August 2009

Zen and the art of foreign relations

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

US showed support for Iran protestors: Clinton AFP, August 9, 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday that the United States did a lot “behind the scenes” to show support for demonstrators contesting Iran’s disputed presidential election results. “We did not want to get between the legitimate protests and demonstrations of the Iranian people [...]

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Iranian officials call for arrest of opposition leaders

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

Iranian officials call for arrest of opposition leaders By Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post, August 10, 2009 Revolutionary Guard generals, top politicians and senior clerics have called for the arrest and punishment of opposition leaders, including defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iranian state media reported Sunday, while the national police chief acknowledged that protesters had [...]

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Sanctions unlikely to stop Iran’s nuclear quest

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

Sanctions unlikely to stop Iran’s nuclear quest By Tony Karon, Time, August 10, 2009 Unless Iran responds positively to President Obama’s offer of talks on its nuclear program by next month, it could face what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls “crippling sanctions.” That was the message from Administration officials touring the Middle East in [...]

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The pro-Israel lobby may be headed toward obsolescence

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

The pro-Israel lobby may be headed toward obsolescence By Michelle Goldberg, The American Prosepct, August , 2009 Given how influential the lobby is, it’s easy to forget that the airtight relationship between Israel and the United States, and between Zionism and American Jews, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Support for Israel, financial and political, is [...]

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In the beloved Old Country, a Jew has visions of her homeland

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

In the beloved Old Country, a Jew has visions of her homeland By Lizzy Ratner, Mondoweiss, August 8, 2009 Jews have a long history in the sprawling eastern European basin that is and has been Poland. Some say this history stretches back over 1000 years, and almost all agree that there have been bona fide [...]

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Taliban now winning

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

Taliban now winning By Yochi J Dreazen and Peter Spiegel, Wall Street Journal, August 10, 2009 The Taliban have gained the upper hand in Afghanistan, the top American commander there said, forcing the U.S. to change its strategy in the eight-year-old conflict by increasing the number of troops in heavily populated areas like the volatile [...]

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Kurdish faultline threatens to spark new war

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

Kurdish faultline threatens to spark new war By Patrick Cockburn, The Independent, August 10, 2009 It is called the “trigger line”, a 300-mile long swathe of disputed territory in northern Iraq where Arab and Kurdish soldiers confront each other, and which risks turning into a battlefield. As the world has focused on the US troop [...]

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Warehousing soldiers in the homeland

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

Warehousing soldiers in the homeland By Dahr Jamail and Sarah Lazare, TomDispatch, August 9, 2009 Echo Platoon is part of the 82nd Replacement Detachment of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Soldiers in the platoon are relegated to living quarters in a set of dimly lit concrete rooms. Pipes peep out of [...]

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Time to stop meddling in Somalia

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

Time to stop meddling in Somalia By Natalie Parke, World Politics Review, August , 2009 Recently, U.S. policy in Somalia hit a new low, with the shipment of 40 tons of arms to a government on the verge of overthrow, if not nervous collapse. Worse still, last Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with [...]

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The Pentagon’s nuclear posture landmine

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

The Pentagon’s nuclear posture landmine By Joe Cirincione, Huffington Post, August 10, 2009 Defense officials are writing a new U.S. nuclear policy that could blow up President Obama’s declared agenda. The White House must reassert its control. The Nuclear Posture Review, or NPR, will be issued at the end of the year, but Obama’s defense [...]

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The Iranian revolution is eating its children

by Paul Woodward 08.09.2009

In Iran, a hostage-taker is now hostage By Robin Wright, Washington Post, August 9, 2009 Last week Iran’s theocracy widened its crackdown from suppressing an opposition movement to putting on trial the very revolutionaries who launched the Islamic republic. This new purge may be more profound politically than the campaign against the followers of Mir [...]

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So time is ticking away on Iran? Let’s stop the clock

by Paul Woodward 08.09.2009

So time is ticking away on Iran? Let’s stop the clock By Tony Karon, The National, August 9, 2009 The clock is ticking on Iran, or so we’re told. But whose clock, and what exactly is it timing? Obama administration officials say Iran has until September to respond to the US offer to negotiate over [...]

