Tag Archives: Middle East

Obama’s Middle East Policy: Dependent on the All-Important Follow-Through

Posted on June 4, 2009 by RagBlog

A souvenir shop owner displays a metal plaque for sale to tourists in Cairo, Egypt, on May 28, ahead of President Obama’s June 4 speech. Photo: AP Photo/Ben Curtis.Obama, Muslim-world rock starBy Juan Cole / June 3, 2009 They like … Continue reading →

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Englehardt: The Expanding Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflict

Posted on May 24, 2009 by RagBlog

Bodies of some of 25-30 Afghan civilians killed in NATO air strike, October 16, 2008. Obama has escalated the Afghanistan war. Photo: Abdul Khaleq/Associated Press.Going for Broke: Six Ways the Af-Pak War Is ExpandingBy Tom Engelhardt / May 21, 2009 … Continue reading →

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Rabbi Arthur Waskow : American Jews, Middle East Peace and a Crisis of Values

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, pictured at the North America Conference of Rabbis for Human Rights held in Washington, D.C., in December 2008. If the U.S. insists on peace in the Middle East, will there be a crisis over values and identity … Continue reading →

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America’s Strategic and National Security Interests: Not Much Good for the Rest of the World

Posted on May 9, 2009 by RagBlog

Secretary Doomsday and the Empathy Gap: The Everyday Extremism of WashingtonBy Tom Engelhardt / May 7, 2009 A front-page New York Times headline last week put the matter politely indeed: “In Pakistan, U.S. Courts Leader of Opposition.” And nobody thought … Continue reading →

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Nice is Not Enough : Obama and the Israeli Political Mess

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

Is Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman (with lifted glass) even embarassing his boss, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu? Photo from acus.org.Obama vs. Netanyahu and Lieberman Obama, as shrewd a gentleman as he is supposed to be, is in no way … Continue reading →

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Steve Weissman : How Should We Respond to Ahmadinejad

Posted on April 24, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

Ultra-conservative Rabbi Moishe Arye Friedman, left, shakes hands with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during international conference questioning the existence of the holocaust in Tehran, Dec. 12, 2006. Photo by AP. Using the word ‘pretext’ to describe Jewish suffering during World … Continue reading →

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Ground the Drones … Lest You Reap the Whirlwind

Posted on April 5, 2009 by RagBlog

The MQ-9 Reaper taxies into Creech Air Force Base, Nev., home to the newly reactivated 432nd Wing. U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Larry E. Reid Jr.Source: USAF.Down Where the Predators Live: Getting a Closer Look at the Killer DronesBy Kathy … Continue reading →

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Pakistanis Not So Optimistic About US Policy

Posted on March 28, 2009 by RagBlog

Taleban supporters in Swat, 21 February 2009.Pakistan pessimism at Obama revampBy M Ilyas Khan / March 27, 2009 Pakistan’s foreign minister may have welcomed the new Obama regional initiative but the immediate feeling among political commentators was generally one of … Continue reading →

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Middle East Peace: Probably Not This Year

Posted on March 7, 2009 by RagBlog

Hillary Clinton meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his Ramallah headquarters 4 March 2009.Here we go again?By Paul Beckett / The Rag Blog / March 6, 2009 So now it’s Hillary Clinton who begins to shuttle, looking for that … Continue reading →

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Chomsky on Obama: ‘The Carefully Framed Deceit Is Instructive’

Posted on January 26, 2009 by RagBlog

Obama on Israel-PalestineBy Noam Chomsky / January 26, 2009 Barack Obama is recognized to be a person of acute intelligence, a legal scholar, careful with his choice of words. He deserves to be taken seriously – both what he says, … Continue reading →

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Patrick Cockburn on Israel : Detachment From Reality is the Norm

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

Still from Ari Forman’s animated film, Waltz with Bashir.‘Waltz with Bashir and repressed memories of Sabra and Chatila: Has anything changed?’By Patrick Cockburn / January 25, 2009 I was watching the superb animated documentary Waltz with Bashir about the Israeli … Continue reading →

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Gaza : Israeli Government Doesn’t Want Peace

Posted on January 8, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

Stark contrast: Beauty cloaks horror. Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Jan. 8, 2009. Over 600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,700 others wounded in Gaza since the so-called Operation Cast Lead began on Dec. … Continue reading →

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