Sadr says he is “ready to provide hundreds of believers … to be official detachments in the Iraqi army or police to defend the holy shrines, mosques, praying houses and their cities ” with the consent of the government …
… Meanwhile, the increasingly drawn-out process of forming governing coalitions is more about personalities than policies:
- Iraq Voters Face Long Wait for New Government as Maliki, Others Jockey for Power (Christian Science Monitor)
As the Taliban benefits from “sanctuary and support in another country, learning to be more discriminating in targeting their attacks, and fighting a government that’s both weak and reliant on direct external support”:
- Precedent Suggests Afghanistan Taliban Could Win: Report (Christian Science Monitor)
Taking advantage of “low morale” amongst Iranian officials:
- Iranian Technocrats, Disillusioned with Government, Offer Wealth of Intelligence to U.S. (Washington Post)
With the US’s only effective tool, its aid to Israel, in the hands of Congress, not the White House, Abbas doesn’t explain how he expects Obama to implement his request:
- Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas Says He Asked U.S. to ‘Impose’ Peace Solution (Washington Post)
“The fact that this march took place has been seen as extremely provocative; a highly aggressive gesture on the part of the settlers — people really hell-bent on driving Palestinians from their land”:
- Clashes as Settlers March in Israel (Al Jazeera)
Calling the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I “‘one of the worst atrocities’ of the 20th century and ‘a devastating chapter’ in history” is more precise and less reckless than his campaign promise to call it genocide:
- Obama Fails to Call Armenian Massacre a Genocide (Washington Post)
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