Month: October 2009

Putting aside Obama administrations objections: Supreme Court to Consider Uighurs’ Plea for Freedom (Washington Post) Karzai accepts the decision to throw out 954,526 votes and agrees to a run off with Abdullah Abullah: Karzai Bows to Calls for Afghanistan Poll Runoff (Guardian) Without legislation dictating election procedure, Iraq is becoming dangerously close to unconstitutional limbo:…

Costs of operation for the Taliban are so low that even an effective strategy reducing their income may have little impact on their effectiveness: A Variety of Sources Feed Into Taliban’s War Chest (NY Times) How will Iranian suspicions of foreign intervention complicate the upcoming Nuclear talks scheduled in Vienna? Iran Blames Pakistan for Attack…

Envoy Khraishi says Palestinians want peace with Israel,but until they have a state with “East Jerusalem as its capital … our people will never forgive the international community if they leave the criminals and perpetrators of crimes to have impunity”: – Ibrahim Khraishi: U.N. Panel Backs Gaza Report (Washington Post) 8 years after the US-led…

The bill removes an obstacle for trial of indictable detainees to  be tried in American Courts: House Backs Guantanamo Prisoner Transfer (Reuters) US strategy in Afghanistan may continue to remain in limbo until central leadership can be consolidated: Afghanistan Ambassador to U.S. Expects Runoff (LA Times) Beyond defending Israeli brutality, Netanyahu’s protests reveal a dictatorial…

A deal preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons but allowing the country to continue to enrich uranium could be a win-win solution … Some See Iran as Ready for Nuclear Deal (NY Times) … but Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi warns that focus on Iran’s nuclear ambitions than issues “of democracy and freedom is a mistake…

Despite the highly effective success rate, the Saudi rehabilitation program may not be the solution to resettling the 97 Yemenis from Guantanamo… U.S. Sees Saudi Program As an Option for Detainees (Washington Post) … Meanwhile, Yemen struggles to provide for the more than 150,000 people fleeing the conflict between government and insurgent forces: In Yemen…

As Taliban forces demonstrate their ability to engage in a more traditional type of warfare … In Pakistan, a Deadly Resurgence (Washington Post) … The Pakistani army fulfills its promise to respond with a military offensive: Pakistan Bombs Militants in South Waziristan (Reuters / Washington Post) Reporters Without Borders reports that the number of journalists…

For many reasons, diplomacy was virtually the only option for the Obama Administration: Diplomacy in the Lead on Iran Nuclear Issue — For Now (LA Times) Alienating political Afghanistan from its Islamic heritage is a strategy doomed to failure: Can Religion Be Part Of Solution in Afghanistan? (Washington Post) Baited by Militant attacks on Sunday,…

Negotiations deferred the question of the Armenian Genocide to a committee of historical experts for study while normalizing economic and diplomatic relations: Armenia, Turkey Reach Accord (Washington Post) Amnesty International “fears Zamani’s death sentence will pave the way for more death sentences against those being tried on similar offenses”: In Iran, 2 get Death Sentences…

A university supporter’s succinct rebuttal: “The purest place on earth is not segregated, and that is the holy mosque in Mecca”: In Saudi Arabia, a Campus Built as a ‘Beacon of Tolerance’ (Washington Post) The opposition denies the legitimacy of the confession, claiming al-Zamani “had absolutely no links with the Americans and hasn’t been involved…