January 2009

NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP & EDITOR’S COMMENT: January 31

by Paul Woodward 01.31.2009

Hamas must be brought into peace process, says Tony Blair By Philip Webster, The Times, January 31, 2009 Hamas must somehow be brought into the Middle East peace process because the policy of isolating Gaza in the quest for a settlement will not work, Tony Blair has told The Times. The former prime minister implicitly [...]

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EDITORIAL: Barbarianism unmasked

by Paul Woodward 01.30.2009

Barbarianism unmasked By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 30, 2009 The conceit of every autocratic leader is that power fits comfortably upon his shoulders. Even if he has not been chosen directly by his people, his right to rule reflects a natural order. The World Economic Forum at Davos, with all its trappings of [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP & EDITOR’S COMMENTS: January 29

by Paul Woodward 01.29.2009

Hamas officials signal willingness to negotiate By Steve Gutkin, AP, January 29, 2009 Senior officials in the Islamic group Hamas are indicating a willingness to negotiate a deal for a long-term truce with Israel as long as the borders of Gaza are opened to the rest of the world. “We want to be part of [...]

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EDITORIAL: Obama assists in the general atmospherics of Middle East diplomacy

by Paul Woodward 01.28.2009

Obama assists in the general atmospherics of Middle East diplomacy By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 28, 2009 Remember back on the campaign trail when Hillary Clinton said she helped bring peace to Northern Ireland? A bit of fact checking soon revealed that her rather minor role amounted to no more than assisting with [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP & EDITOR’S COMMENT: January 28

by Paul Woodward 01.28.2009

Abdullah II: The 5-State Solution By Thomas Friedman, New York Times, January 28, 2009 The virtues of this five-state solution — Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia — are numerous: Egypt and Jordan, the Arab states that have peace treaties with Israel, would act as transition guarantors that any Israeli withdrawal would not leave [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP & EDITOR’S COMMENTS: January 27

by Paul Woodward 01.27.2009

Obama’s first interview as president (Al-Arabiya TV exclusive) Editor’s Comment — President Obama said that the new way the US will approach the Middle East is to “start by listening.” “[George Mitchell]‘s going to be speaking to all the major parties involved…” “– stop right there,” Hisham Melhem failed to interject. Had the interview been [...]

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THE BBC’S CAMPAIGN TO BLOCK HUMANITARIAN AID REACHING GAZA

by Paul Woodward 01.27.2009

The BBC’s campaign to block humanitarian aid reaching Gaza By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 27, 2009 The British Broadcasting Corporation is a publicly-funded media network. Under Director General Mark Thompson it has now assumed a governmental role in attempting to stem the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), [...]

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EDITORIAL: The peace process is irreversibly over

by Paul Woodward 01.26.2009

The peace process is irreversibly over By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 26, 2009 If you did not see it already, watch Bob Simon’s report (below), “Is Peace Out Of Reach?” from last night’s edition of 60 Minutes. In the history of American reporting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, this is an exceptional piece of [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP & EDITOR’S COMMENT: January 26

by Paul Woodward 01.26.2009

Israel’s lies By Henry Siegman, London Rivew of Books, January 29, 2009 Western governments and most of the Western media have accepted a number of Israeli claims justifying the military assault on Gaza: that Hamas consistently violated the six-month truce that Israel observed and then refused to extend it; that Israel therefore had no choice [...]

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR – John Robertson: Surging into a perfect storm?

by Paul Woodward 01.25.2009

Surging into a perfect storm? By John Robertson, War in Context, January 25, 2009 The British Independent‘s report Friday that new President Obama may be about to cut Afghan president Karzai adrift ought to be enough to make any informed observer physically ill – not because Karzai has been any great shakes as a leader [...]

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The aftermath of the war on Gaza

by Paul Woodward 01.25.2009

Out of the rubble By Mouin Rabbani, The National, January 23, 2009 Speaking to his people on January 18, hours after Hamas responded to Israel’s unilateral suspension of hostilities with a conditional ceasefire of its own, the deposed Palestinian Authority prime minister Ismail Haniyeh devoted several passages of his prepared text to the subject of [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP: January 25

by Paul Woodward 01.25.2009

Is Afghanistan going to be Obama’s Iraq? By Kim Sengupta and Raymond Whitaker, The Independent, January 25, 2009 President Barack Obama is facing warnings that the US risks repeating some of its errors in Iraq as the new administration turns its focus to Afghanistan, where Nato forces are engaged in a conflict which has already [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP & EDITOR’S COMMENTS: January 23

by Paul Woodward 01.23.2009

Obama urges Israel to open Gaza borders By Daniel Dombey and Tobias Buck, Financial Times, January 22, 2009 President Barack Obama urged Israel on Thursday to open its borders with Gaza. The plea came in a speech that signalled the new US administration’s shift from Bush-era policy on the Middle East and the world as [...]

