Month: March 2010

As Palestinian Christians and Muslims defy the Israeli travel ban, Israelis arrest people, a horse, and a donkey… Breaching the Walls of Apartheid for Freedom (Uruknet) .. and MK Abbas Zaki, refuses “to recognise the legitimacy of the military court in trying a senior Palestinian official for participating in a peaceful march” marking Palm Sunday … Fatah Official […]

The head of an independent election monitoring group blames political parties that should have “known the requirements and refrained from nominating ineligible candidates” as well as lawmakers: Iraq Election: Victorious Candidates may be Purged, Boosting Maliki (Christian Science Monitor) The attempts to silence the Corrie family and its supporters demonstrates, in Congressman Baird’s words, “‘Any […]

In a surprise visit of a few hours “under cover of darkness,” Obama specified goals for Karzai including merit-based “appointment of key government officials, battling corruption [and] taking the fight to the narco-traffickers”: Barack Obama Visits Afghanistan for a Pep Talk with Hamid Karzai (Guardian) A Brookings Institute study reveals that an Israeli strike on […]

Al-Maliki declares he will use every constitutionally legal means to challenge the Iraqi vote that left his State of Law party two seats behind Allawi’s Iraqiya list party: Allawi Reaches Out After Iraq Election Win (Washington Post) As evidence mounts that Iran’s boast to build additional enrichment plants was not idle : Israel Launches Covert […]

“Allawi, once known as ‘Saddam lite’ among Western officials, is reported to have personally shot several insurgents, a rumor he did nothing to discourage at the time”: Ayad Allawi, Once Seen as a U.S. Puppet, Returns to the Center of Iraqi Politics (Washington Post) Coming on top of the baseline budget of $708 billion, the […]

Signaling satisfaction with Pakistan as its partner in the war, US agrees to a $7.5 billion development package as well as nearly $1 billion in unresolved reimbursement for counterinsurgency operations: Pakistan Says it is ‘Satisfied’ with U.S. pledges on Aid Delivery (Washington Post) Unsatisfied with their small margin of victory, members of al-Maliki’s Shiite coalition […]

Rami Khouri, editor at large of Beirut’s Daily Star says “real pain beyond the Arab-Israeli arena” Israel inflicts on the U.S. makes it necessary to  suggest that Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s basic security … does not include unconditional support for Israel’s colonization policies”… Dispute with Israel Underscores Limits of U.S. Power, a Shifting Alliance […]

Ahmadinejad proposes $40 billion in cuts to food and gas government subsidies, but will he just spend it elsewhere, and for what?… Standoff in Iran Over Subsidy Cuts (LA Times) … Meanwhile President Obama reaffirms his commitment to negotiations between Iran and the US while distancing the Iranian people from Iranian leadership: Obama Seek[s] New […]

“It’s a very dangerous statement made by a prime minister… If the country is going to unravel, this is the period when it would happen” – Joost Hiltermann, an Iraq expert at the International Crisis Group: Prime Minister Warns of Violence, but Election Board Rejects Call for Recount (Washington Post) Following the deaths of four […]

Aaron Miller says, “Obama came out harder, louder and faster than any of his predecessors on this issue” of illegal settlements, but “tough talking points” are not enough to push both sides “to a breakthrough” … Experts Wonder Whether U.S. Has a Real Israel Strategy or ‘Talking Points’ (Washington Post) … Meanwhile, two new polls […]