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Tag Archives: Middle East
Juan Cole Identifies the Top Ten Good Stories from the Middle East for 2008
Iraqi ParliamentTop Ten Good News Stories in the Muslim World, 2008 (That Nobody Noticed)By Juan Cole / January 1, 2009 We all too often focus only on negative developments, and while it is understandable for people to keep their eyes … Continue reading
Hamas Rockets, Smart Bombs and Israeli Politics
‘Even smart bombing is bound to cause civilian casualties and much of the Israeli bombing is less than smart. So, of course, when the body count of Palestinian civilians exceeds the body count of Israeli civilians (as it always does) … Continue reading
New Gaza War : The Neighborhood Bully Strikes Again
“A loud-mouthed bully?”: Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem December 21, 2008. Photo by Gali Tibbon / Pool / Reuters.‘Once again, Israel’s violent responses, even if there is justification for them, exceed all proportion … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Gaza, Gaza War, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, Palestinian Occupation
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Israel Coiled for Potential Iran Strike
‘While its preference is to coordinate with the US, defense officials have said Israel is preparing a wide range of options for such an operation.’By Yaakov Katz / December 4, 2008 The IDF (Israel Defense Forces)is drawing up options for … Continue reading
Much Work to Do to Bring Peace to the Middle East
MIDEAST: For Peace, the U.S. Will Have to ChangeBy Cherrie Heywood / November 5, 2008 RAMALLAH, West Bank – Barack Obama has been elected U.S. President at a time when the number of extremists has risen dramatically since the U.S. … Continue reading
And Obama and McCain Really Think They’re Going to Win in Afghanistan
Why does the US think it can win in Afghanistan?By Robert Fisk / September 20, 2008 The Taliban are better trained, and – sad to say – increasingly tolerated by the local civilian population Poor old Algerians. They are being … Continue reading
Dealing a Blow in the Oil and Gas Markets
Russia takes control of Turkmen (world?) gasBy M K Bhadrakumar From the details coming out of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and Moscow over the weekend, it is apparent that the great game over Caspian energy has taken a dramatic turn. In … Continue reading
Settling International Disputes by Peaceful Means
End the Occupation of Iraq — and Afghanistanby Marjorie Cohn / July 29, 2008 So far, Bush’s plan to maintain a permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq has been stymied by resistance from the Iraqi government. Barack Obama’s timetable for … Continue reading
BushCo Is Desperate for Results, Even in Failure
The M.E.K. [the Mujahideen-e-Khalqhas, Iranian dissident group] has been on the State Department’s terrorist list for more than a decade, yet in recent years the group has received arms and intelligence, directly or indirectly, from the United States. Some of … Continue reading
The Brewing Storm in Northern Iraq
Vetoing the law came after protests by Kurdish and some Shiite MPs, who boycotted the vote over a secret ballot on Kirkuk’s provincial council seats. (Reuters photo)Election Law Polarizes KirkukBy Afif Sarhan / July 24, 2008 KIRKUK — The controversial … Continue reading