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Archives: August 2011
Qaddafi reportedly South of Tripoli as Algeria offers Family Members Safe Passage
An Italian news service, Ansa, reported Monday that Muammar Qaddafi, his eldest son Saif, and another son, Saadi (a military commander during the failed attempt to put down the uprising) are hiding…
Lockerbie Bomber in Coma in Tripoli, as retreating Qaddafi Troops use Human Shields
CNN's intrepid Nic Robertson gets the scoop. He discovered that Abdel Basit Ali Megrahi, the convicted Lockerbie bomber, is in a coma in a villa in Tripoli. Megrahi suffers from prostate cancer.…Rebels Consolidate Control over Tripoli as Qaddafi’s Mass Killings Discovered
The systematic war crimes of the Qaddafi regime continue to be uncovered, with the discovery Saturday in Tripoli of the charred remains of nearly 60 bodies in a warehouse. The victims had…
Fall of Tripoli Echoes Loudly in Damascus
Protesters in Syria have cheered on the revolutionaries in Libya, and the fall of Tripoli to a popular uprising last Saturday and Sunday gave new heart to the Syrian reform movement. So…Hurricanes and Global Warming
With the approach of Hurricane Irene, climate activists are reminding us that more intensive hurricanes are produced by warmer water, so that global warming over time will increase the severity and frequency…Iraq Adopts Iran’s Backing of Assad
Interview with me, mirrored from The United States Institute of Peace Iran Primer. Q. What impact will the call by the United States and major European powers for Syrian President Bashar Assad…How to Avoid Bush’s Iraq Mistakes in Libya
The illegal American invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation was so epochal a catastrophe that it spawned a negative phrase in Arabic, "to Iraqize" or `arqana. Tonight I heard an Alarabiya anchor…TV, Twitter, Facebook and the Libyan Revolution
The USG Open Source Center summarizes what is known about television and social media penetration in Libya (see below). Television is light years more important than the internet. Almost everyone has access…Qaddafi’s Complex Falls to Revolutionaries
Libyan revolutionaries have captured the Bab al-Aziziya compound of deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi. CNN's Sara Sidner reported it live and on site (video here). The revolutionaries delieriously fired their weapons in the…New Libya, Welcomed in Mideast, Rejects NATO Bases
Despite the unfinished character of the Libyan Revolution, it is clear that the days of Muammar Qaddafi are numbered. How has this news been received in the rest of the world? There…Top Ten Myths about the Libya War
The Libyan Revolution has largely succeeded, and this is a moment of celebration, not only for Libyans but for a youth generation in the Arab world that has pursued a political opening…
The Great Tripoli Uprising
As dawn broke Sunday in Libya, revolutionaries were telling Aljazeera Arabic that much of the capital was being taken over by supporters of the February 17 Youth revolt. Some areas, such as…
Qaddafi Rule Collapsing as Rebels Take Brega, Zlitan
The rebel forces are racking up an impressive series of wins, decisively taking Zlitan, Surman and Brega on Friday into Saturday morning. Qaddafi is increasingly surrounded and cut off from fuel and…
Obama demands Regime Change in Syria
President Obama, along with the European Union, called on Thursday for Syrian President Bashar al-Asad to step down. At the same time, the US announced severe economic and financial sanctions against Syria,…Is Qaddafi Really going to Flee to Tunisia?
