Author: Imran

Sadr says he is “ready to provide hundreds of believers … to be official detachments in the Iraqi army or police to defend the holy shrines, mosques, praying houses and their cities ” with the consent of the government … Iraq’s Sadr Clarifies Stance on Militia’s Use (LA Times) … Meanwhile, the increasingly drawn-out process…

In what could open up the flood gates for routinely removing Palestinians from Israel and the West Bank and deporting them to the Gaza strip: Palestinians Deported to Gaza (Al Jazeera) Boasts of the end of sectarian violence in Iraq are clearly premature: Series of Explosions Kill at Least 58 in Iraq (AP / Yahoo)…

A consequence of no applicable military justice system and that courts civilian officials concede are not up to the task of handling a high volume of complex terrorism cases: Pakistan Holding Thousands in Indefinite Detention, Officials Say (Washington Post) “[I]n 2002 and 2003, .the Census Bureau turned over information it had collected about Arab-Americans to Homeland…

“The real issue raised by the Gates memo is that the presumptive future status of Iran as ‘virtual’ nuclear power, without actually violating the nuclear NPT in any way or doing anything but continuing their civilian nuclear program, would be sufficient justification for a military attack”: Gates Memo Sought ‘Military Options’ Against Iran (Anti War)…

Less than enthusiastic about the news, an Iraqi shopkeeper says, “Al-Qaeda can replace their leaders, and terrorism and violence will not end in Iraq….. We care about job opportunities and a new government forming soon that won’t be as greedy” … Two Top Leaders of the Insurgent Group al-Qaeda in Iraq are Killed in Raid…

Allegations of torture and rape emerge from a secret prison created under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s military office… Secret Prison for Sunnis Revealed in Baghdad (LA Times) …However, Maliki publicly defends his position as a champion of sectarian reconciliation and leader of the Iraqi people: Iraq’s Maliki Makes Case for Holding on to Post (LA Times)…

“Threatening with nuclear weapons only dishonored the American government officials and more fully exposed their inhumane and aggressive policies” – Ahmadinejad: At Iran Nuclear Summit, Ahmadinejad Calls for U.S. to Disarm First (Washington Post) Believed to be one of the major sources of political strife between Israel and the Palestine, 0ver 250,000 Palestinians have been…

With Obama’s promise to close Guantanamo unfilled, hu8s administratin now “envisions that a small number of suspected terrorists captured in the future could be detained and interrogated in an overseas prison”: New Rules on Terror Custody Being Drafted (LA Times) The involvement of Egypt, not the kidnapping of Israelis, is the primary reason Hamas decided…

“Kufr Aqab’s residents have to pay taxes to the Israeli authorities, but they get virtually nothing in return,” yet the “population is booming” because Palestinians from outside the city who marry Arab Jerusalemites are not allowed inside the Wall: Palestinians Stuck In Jerusalem ‘No Man’s Land’ (NPR) The decision to “formally undermine powers granted to…

A King Saud University professor says the current debate is making ending Saudi Arabia’s unique system of gender segregation, once unthinkable, “thinkable. Not do-able at this stage. Just thinkable”: Cleric’s Support for Men and Women Mingling in Public Sparks Furor in Saudi Arabia (Christian Science Monitor) “There is not a single militant in the area,”…