News and Analysis (10/26/06)

Would he still say it’s not torture if al-Qaida did it to him?

• Cheney Confirms That Detainees Were Subjected to Water-Boarding (McClatchy)

Speaking of torture, ever wonder how we got into Iraq in the first place?

• Confession That Formed Base of Iraq War Was Acquired Under Torture: Journalist (AFP)

Iraq experience may end rather than start a trend towards democracy in the Arab world:

• In Syria, Iraq’s Fate Silences Rights Activists (Washington Post)

Think of all the lives that could have been saved if this had been done in the first place:

• Progress on Israel-Palestinian Prisoner Swap: Hamas (Reuters)

Deterioration of peace process gives rise to an Islamist movement in Israel:

• Israeli Arab’s Rising Voice of Opposition (Christian Science Monitor)

Khalid Hroub argues that Hamas has been moving in a pragmatic direction for years, a change that the current sanctions threaten to reverse:

• Hamas Is Being Punished for Moderate Behavior (Daily Star)

President discounts missed benchmarks as hypothetical…

• Bush’s Proposal of ‘Benchmarks’ for Iraq Sounds Familiar (Washington Post)

… but al-Maliki tells a different story:

• Iraqi Premier Denies U.S. Assertion He Agreed to Timelines (Washington Post)

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