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EDITORIAL: Does Israel fear its friends more than its enemies?

by Paul Woodward 01.22.2009

Does Israel fear its friends more than its enemies? By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 22, 2009 On December 18, 2008, Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies welcomed an honored American guest who participated in the 2nd Annual International Conference: Security Challenges of the 21st Century. Former US Senator George Mitchell presented, “The [...]

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GEORGE MITCHELL: The American Perspective

by Paul Woodward 01.22.2009

The American Perspective George Mitchell, Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv, December 18, 2008 The following speech was delivered by former Senator George J Mitchell at the 2nd Annual International Conference: Security Challenges of the 21st Century held at the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv on December 18, 2008. The focus [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP: January 22

by Paul Woodward 01.22.2009

The One-State Solution By Muammar Qaddafi, New York Times, January 22, 2009 The shocking level of the last wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, which ended with this weekend’s cease-fire, reminds us why a final resolution to the so-called Middle East crisis is so important. It is vital not just to break this cycle of destruction and [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS & EDITOR’S COMMENTS: January 21

by Paul Woodward 01.21.2009

Arabs in the Middle East should learn the lessons of Martin Luther King By Christopher Dickey, Newsweek, January 20, 2009 Martin Luther King Day is celebrated. Barack Hussein Obama is inaugurated. The confluence of dates at the beginning of this week seems a culmination of hopes from the past, an auspicious omen for those with [...]

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PRESIDENT OBAMA IN TEN WORDS

by Paul Woodward 01.20.2009

President Barack Hussein Obama in ten words Inaugural Address, January 20, 2009 … the world has changed, and we must change with it. Share

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INAUGURATION DAY, JANUARY 20, 2008

by Paul Woodward 01.20.2009

Thank you Mr Bush – really By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 20, 2009 As America and much of the world now celebrates, let’s not forget the man who made all this possible: George W Bush. Had he been he merely been mediocre, merely a below-average president, America in its caution, America who — [...]

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NEWS & VIEWS & EDITOR’S COMMENTS: January 19

by Paul Woodward 01.19.2009

Saudi Arabia to donate $1 billion to rebuild Gaza By Diana Elias, AP, January 19, 2009 The Saudi king said Monday his country will donate $1 billion to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the devastating Israeli offensive and told Israel that an Arab initiative offering peace will not remain on the table forever. King [...]

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HAMAS DECLARES A COUNTER-CEASEFIRE – Updated

by Paul Woodward 01.18.2009

Hamas announces cease-fire in Gaza, gives IDF week to leave By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz, January 18, 2009 Hamas announced an immediate ceasefire by its militants and allied groups in Gaza on Sunday, giving Israel a week to pull out its troops from the coastal territory. The move came after Israel announced a unilateral cease-fire late [...]

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CALLING FOR A BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL

by Paul Woodward 01.18.2009

British academics take a stand against the Israeli occupation The Guardian, January 16, 2009 The massacres in Gaza are the latest phase of a war that Israel has been waging against the people of Palestine for more than 60 years. The goal of this war has never changed: to use overwhelming military power to eradicate [...]

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ISRAEL ACCUSED OF WAR CRIMES

by Paul Woodward 01.18.2009

Israel accused of war crimes over 12-hour assault on Gaza village By Fida Qishta and Peter Beaumont, The Observer, January 18, 2009 Israel stands accused of perpetrating a series of war crimes during a sustained 12-hour assault on a village in southern Gaza last week in which 14 people died. In testimony collected from residents [...]

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EDITORIAL & ANALYSIS: Israel’s ceasefire

by Paul Woodward 01.18.2009

Olmert’s “mission accomplished” By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 18, 2009 “We won,” Ehud Olmert declared to the Israel public on Saturday night. His declaration of victory coincided with the implementation of a unilateral ceasefire — it might better simply be called a fleeting Inauguration lull. A tourniquet will be applied to Gaza for [...]

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