Minaret of Freedom Weblog

With Israelis seeing themselves as the David in the mismatched struggle, Israel weighs options in Gaza, but:

• Hamas Remains Defiant Despite Pounding (Christian Science Monitor)

As if Israel directs US policy on the Middle East,

• Olmert Says He Talked Bush Out of Cease-Fire Vote (LA Times)

Turkey remains torn between its desired cooperation with Israel and the developing grassroots outrage over Gaza:

• Gaza Dents Turkey-Israel Ties (AP / Washington Post)

Investing in renewable energy is a smart move for countries where the sun shines year-around:

• Gulf Oil States Seeking a Lead in Clean Energy (NY Times)

Highlighting the complexity of Iraqi politics, Nadhim Khalil a former insurgent and Al-Qaeda supporter who was jailed twice now allies himself with US forces:

• New Paths to Power Emerge in Iraq  (Washington Post)

Protesters achieve victory in battle for freedom of speech:

• Saudi Activist Who Inspired Rare Hunger Strike Freed (Christian Science Monitor)

With the Palestinian death toll exceeding 900 and the Israeli death toll at 13:

• What’s the Endgame for Israel and Hamas in Gaza? (Christian Science Monitor)
• Battered by Israel, Hamas Faces Tough Choice (LA Times)

Poverty remains rampant under the watch of one of the most politically corrupt governments:

• Inexplicable Wealth of Afghan Elite Sows Bitterness (Washington Post)

“The tragedy of Gaza is the acceptance on both sides that killing and oppression have more value than negotiation”:

• Supreme Emergency (Guardian)

Changes in the political conflict have likely ended any chance for insurgents to regain significant influence through violence:

• As US Withdraws, Will Al Qaeda in Iraq Find New Openings? (Christian Science Monitor)

The only meaningful intelligence gathered points out that attacks are up 45% in the region:

• U.S.-Funded Intelligence Center Struggles in Khyber Region (Washington Post)

Al Jazeera executive plans to announce its media will become available under the most lenient Creative Commons license, hoping to further distribute its exclusive coverage of the conflict:

• Few in U.S. See Jazeera’s Coverage of Gaza War (NY Times)

Deadly results believed to be caused by a dangerous chemical:

• 1 Dead, Dozens Injured in Gaza by Suspected White Phosphorus Munitions (LA Times)

As government leaders debate whether to expand the war, Olmert claims Israel it is “close” to its achieving its ambiguously stated objectives …

• Fighting Escalates as Israeli Troops Push Farther into Gaza (Washington Post)

… but BBC video tells a different story …

• Channel 4 UK Report From Gaza (BBC)

and both sides reportedly engage in rapid adaptation:

• A Gaza War Full of Traps and Trickery (NY Times)

If you’re asked to name something the Bush administration did right, try this:

• U.S. Thwarted Israeli Plan to Bomb Iranian Nuclear Facility (Washington Post)

In Afghanistan, Taliban remain confident of their abilities to maintain control and fight US forces:

• Behind the Lines with the Taliban (LA Times)

Although white phosphorus can be legally used as an “obscurant”, its use in such a densely populated area places a higher risk for painful chemical burns:

• Israel ‘Using White Phosphorus’ (Al Jazeera)

Mubarak continues to put the power of his regime over the suffering of Gazans:

• Gaza Strikes Reverberate in Egypt (Washington Post)

Targeted by the Israelis, the tunnel from Egypt Gaza remain a crucial lifeline to the outside world:

• Fierce Focus on Tunnels, a Lifeline for Gazans (NY Times)
• Gaza Strip tunnels prove daunting for Israel (LA Times)

In the face of IDF harassment …

•  United Nations Halts Relief Work in Gaza (Christian Science Monitor)

…while the government continues to ignore the demands of the international community:

• Israel Rejects U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution (Washington Post)

The Palestinian ministry of health reports “about 42% of the casualties have been children”:

• Israel Shelled Palestinians After Evacuating Them, UN Says (Guardian)

Petraeus emphasizes the need for economic, diplomatic development, warning against a troop surge as the only initiative:

• Major Push Is Needed to Save Afghanistan, General Says (NY Times)

“If the borders were consistently open, there would be no tunnels. We are not rats.” -Abdul Qadir Yassin, a Palestinian historian:

• Rafah: A Border Town Caught Between Egypt and Hamas (Christian Science Monitor)

By abstaining, US leaves its professed desire for a cease-fire unofficial …

• US Abstains from UN Vote on Gaza Cease-Fire (AP / Washington Post)