NBC News is reporting that US intelligence officials are telling it that Muammar Qaddafi is considering fleeing into exile in neighboring Tunisia. This in the wake of the dramatic advances made by…Top Ten Reasons Radical Jihadis shouldn’t have Threatened David Letterman
Top Ten Reasons Radical Jihadis shouldn't have Threatened David Letterman 10. David is The Man 9. You really don't want David relentlessly making fun of you in revenge; ask Madonna. 8. David…
Campbell: Egypt’s Spring Becomes a Long Hot Summer
Dennis Campbell writes in a guest column for Informed Comment : Egypt’s Spring Becomes a Long Hot Summer Democracy is messy. Freedom is contagious. For 18 days in January and February, the…
Qaddafi Explores Routes to Flee Libya as Rebels Advance
Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi is ill and is seeking a way to flee the country, according to the Arabic news site Albawaba.com. This report is plausible if only because Qaddafi's performance on…Historical Question for Governor Perry
Dear Rick Perry: I am a historian and if you will indulge me, I'd just like to ask you a question about historical parallels. So if we were living in Germany's Weimar…Tripoli Surrounded, Cut Off
Aljazeera Arabic is reporting directly from Zawiya (to the west of Tripoli along the Mediterranean), where Free Libya forces have liberated some 80 percent of the city, all but the eastern areas…President Bachmann as Mideast Prophet: Cole/ Truthdig
My column in Truthdig is now out, "President Bachmann: Another Mideast Messiah" Excerpt: "Bachmann recently alleged that Iran had been “delivered a nuclear warhead” (this assertion, like many of Bachmann’s bromides, is…Iraq Bombings unlikely to Change Minds on US Troop Withdrawal
Some 80 people were killed and over two hundred wounded on Monday in a clearly coordinated set of bombings and attacks in 17 Iraqi cities. The prime suspect is radicalized Sunni Arabs…Rebels Advance, Surround Tripoli, as Qaddafi Totters
The long slow slog of the Libyan struggle to throw off the rule of Muammar Qaddafi, accelerated this weekend, possibly decisively, with rebel forces making major advances. Tripoli was said to be…Rick Perry and the Hucksterism of the Rich
Rick Perry's announcement of his presidential ambitions marks the triumph of fantasy over reality in American politics. Among our more pressing problems are global climate change caused by human production of greenhouse…Iraq declines to Cut Syria Off
As Syria passed another bloody Friday of protests, Arab journalists and now the New York Times are noting that the Iraqi government of PM Nouri al-Maliki has declined to withdraw its ambassador…Paul, Santorum and the Sixth War (on Iran)
One of the places foreign policy emerged in the GOP Iowa debate last night was an exchange between Ron Paul and Rick Santorum on Iran, as right wing analyst Thomas R. Eddlem…
Obama may Call for al-Asad to step down
President Barack Obama is seriously considering calling publicly for Syrian President Bashar al-Asad to step down, according to press reports. He is said to be awaiting a briefing by Turkish Foreign Minister…
Jordan Plans Green Star Trek Theme Park
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has big plans to renovate the port of Aqaba, and among them is the building of a $1.5 billion Star Trek theme park powered by green energy.…London Riots: Its the Economy, Stupid (Not a Clash of Civilizations)
The unfortunate riots in Tottenham in London tell us a great deal about the problems of immigrant communities, and what they say to us most eloquently is that people want to be…50 US & NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan in Past Week
Another US helicopter got into trouble on Sunday, and had to make a hard landing in the eastern Paktia province, though no one aboard was hurt. It may have been forced down…
Syria Cracks down on Hama Again
Tens of thousands of Syrians demonstrated on August 5, the first Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, amid regime crackdowns that were especially harsh in Hama, with some 13 killed…
Downgraded US Credit Rating: What comes of Coddling the Super-Rich
The decision of Standard & Poor to downgrade the credit rating of the United States of America from AAA to AA+ was clearly based on uncertainty in two major areas. The first…Rebels claim Leader of Feared Khamis Brigade Dead
Free Libya forces are making unconfirmed allegations that Gen. Khamis Qaddafi has been killed in a NATO airstrike on a military outpost at Zlitan near Misrata. Khamis leads the feared Khamis Brigades,…Toothless UNSC Condemnation of Syria shows Russian, Chinese Clout
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday issued a "presidential statement," one step below a resolution, chiding the Syrian government for its violent repression of protests (but also condemning violence by the…Mubarak on Trial but W. Is Not
The July 8 protests spearheaded by young Egyptian leftists to demand accountability and transparency were rewarded Wednesday by publicly broadcast trial proceedings against former president Hosni Mubarak, his two sons, and several…
Syrian Massacre in Hama Sparks More EU Sanctions
Syria's concerted military intervention against peacefully protesting crowds at the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan has resulted in dozens of deaths, especially in the city of Hama, with about 100…
Gingrich Accused of Twitter Fraud
Newt Gingrich has ten times as many Twitter followers as Mitt Romney, but it is being alleged that most of them are dummy accounts or are actually paid for. In bizarro Gingrich-world,…Zakaria: Tea Party Tactics Immoral, Dictatorial
Vice President Joe Biden may or may not have concurred with some disgruntled Democratic politicians that in the negotiations over the debt ceiling, the Tea Party Republicans acted like "terrorists." But what…Eissenstat: Turkey’s Generals Resign
Howard Eissenstat writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Turkey’s Generals Resign: Thoughts on a New Chapter in Turkish Politics For most of my professional life I have argued that one…
Sound and Fury: Americans Actually Lightly Taxed
The following chart is a slightly shortened version of the one at The Globe and Mail, which demonstrates that US tax rates are among the lowest in the industrialized world. Tax Revenue…