Minaret of Freedom Weblog

Month: August 2007

  • News and Analysis (8/20/07)

    Action doesn’t match rhetoric and the Bush administration sinks its own democracy promotion agenda by opting for military adventurism in Iraq and support for local dictators over civil society activists: As Democracy Push Falters, Bush Feels Like a ‘Dissident’ (Washington Post) Iraq’s political leadership takes another big hit as the second provincial leader is assassinated…

  • News and Analysis (8/18-19/07)

    Seeing that its not safe for children to go to school and learn in their own country, Iraqi children are now attending classes in Jordan, but at the cost of overwhelming their host country’s education system: Iraqis Enrol in Jordan’s Schools (BBC News) “It is not possible… to stabilize Iraq and at the same time…

  • News and Analysis (8/17/07)

    Conviction of Jose Padilla proves that due process is not an impediment to trial of alleged terrorists, while a Washington Post editorial slams the Bush administration for taking so long to grant him his due process rights Padilla Is Guilty on All Charges in Terror Trial (New York Times) Jose Padilla’s Due Process (Washington Post)…

  • Occupation, Nation-building, Fighting Terrorists and NATO

    Here are my answers to some questions posed by Fars Press, an Iranian news agency in Iran. Q. What is NATO’s function to bring stable and security to Afganistan, and as we see Afganistan is unstable and insecure and also the Taliban threat has increased, how do you evaluate it? A. Lord Ismay, NATO’s first…

  • News and Analysis (8/16/07)

    Bush administration intends to go ahead with plan to put “Big Brother in the sky”: Domestic Use of Spy Satellites To Widen (Washington Post) Violent disintegration of Iraq ravages people of all faiths, not just Muslims: Minority Religions Under Attack in Iraq (Associated Press/Washington Post) Bush administration sought special terrorist designation against Iranian government paramilitary…

  • A Glance at the Word “Intifada”

    by Alejandro Beutel, Minaret of Freedom Institute (minaret.org) Recently a fellow blogger had given some commentary on our blurb on August 10 citing a news story about an Arab school principal who was forced to resign from her position after coming under scrutiny for wearing a t-shirt that said “Intifada NYC”. This blogger gave his…

  • Fatah’s “Spiritual” Opposition to Hamas

    Here is a remarkable development. According to an article in the Chrsitian Science Monitor (“West Bank Scholars Push for Spiritual Reply to Hamas Extremism”), Muslim supporters of Fatah like Shaikh Sad Sharaf of Al Rawda College have engaged in ideological confrontation with Hamas on religious grounds and lobby for the creation of a spiritual association…

  • A Plea for a Consistent Definition of Terrorism

    It is interesting that the US would add the Iranian “Revolutionary Guard Corps” (RGC, Iranian Unit to Be Labeled ‘Terrorist’, Washington Post) since branding a national group like the RGC as terrorist goes against the definition in U.S. law (U.S. Code Title 22, Ch.38, Para. 2656f(d)(2)): “the term ‘terrorism’ means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated…

  • News and Analysis (8/15/07)

    “One of America’s strengths in this war lies in being able to rally other nations to its side by upholding universal principles. That same strength also weakens terrorists. The jury may well find Padilla guilty, but it may also see the injustice done in his case, and decide otherwise. Victory in war is sometimes a…

  • News and Analysis (8/14/07)

    Re-nomination of Abdullah Gul for Turkey’s President re-ignites bitter debate between the Islamic-oriented AKP and its secular rivals: Turkish Presidential Pick Sets Up Clash, Again (New York Times) Human Rights Watch report slams all sides in Somali conflict and alleges government soldiers and Ethiopian allies intentionally bombed civilian neighborhoods in Mogadishu to eliminate insurgents: Civilian…

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