…despite worldwide demands for justice

• Global Protests Condemn Gaza War (Al Jazeera)

In a shocking breach of international law, Israeli knowingly denied aid to starving children trapped in a room with corpses, including their mothers:

• Red Cross Reports Grisly Find in Gaza (Washington Post)

Both Hezbollah and Israel downplay the seriousness of the event which could start another front in the war:

• Rockets Fired From Lebanon Into Israel (NY Times)

Breaking its own cease-fire to extend humanitarian aid,

• Israel Fires on UN Gaza Convoy (Al Jazeera)

As the Palestinian-Zionist conflict has increasingly been framed as part of a “war on terror” rather than a land dispute,

• Israel Finds More Sympathy in Europe (Christian Science Monitor)

The amazing effects of selective media coverage and self-deception:

• Israeli Media Focus on Hamas Rockets, Keep Gore to a Minimum (LA Times)

Israelis kill Israelis and Hamas gets blamed: 4 Israelis have died in the ground operation as a result of friendly fire with only two casualties attributed to Palestinians:

• Hamas Pulling Back Into Crowded Cities, Beckoning Israelis (Washington Post)

Contemplating the consequences of the American withdrawal from Iraq:

• As War Winds Down, Will Iraq’s Progress Hold Steady? (Christian Science Monitor)

UN denies Hamas was operating out of the school targeted by Israelis…

• Israel Hits U.N.-Run School in Gaza (Washington Post)
• UN Rejects IDF Claim Gaza Militants Operated from Bombed-Out School (Haaretz)

…Such indiscriminate bombing leaves the question, where can Palestinians seek refuge?

• For Battered Gazans, Few Places Left to Hide (Washington Post)

Israel considers an Egyptian-French brokered truce agreement while resuming operations after three hour delay…

• Israel Halts Operations To Allow Aid Shipments (Washington Post)

…Meanwhile, US continues to uphold a double-standard, requiring Hamas to stop firing rockets but failing to demand an end to the Israeli military operations…

• US Backs Egypt Ceasefire Plan (Al Jazeera)

…However, the voice of reason in the US government seeks a more effective plan:

• Ron Paul Stresses Neutrality In Gaza “a Concentration Camp” 01-05-09 (Youtube / PressTV)

“For the truth to get out, journalists have to get in” — John Ging, operations director in Gaza for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency:

• Israel Puts Media Clamp on Gaza (NY Times)

Frustrated by discrimination, women struggle to secure positions in the Afghan police force, consisting of 80,000 men and a few hundred women:

• Female Cops Test Traditional Gender Roles in Afghanistan (Christian Science Monitor)

“We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of our minds. We know full well that terror is our enemy, not India.” -Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha

• Pakistani Spy Chief Says No War with India (Reuters)
• Pakistan Rejects India ‘Propaganda’ (Al Jazeera)

The Islamist parties expected to take power in Somalia are described as “moderate and pragmatic, and eager to prove their governmental abilities”:

• Piracy Raises Pressure for New International Tack on Somalia (Christian Science Monitor)

“[B]rushing aside an intensified effort by European envoys to broker a cease-fire” …

• Israel Pushes into Southern Gaza (Washington Post)

… escalating the suffering of the innocent …

• Israel Tanks Kill 40 in Gaza School (Al Jazeera)
• At Gaza Hospital, Chaos and Desperation (Washington Post)
• Warnings Not Enough for Gaza Families (NY Times)
• Missiles Aimed at Hamas Figure Kill Family in Gaza (LA Times)

… while Abbas uses force aimed at “crushing recent demonstrations” expressing dissatisfaction with the PA’s lack of support for Gaza,  :

• In Fatah-Governed West Bank, Solidarity With Hamas (NY Times)

An Iraqi-born US citizen was awarded a $240,000 settlement after he was denied entry onto a plane until he covered his shirt that read “We Will Not Be Silent” in Arabic and English:

• JetBlue, TSA Workers Settle in T-Shirt Case (Washington Post)

A professional Qur’an reader’s boast about knowing how to make a shoe bomb leads to no criminal charges, only “a gantlet of torture, imprisonment and interrogation”:

• An Ex-Detainee of the U.S. Describes a 6-Year Ordeal (NY Times)

Prime Minister Singh believes the sophistication, precision and evidence behind the Mumbai attacks indicate “support of some official agencies in Pakistan”:

