Author: Alejandro

As internationally respected journalist Ahmed Rashid argues that blind US support for Musharraf will backfire parallels that of the Shah of Iran, US officials visit Pakistan, restating their support for the dictator:  America’s Bad Deal With Musharraf, Going Down in Flames (Washington Post)  U.S. Restates Support for Embattled Musharraf (Washington Post)  Former World Bank official…

Fatah dissolves Palestinian unity government and declares a national state of emergency as Hamas is victorious in Gaza and grants amnesty to Fatah militants: Hamas to Grant Amnesty to Fatah Leaders (Washington Post) Sectarian backlash in Iraq takes place after second bombing of Samarra mosque, but violence is limited by increased security presence and leaders’…

Covering only 10% of FBI national security investigations, internal audit finds over 1,000 potential violations of the law: FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting Data (Washington Post) Bloody security fallout in Iraq continues as a Pentagon report finds that violence is spreading to other parts of Iraq in spite of increased troops presence; fears…

Damaged Shi’a mosque that set off intense sectarian bloodletting in 2006 is finished off with destruction of its minarets, sparking new fears of intensified violence: Minarets on Shiite Shrine in Iraq Destroyed in Attack (New York Times) Islamist intellectual Hassan Al-Turabi allegedly a one-time supporter of Osama Bin Laden is now a major opposition figure…

“The President cannot eliminate constitutional protections with the stroke of a pen by proclaiming a civilian, even a criminal civilian, an enemy combatant subject to indefinite military detention”–US court of appeals ruling… Judges Rule Against U.S. On Detained ‘Combatant’ (Washington Post) …Meanwhile Georgetown law Professor Rosa Brooks opines that term “unlawful enemy combatant” is the…

Editorial by the Washington Post slams current US policy for not doing more to assist Iraqis who have fled violence in their country: A Duty to the Displaced (Washington Post) In spite of very serious risks, US military is arming Sunnis in other parts of the country, touting Anbar province as its model in order…

Egyptian court ruling seeks to balance religious liberty and “security” interests by striking University’s attempt to ban the face veil on campus, but does require that women remove it temporarily in order to enter: Cairo Campus Veil Ban Struck Down (BBC News) After being freed from Gitmo, Uighur Muslims receive asylum in Albania, but live…

Grand Mufti of Egypt in op-ed denounces terrorism and argues that continued flexibility and adaptability in Islamic law is necessary to “provide solutions confronting the Muslim world”:   Fatwas and Modernity (Washington Post)   Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah makes call to stop internal fighting among Palestinian factions and muster the “political will to implement existing agreements”:  …

Example of Middle East states shows that democracy requires liberty and separation of powers, not just elections: Ballot Boxes? Yes. Actual Democracy? Tough Question. (New York Times) Using “news media reports, interviews and government documents” human rights groups release list of 39 people believed to be secretly jailed by the US: Rights Groups Call for…

Egypt and other Muslim-majority countries among Amnesty International’s list of state-mandated Internet repression, which includes filtering, “‘politically motivated’ closures of websites and net cafes, as well as threats and imprisonment”:  Censorship ‘Changes Face of Net’ (BBC News)  As the Gitmo ruling re-ignites bipartisan debate over legal reforms of the parallel courts system, including granting the…