August 2009

Murder, torture, sexual orientation and gender in Iraq

by Paul Woodward 08.18.2009

Murder, torture, sexual orientation and gender in Iraq Human Rights Watch, August 17, 2009 Iraqi militias are carrying out a spreading campaign of torture and murder against men suspected of homosexual conduct, or of not being “manly” enough, and Iraq authorities have done nothing to stop the killing, Human Rights Watch said in a report [...]

Read the full article →

When it comes to terrorist suspects in detention, Obama is finding that Bush set a difficult precedent to break

by Paul Woodward 08.18.2009

Overdue process By Adam Serwer, The American Prospect, August 17, 2009 The cavernous room in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., was nearly empty, except for a few journalists holding yellow legal pads. A small parade of government lawyers marched in and rested their briefcases on their desks before approaching the trio of lawyers [...]

Read the full article →

Will Iran’s Larijani brothers challenge Ahmadinejad?

by Paul Woodward 08.17.2009

Will Iran’s Larijani brothers challenge Ahmadinejad? By Robin Wright, Time, August, 2009 The brothers Larijani — often referred to as the Kennedys of Iran — are emerging as a powerful counterweight to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from within the conservative camp. And unlike other Ahmadinejad rivals, the Larijanis are fully endorsed by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatullah [...]

Read the full article →

Israel envoy to U.S.: We have no plan to strike Iran

by Paul Woodward 08.17.2009

Israel envoy to U.S.: We have no plan to strike Iran Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren interviewed by Fareed Zacharia, CNN, August 16, 2009 Embedded video from CNN Video ZAKARIA: Let’s talk about Iran. John Bolton has recently said that he believes that Israel is likely to attack Iran by the end of this year. Is [...]

Read the full article →

Mubarak to tell U.S. Israel must make overture

by Paul Woodward 08.17.2009

Mubarak to tell U.S. Israel must make overture By Michael Slackman, New York Times, August 17, 2009 In White House meetings beginning Monday, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt is expected to tell the Obama administration that Arab nations want peace, but are unwilling to abide Mr. Obama’s call to make good-faith concessions to Israel until [...]

Read the full article →

Afghanistan’s tyranny of the minority

by Paul Woodward 08.17.2009

Afghanistan’s tyranny of the minority By Selig S Harrison, New York Times, August 17, 2009 As the debate intensifies within the Obama administration over how to stabilize Afghanistan, one major problem is conspicuously missing from the discussion: the growing alienation of the country’s largest ethnic group, the Pashtun tribes, who make up an estimated 42 [...]

Read the full article →

Inside the Taliban: ‘The more troops they send, the more targets we have’

by Paul Woodward 08.16.2009

Inside the Taliban: ‘The more troops they send, the more targets we have’ By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, The Guardian, August 15, 2009 Instead of the trademark Taliban uniforms of turbans, eyeliner and flip-flops, these men wore Russian and Nato poncho raincoats over their shalwars, and boots and trainers. Most striking was the way they held their [...]

Read the full article →

If they won’t make peace we may have to make it for them

by Paul Woodward 08.16.2009

If they won’t make peace we may have to make it for them By Tony Karon, The National, August 15, 2009 Until now the Obama administration has clung to the basic assumptions of the Oslo process: incremental steps on both sides build the confidence necessary to negotiate a bilateral agreement on final-status issues such as [...]

Read the full article →

Jund Ansar Allah group was armed by Fatah operatives, Hamas claims

by Paul Woodward 08.16.2009

Jund Ansar Allah group was armed by Fatah operatives, Hamas claims By Khaled Abu Toameh, Jerusalem Post, August 16, 2009 Jund Ansar Allah is one of several tiny radical Islamist groups that have popped up in the Gaza Strip in the past few years. These groups have openly challenged the Hamas government on the grounds [...]

Read the full article →

New Israeli rules curb travel from West Bank

by Paul Woodward 08.16.2009

New Israeli rules curb travel from West Bank By Jonathan Cook, The National, August 15, 2009 In an echo of restrictions already firmly in place in Gaza, Israel has begun barring movement between Israel and the West Bank for anyone holding a foreign passport, including humanitarian aid workers and thousands of Palestinian residents. The new [...]

Read the full article →

Moussavi forms ‘grass-roots’ movement in Iran

by Paul Woodward 08.16.2009

Moussavi forms ‘grass-roots’ movement in Iran By Robert F Worth, New York Times, August 16, 2009 The Iranian opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi announced the formation of a new social and political movement on his Web site on Saturday, following through on a promise made last month and defying a renewed government campaign of intimidation [...]

Read the full article →

Idle Iraqi date farms show decline of economy

by Paul Woodward 08.16.2009

Idle Iraqi date farms show decline of economy By Timonthy Williams, New York Times, August 15, 2009 Late July and early August is date harvesting season in Iraq, when within the span of a few weeks the desert sun turns hard green spheres into tender, golden brown fruit prized for its sweetness. But here in [...]