• India: Pakistanis ‘Must Have’ Backed Mumbai Attack (AP / Washington Post)

Israel’s definition of victory is ambiguous, but for Hamas, victory is simply surviving:

• How Israel, Hamas Define Victory in Gaza (Christian Science Monitor)

US vetoed a UN security resolution ordering a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas:

• Diplomatic Efforts to Halt Gaza Offensive Make Little Progress (LA Times)

Spokesman for Olmert, claims “the operation will end only when Israel is assured that ‘the civilian population in the south of the country will no longer be on the receiving end of Hamas rockets’ but Israeli civilians and an anonymous “senior Israeli military official” believe it to be an unrealistic goal:

• Residents Doubt That Rocket Fire Can Be Stopped (Washington Post)

Pakistan is under increasing pressure to investigate claims of LeT connections to the Mumbai attacks and to establish control over the lawless northwest region:

• India Hands Mumbai Terror Attack Evidence to Pakistan (Guardian)

The most strategic element of Israel’s assault on Gaza was the timing:

• Israel Strikes Before an Ally Departs (NY Times)
• Invasion of Gaza by Israel Comes at Delicate Time for Washington (LA Times)

The problem with the “two-state solution” is that it focuses on fictitious collective rights of Israelis and Palestinians rather than the property and human rights of the dispossessed people, but neoconservative John Bolton thinks the answer lies in dividing their land among three occupying authorities instead of just one:

• The Three-State Option (Washington Post)

The AKP attempts to incorporate Kurdish voters through religious values and “conservative credentials”:

• Religious Kurds Become Key Vote in Turkey (Christian Science Monitor)

Automated identification of terrorists through data mining or any other mechanism inevitably create false positives and results in “ordinary, law-abiding citizens and businesses” being incorrectly flagged as suspects:

• Government Report: Data Mining Doesn’t Work Well (Cnet)

Israel believes a ground invasion in the only way to eliminate support for Hamas, …

• Invasion Offers Benefits but Also Risks to Both Sides (Washington Post)

… but is that strategy realistic?

• Is the Real Target Hamas Rule?  (NY Times)

Regardless of the motivation, Gazan victims are mainly civilians:

• Civilians Die in Gaza Fighting (Al Jazeera)

“The events in Gaza have brought about an opportunity to suppress and crack down on any human rights activities,” – Khalil Bahramian, an Iranian human rights lawyer

• Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi of Iran is Threatened at Her Home (LA Times)

The celebration of Muharram highlights the changing attitudes in Afghanistan towards the Shiite minority:

• Afghan Shiites Embrace New Acceptance (Washington Post)

With the entire world protesting Israeli action…

• Thousands Protest in Europe at Gaza Offensive (Reuters)
• Egypt Condemns Israeli Ground Offensive in Gaza (Reuters)

…US defends its threatened veto a proposed UN resolution against the bloodshed that it calls “unacceptable” and “unbalanced””:

• Bush Calls for Pressure on Hamas (Al Jazeera)

US military is claiming self-defense yet, their “statement did not describe the woman’s behavior or explain why troops deemed it suspicious”:

• Iraqi Station Rebuts U.S. Account of Employee’s Shooting (Washington Post)

Moderate televangelism comes to Saudi Arabi, and is criticized from both sides:

• Preaching Moderate Islam and Becoming a TV Star (NY Times)

AirTran spokesperson attempts to justify discrimination as happenstance, “At the end of the day, people got on and made comments they shouldn’t have made on the airplane, and other people heard them… It just so happened these people were of Muslim faith and appearance”:

• 9 Muslim Passengers Removed From Jet (Washington Post)

In what is already the “bloodiest conflict” in Gaza since 1967 …

• Conflict in Gaza Continues (Washington Post)

… Israel appears to be preparing for a ground assault:

• Gaza Bombing Continues as Foreigners Are Evacuated (NY Times)

As Muslim Brotherhood calls for solidarity with Gaza, Egypt restricts freedom of press, speech:

• Egypt Police Beat, Detain Islamists in Gaza Protests (Reuters)

“The real danger is the West remaining bogged down in a protracted military conflict that could last decades and cost billions”:

• Afghanistan and Pakistan Take Center Stage in 2009 (Christian Science Monitor)

Transparency International, a German organization that gauges honesty in government rated Afghanistan 176 out of 180 countries in 2008:

• Bribes Corrode Afghans’ Trust in Government (NY Times)

Many questions still remain about future of security, stability within Iraq:

• In Iraq, the Day After (Washington Post)