in Clashes, bombings; Taliban Warn against Voting
Shabakah-'i Ittila-Rasani-yi Afghanistan reports in Persian that on Monday, a squad of Taliban briefly took over the main government buildings in Pul-i Alam, the capital of Logar Province just south of Kabul…Over 40 Dead in Morning Bombings in Baghdad
Iraq woke up to a bloody Monday morning, with three major bombings that left more than 40 dead according to Middle East Online writing in Arabic. The biggest attack was on the…McChrystal: Taliban Have Upper Hand; Violence, Corruption Threaten Election; British Gen. Pledges 40 Years in Afghanistan
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, head of US forces in Afghanistan, admitted in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday that the Taliban have gained the upper hand in fighting in Afghanistan.…Escobar on Iran, China and the Silk Road
Pepe Escobar on Iran-Chinese relations and the New Silk Road.this is part 3 of a series at The Real News NetworkNote also that Iran and China just signed a $3 bn. deal…Power Struggle in Pakistani Taliban
In the wake of the death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mahsud in Wednesday, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn writes that a power struggle broke out between two other Mahsud leaders: ' According…New Iraqi Shiite Coalition coming together
Ahead of January's parliamentary elections, Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that Jalal al-Din al-Saghir, a leader of the Islamic Supreme Council in Iraq (ISCI) announced that the United Iraqi Alliance will announce five…Bombs Kill 52 in Iraq
Sunni Arab guerrillas bombed a Shiite Turkmen mosque in a village outside Mosul on Friday, killing 39 persons and wounding dozens. Other attacks targeted Shiites in Baghdad.On the other hand, the big…Mahsud’s Death Seems ‘Sure Thing’
The leading Pakistani newspaper, Dawn, reports that there "is no doubt" that a US drone strike killed Baitullah Mahsud, the leader of the Taliban Movement of Pakistan. The report says that the…Statement on Iran by Engaged Scholars
Statement by 40 Engaged Scholars‘Human Beings are Members of a Whole’Protecting the Iranian Civil Society Human beings are members of a whole,In creation of one essence and soul.If one member is afflicted…Iran Update
Some experts are raising the question about whether Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will serve out his four year term. They wonder if the instability and substantial opposition to him from reformists as…Pakistani Taliban Leader Possibly Killed Supreme Court Challenges Martial Law Pro-Government Vigilantes Kill Taliban
The allegation that a US drone strike in Waziristan killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban Movement, Baitullah Mahsud, cannot be dismissed but it has to be taken with a grain of…Iran: Beware Neocons Bearing Boycotts
Hamid Dabashi at CNN points out that the US executive's (the Obama administration's) plans to engage Iran may come up against Congress's desire to act aggressively toward the country, either through crippling…Reformists Boycott Ahmadinejad’s Inauguration
Even the official Iranian site Press TV had to admit that of 70 reformist members of parliament, only 13 attended Ahmadinejad's inauguration.AP has more on Wednesday's protests.Opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi called Wednesday…Ahmadinejad sworn in; Critic worries about Brain Drain and Capital Flight
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as president of Iran on Wednesday, to scattered protests. Several hundred protesters were said to have marched around the parliament building where the ceremony took place, despite…