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Jewish Fatah delegate nominated to Revolutionary Council

by Paul Woodward 08.09.2009

Jewish Fatah delegate nominated to Revolutionary Council Ma’an, August 9, 2009 A Jewish member of Fatah was nominated for a spot on the movement’s Revolutionary Council on Saturday. Vowing to step up lobbying efforts worldwide if elected, Dr Uri Davis told Ma’an one of Fatah’s weakest attributes has been its failure to establish ties with [...]

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Criminal investigation into CIA treatment of detainees expected

by Paul Woodward 08.09.2009

Criminal investigation into CIA treatment of detainees expected By Greg Miller and Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times, August 9, 2009 US Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. is poised to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate alleged CIA abuses committed during the interrogation of terrorism suspects, current and former U.S. government officials said. A senior [...]

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The case for leaving Iraq – now

by Paul Woodward 08.09.2009

The case for leaving Iraq – now By Tim McGirk, Time, August 8, 2009 Although every day in Iraq repeats the endless spiral of bombs in crowded bazaars and mosques — each fueling demands for retribution — things are slowly getting better. Last month, the number of violent deaths in Iraq fell to 275, down [...]

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Pakistan says feud kills a top militant

by Paul Woodward 08.09.2009

Pakistan says feud kills a top militant By Ismail Khan and Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times, August 9, 2009 Pakistani officials said they had received information on Saturday that a ranking militant commander had been killed in a power struggle over who would take control of the Pakistani Taliban. A Pakistani government official and an [...]

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Fatah: We’ll sacrifice victims until Jerusalem is ours

by Paul Woodward 08.08.2009

Fatah: We’ll sacrifice victims until Jerusalem is ours Haaretz, August 8, 2009 The status of Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state is a red line that no Palestinian leader is permitted to cross, President Mahmoud Abbas’ ruling Fatah faction declared in the West Bank on Saturday. According to Israel Radio, the Fatah [...]

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Afghanistan will take 40 years

by Paul Woodward 08.08.2009

General Sir David Richards: Afghanistan will take 40 years By Michael Evans, The Times, August 8, 2009 Britain’s mission in Afghanistan could last for up to 40 years, the next head of the Army warns today in an exclusive interview with The Times. General Sir David Richards, who becomes Chief of the General Staff on [...]

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UN Special Rapporteur calls on APA, US to remove psychologists from torture sites

by Paul Woodward 08.08.2009

UN Special Rapporteur calls on APA, US to remove psychologists from torture sites By Jeff Kaye, FDL, August 7, 2009 In a major development on the issue of maltreatment at Guantanamo, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak has written today to James Bray, President of the American Psychological Association, indicating that he has [...]

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Iran portrays election protesters as pawns of the West

by Paul Woodward 08.08.2009

Iran portrays election protesters as pawns of the West By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times, August 8, 2009 Twitter, Facebook and Google’s newly introduced Persian-to-English translation software were part of a vast foreign conspiracy against Iran sketched out by a prosecutor at the second session of an extraordinary trial against alleged ringleaders of weeks of [...]

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Iran years from fuel for bomb, report says

by Paul Woodward 08.07.2009

Iran years from fuel for bomb, report says By Walter Pincus, Washington Post, August 7, 2009 Despite Iran’s progress since 2007 toward producing enriched uranium, the State Department’s intelligence analysts continue to think that Tehran will not be able to produce weapons-grade material before 2013, according to a newly disclosed congressional document. The updated assessment, [...]

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Death of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mahsud is confirmed

by Paul Woodward 08.07.2009

Death of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mahsud is confirmed By Alex Rodriguez and Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2009 Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mahsud, Pakistan’s most wanted terrorist and a staunch Al Qaeda ally, was killed in an American missile strike, a Pakistani government minister confirmed today, dealing a severe blow to militants [...]

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PA officials: U.S. wants borders to top peace talks

by Paul Woodward 08.07.2009

PA officials: U.S. wants borders to top peace talks By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz, August 7, 2009 The U.S. administration will demand that Israel and the Palestinians address the issue of borders as the first step in the Middle East peace plan, senior Palestinian officials said Thursday. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that Washington will [...]

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Iraqis speak of random killings committed by private Blackwater guards

by Paul Woodward 08.07.2009

Iraqis speak of random killings committed by private Blackwater guards By Oliver August, The Times, August 7, 2009 Guards employed by Blackwater, the US security company, shot Iraqis and killed victims in allegedly unprovoked and random attacks, it was claimed yesterday. A Virginia court also received sworn statements from former Blackwater employees yesterday alleging that [...]

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