Read the full article →

Sometimes it’s not your war, but you sacrifice anyway

by Paul Woodward 08.16.2009

Sometimes it’s not your war, but you sacrifice anyway By T. Christian Miller, Washington Post, August 16, 2009 To outsource the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States has turned to the cheapest labor possible. About two-thirds of the 200,000 civilians working under federal contracts in the war zones are foreigners. Many come from [...]

Read the full article →

A thousand little Gitmos

by Paul Woodward 08.16.2009

A thousand little Gitmos By Petra Bartosiewicz, Mother Jones, July/August, 2009 The last person to see Syed Mehmood Hashmi as a free man was his friend Mohammed Haroon Saleem, who on June 6, 2006, drove Hashmi to London’s Heathrow Airport, walked him to the security checkpoint, and watched him hoist his bag and head for [...]

Read the full article →

Obama is not delivering the goods

by Paul Woodward 08.15.2009

Obama’s America is not delivering the goods By Gideon Levy, Haaretz, August 14, 2009 With great sorrow and deep consternation, we hereby declare the death of the latest hope. Perhaps rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase the famous quote by Mark Twain, but the fears are being validated day after day. Barack [...]

Read the full article →

Hamas: Head of Al-Qaida affiliate killed in Gaza

by Paul Woodward 08.15.2009

Hamas: Head of Al-Qaida affiliate killed in Gaza By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz, August 15, 2009 Hamas security said Saturday that the leader of an Al-Qaida-inspired group in the Gaza Strip has been killed during a fierce gun battle that began on Friday. Abdel-Latif Moussa, the leader of Jund Ansar Allah, was killed when fighting resumed [...]

Read the full article →

People Not Places: greatest hip-hop song for Palestinians ever

by Paul Woodward 08.15.2009

People Not Places: greatest hip-hop song for Palestinians ever By Will, KABOBfest, August 14, 2009 This docu-music-video is based on the song of the same name by Invincible featuring Abeer and Suhell Nafar (DAM). Invincible plays two characters in the video: a Birthright Israel tour recruiter, styled as a used car salesman; and herself, subverting [...]

Read the full article →

Abdullah Abdullah throws down election gauntlet to President Karzai

by Paul Woodward 08.15.2009

Abdullah Abdullah throws down election gauntlet to President Karzai By Jeremy Page, The Times, August 15, 2009 “Without rigging, Karzai will lose the vote in southern Afghanistan,” Dr Abdullah told The Times. “People are crossing ethnic, linguistic and regional lines.” At the last election in 2004, Mr Karzai won in the first round with 55.4 [...]

Read the full article →

Baghram isn’t the new Guantanamo, it’s the old Guantanamo

by Paul Woodward 08.15.2009

Baghram isn’t the new Guantanamo, it’s the old Guantanamo By Andy Worthington, Huffington Post, August 15, 2009 Back in September 2005, when I first began researching Guantánamo for my book The Guantánamo Files, the prison was still shrouded in mystery, even though attorneys had been visiting prisoners for nearly a year, following the Supreme Court’s [...]

Read the full article →

Friction among Iran authorities heats up

by Paul Woodward 08.15.2009

Friction among Iran authorities heats up By Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2009 Rival camps within Iran’s corridors of power intensified their threats against each other Friday, signaling potentially dangerous clashes within elite circles and the security establishment after the disputed June 12 reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Hard-line clerics [...]

Read the full article →

Our man in Kabul

by Paul Woodward 08.14.2009

A technocrat shakes up the Afghan campaign By Carlotta Gall, New York Times, August 14, 2009 Whether wrapped in a shawl for a televised debate, sitting on a dirt floor with a shopkeeper, or thundering over speakers in a dust storm, Ashraf Ghani, the most educated and Westernized of Afghanistan’s presidential candidates, is shaking up [...]

Read the full article →

Israeli ‘white flag’ shootings of Gaza civilians

by Paul Woodward 08.14.2009

Israeli ‘white flag’ shootings of Gaza civilians Human Rights Watch, August 13, 2009 During Israel’s recent Gaza offensive, Israeli soldiers unlawfully shot and killed 11 Palestinian civilians, including five women and four children, who were in groups waving white flags to convey their civilian status, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The [...]

Read the full article →

US income inequality is at an all-time high

by Paul Woodward 08.14.2009

Income inequality is at an all-time high Huffington Post, August 14, 2009 Income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression, according to a recently updated paper by University of California, Berkeley Professor Emmanuel Saez. The paper, which covers data through 2007, points to a [...]

Read the full article →

Iranian activist issues preemptive retraction of future confession

by Paul Woodward 08.14.2009

Iranian activist issues preemptive retraction of future confession By Meris Lutz and Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times, August 13, 2009 What do you do when your imprisoned friends and political allies admit to plotting against the Islamic Republic of Iran in an elaborate and suspiciously scripted series of televised confessions? What if you’re worried you’re [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →