September 2009

Iran’s Supreme Leader issues new warning

by Paul Woodward 09.12.2009

Iran’s Supreme Leader issues new warning By Nazila Fathi, New York Times, September 11, 2009 Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned opposition leaders Friday of a “harsh response” if they continued speaking out against the government, a move that analysts said opened the way for their possible arrest. Although analysts have warned that arrests [...]

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Iran urges disposal of all nuclear arms

by Paul Woodward 09.11.2009

Iran urges disposal of all nuclear arms By Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post, September 11, 2009 Iran is not prepared to discuss halting its uranium enrichment program in response to Western demands but is proposing instead a worldwide control system aimed at eliminating nuclear weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s top political aide said in an interview Thursday. [...]

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To save Afghanistan, look to its past

by Paul Woodward 09.11.2009

To save Afghanistan, look to its past By Ansar Rahel and Jon Krakauer, New York Times, September 11, 2009 No matter who is ultimately certified as the winner of Afghanistan’s presidential election, the vote was plagued by so much fraud and violence, and had such low turnout, that it is inconceivable the Afghan people will [...]

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How 9/11 should be remembered

by Paul Woodward 09.11.2009

How 9/11 should be remembered By Rebecca Solnit, TomDispatch, September 10, 2009 Eight years ago, 2,600 people lost their lives in Manhattan, and then several million people lost their story. The al-Qaeda attack on the Twin Towers did not defeat New Yorkers. It destroyed the buildings, contaminated the region, killed thousands, and disrupted the global [...]

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The American leviathan

by Paul Woodward 09.11.2009

The American leviathan By Stephen Glain, The Nation, September 9, 2009 News travels fast across the red desert bush of remote Djibouti. Even as US military reservists erect a field hospital around a cluster of tents and blockhouses near a desolate watering hole, dozens of tribespeople are waiting for treatment in orderly rows. They arrive [...]

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Iran’s supreme leader warns opposition figures

by Paul Woodward 09.11.2009

Iran’s supreme leader warns opposition figures By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2009 Iran’s top spiritual and political authority urged opposition leaders to act within the rules of the Islamic Republic or face harsh scrutiny, and said his nation would withstand international pressure over its nuclear program. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also [...]

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Netanyahu’s secret Moscow visit was part of campaign against missile sales to Iran

by Paul Woodward 09.10.2009

Netanyahu’s secret Moscow visit was part of campaign against missile sales to Iran By Barak Ravid, Haaretz, September 10, 2009 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Moscow on Monday was part of quiet diplomacy between Russia and Israel over Russia’s plan to supply S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, Haaretz has learned. A senior government source [...]

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‘Israel link’ in Arctic Sea case

by Paul Woodward 09.10.2009

‘Israel link’ in Arctic Sea case BBC News, September 9, 2009 Israel was linked to the interception of the missing cargo ship Arctic Sea last month, a senior figure close to Israeli intelligence has told the BBC. The source said Israel had told Moscow it knew the ship was secretly carrying a Russian air defence [...]

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US Jewish leaders push Obama to act on Iran

by Paul Woodward 09.10.2009

US Jewish leaders push Obama to act on Iran By Hilary Leila Kreiger, Jerusalem Post, September 10, 2009 Several hundred Jewish leaders and activists are planning to arrive here Thursday to urge top Obama administration officials and US congressmen to take action on Iran. They are pushing for Congress to quickly pass an Iran sanctions [...]

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President procrastinator

by Paul Woodward 09.10.2009

President procrastinator By Daniel Dombey, Financial Times, September 7, 2009 Brzezinski has argued that negotiations with Taliban elements, not an increased war effort and grand goals of military victory, may be the key to a more stable Afghanistan. He says: “I would have to be convinced that we were going to be driven out or [...]

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Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki accused of sinister purge to become dictator

by Paul Woodward 09.10.2009

Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki accused of sinister purge to become dictator By Oliver August, The Times, September 10, 2009 The Iraqi opposition accused Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, yesterday of purging the American-trained security apparatus so that he could attain quasi-dictatorial powers. Mr al-Maliki, who is facing a tough election battle, has dismissed three high-profile [...]

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For Iran’s spies, a putsch

by Paul Woodward 09.10.2009

For Iran’s spies, a putsch By David Ignatius, Washington Post, September 10, 2009 The political situation in Iran remains murky, to put it mildly, in the aftermath of June’s turbulent election. But some clues can be found in the recent purge of the country’s intelligence service. The turmoil suggests that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is pushing [...]

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Afghan reporter recalled as a man of many abilities

by Paul Woodward 09.10.2009

Afghan reporter recalled as a man of many abilities By David Rohde, New York Times, September 10, 2009 The death of [Sultan M] Munadi illustrated two grim truths of the war in Afghanistan: vastly more Afghans than foreigners have died battling the Taliban, and foreign journalists are only as good as the Afghan reporters who [...]

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NATO nations ask U.N. for new Afghan ‘timelines’

by Paul Woodward 09.10.2009

NATO nations ask U.N. for new Afghan ‘timelines’ By Andres Cala, New York Times, September 10, 2009 The Spanish defense minister, Carme Chacón, said Wednesday that five years would be a “reasonable” timeframe for NATO forces to withdraw from Afghanistan, just as major European powers officially called on the United Nations to convene an international [...]

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September 9: The shot that was not heard round the world

by Paul Woodward 09.09.2009

September 9: The shot that was not heard round the world By Paul Woodward, War in Context, September 9, 2009 As the war in Afghanistan enters its ninth year, in the minds of most Americans the attacks of September 11, 2001 remain the signal event that shaped everything that has followed. Yet had we been [...]

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UN: Gaza in worst condition since 1967

by Paul Woodward 09.08.2009

UN: Gaza in worst condition since 1967 By Ali Waked, Ynet, September 8, 2009 A UN report published Tuesday says poverty in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated to levels unseen since 1967. The UN trade and development agency says 90% of Gaza’s residents are currently beneath the poverty line and rates the damages caused by [...]

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Israeli settlement expansion may bring one-state solution closer

by Paul Woodward 09.08.2009

Israeli settlement expansion may bring one-state solution closer By Paul Woodward, The National, September 8, 2009 As Israel announced plans to expand settlements in the West Bank in anticipation of a settlement “freeze”, the former US president, Jimmy Carter, who recently returned from a trip to the Holy Land, suggested that the implementation of a [...]

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Airline bomb plotters case threatened by US fears

by Paul Woodward 09.08.2009

Airline bomb plotters case threatened by US fears By Vikram Dodd and Lee Glendinning, The Guardian, September 8, 2009 Several months of high-level surveillance on the key suspects in the airline bomb plot was almost foiled by the nervousness of US authorities who “lost their nerve”, according to Scotland Yard’s then head of counter-terrorism operations. [...]

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U.S. tried to soften treaty on detainees

by Paul Woodward 09.08.2009

U.S. tried to soften treaty on detainees By R. Jeffrey Smith, Washington Post, September 8, 2009 From 2003 to 2006, the Bush administration quietly tried to relax the draft language of a treaty meant to bar and punish “enforced disappearances” so that those overseeing the CIA’s secret prison system would not be criminally prosecuted under [...]

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Measuring success in Afghanistan

by Paul Woodward 09.08.2009

Measuring success in Afghanistan By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch, September 8, 2009 Here may be the single strangest fact of our American world: that at least three administrations — Ronald Reagan’s, George W. Bush’s, and now Barack Obama’s — drew the U.S. “defense” perimeter at the Hindu Kush; that is, in the rugged, mountainous lands of [...]

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Ahmadinejad invites six powers to Tehran

by Paul Woodward 09.08.2009

Ahmadinejad invites six powers to Tehran By Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post, September 8, 2009 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday invited representatives from a group of six world powers, including the United States, to Tehran, but he said negotiations over his country’s right to a nuclear program would be off the table. Discussion on the [...]

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Israel gets tough on intermarriage

by Paul Woodward 09.08.2009

Israel gets tough on intermarriage By Jonathan Cook, The National, September 7, 2009 The Israeli government has launched a television and internet advertising campaign urging Israelis to inform on Jewish friends and relatives abroad who may be in danger of marrying non-Jews. The advertisements, employing what the Israeli media described as “scare tactics”, are designed [...]

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Despite slump, U.S. role as top arms supplier grows

by Paul Woodward 09.07.2009

Despite slump, U.S. role as top arms supplier grows By Thom Shanker, New York Times, September 7, 2009 Despite a recession that knocked down global arms sales last year, the United States expanded its role as the world’s leading weapons supplier, increasing its share to more than two-thirds of all foreign armaments deals, according to [...]

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Should Obama go ‘all in’ on Afghanistan?

by Paul Woodward 09.07.2009

Should Obama go ‘all in’ on Afghanistan? By Andrew J. Bacevich, Los Angeles Times, September 7, 2009 Obama does not act impulsively. Before betting his remaining chips on Afghanistan, he will no doubt deliberate carefully. He will consult. He will sift through all the evidence. Yet before hitting the “start over” button on Afghanistan, he [...]

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