October 2009

Muslims in U.S. feel unfairly implicated in the war on terror

by Paul Woodward 10.12.2009

Muslims in U.S. feel unfairly implicated in the war on terror By Leila Fadel, McClatchy, October 11, 2009 As the FBI pursues one alleged terrorist plot after another, Muslim Americans are grappling with a widespread sense that the government thinks they all could be terrorists. In dozens of interviews across the country, McClatchy has found [...]

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Former US diplomat holds secret stake in Kurdish oil field

by Paul Woodward 10.11.2009

Former US diplomat holds secret stake in Kurdish oil field By Reidar Visser, historiae.org, October 10, 2009 It is widely known that the former US diplomat Peter Galbraith has been one of the most prominent figures in shaping the state structure of Iraq in the period after 2003, especially with his vocal advocacy of various [...]

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Israel appeals for solidarity among international war criminals

by Paul Woodward 10.11.2009

Israel appeals for solidarity among international war criminals Haaretz, October 11, 2009 Israeli officials on Sunday criticized the British Ambassador to the United Nations John Sawers for backing a controversial United Nations report into Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza last winter, saying that such support could backfire when Britain tries to conduct its own [...]

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The pieces are in place, but no one wants an intifada

by Paul Woodward 10.11.2009

The pieces are in place, but no one wants an intifada By Tony Karon, The National, October 11, 2009 Nowhere is Israel’s defiance of Mr Obama’s demand for a settlement freeze more dangerous than in Jerusalem, and it is activists inside Israel (particularly Raed Salah of the Islamic Movement of the North) who are rallying [...]

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Obama has betrayed mission to forge Mideast peace

by Paul Woodward 10.11.2009

Obama has betrayed mission to forge Mideast peace By Gideon Levy, Haaretz, October 11, 2009 What has the new Nobel laureate done so far in our region? Mitchell Shmitchell, a bitter and lost struggle over settlement expansion, a bizarre struggle against the Goldstone report, a disgraceful silence about the Gaza siege, and the ultimate proof [...]

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A dogged Taliban chief rebounds, vexing U.S.

by Paul Woodward 10.11.2009

A dogged Taliban chief rebounds, vexing U.S. By Scott Shane, New York Times, October 11, 2009 In late 2001, Mullah Muhammad Omar’s prospects seemed utterly bleak. The ill-educated, one-eyed leader of the Taliban had fled on a motorbike after his fighters were swiftly routed by the Americans invading Afghanistan. Much of the world celebrated his [...]

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More questions about hijacked ship, Arctic Sea

by Paul Woodward 10.11.2009

More questions about hijacked ship, Arctic Sea By Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, October 11, 2009 The eight men who were said to have commandeered a cargo ship in the Baltic Sea in July were locked up weeks ago. They were declared pirates, hunted down by the Russian Navy, captured without a fight and marched [...]

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Barack Obama to follow in Shimon Peres’ footsteps

by Paul Woodward 10.09.2009

Barack Obama to follow in Shimon Peres’ footsteps By Paul Woodward, War in Context, October 9, 2009 “Very few leaders if at all were able to change the mood of the entire world in such a short while with such profound impact. You provided the entire humanity with fresh hope, with intellectual determination, and a [...]

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Our exclusive right to self-defense

by Paul Woodward 10.09.2009

Our exclusive right to self-defense By Larry Derfner, Jerusalem Post, October 7, 2009 Virtually all of Israel is now speaking in one voice against the Goldstone report, against any attempt to blame us over the war in Gaza. We’ve honed our message to a sharp point and, inspired by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s performance at [...]

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Give peace a chance, says Mitchell. Fat chance, says Lieberman.

by Paul Woodward 10.08.2009

No chance of peace for years, says Israel’s Foreign Minister By Amy Teibel, The Independent, October 9, 2009 There is no chance of an early solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and people must “learn to live with it”, the Israeli Foreign Minister warned yesterday. “Anyone who says that within the next few years an agreement [...]

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Afghan war debate now leans to focus on Al Qaeda

by Paul Woodward 10.08.2009

Afghan war debate now leans to focus on Al Qaeda By Peter Baker and Eric Schmitt, New York Times, October 8, 2009 President Obama’s national security team is moving to reframe its war strategy by emphasizing the campaign against Al Qaeda in Pakistan while arguing that the Taliban in Afghanistan do not pose a direct [...]

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Iran: Can the U.S. take ‘yes, but’ for an answer?

by Paul Woodward 10.08.2009

Iran: Can the U.S. take ‘yes, but’ for an answer? By Tony Karon, Time, October 8, 2009 The U.S. and its allies had sought to prevent Iran from achieving a “breakout” capacity — i.e., assembling sufficient civilian nuclear infrastructure to allow it to move relatively quickly to build a bomb should it choose to break [...]

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After six years, ‘we’re worthless’

by Paul Woodward 10.08.2009

After six years, ‘we’re worthless’ By Ernesto Londoño, Washington Post, October 8, 2009 Weeks after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003, as parts of the capital were still smoldering, American soldiers and diplomats turned to men like Hassan Shama and Omar Rahman Rahmani in their quest to plant the seeds of [...]

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Obama’s Middle East mess

by Paul Woodward 10.06.2009

Obama’s Middle East mess Paul Woodward, War in Context, October 6, 2009 As Abbas falls, have no doubt that he got pushed by an inept administration that similarly gets weak-kneed whenever it feels pressure from either the Israel lobby or the Israeli government. Yesterday, State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, was asked: “What role specifically did [...]

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Abbas may reverse Goldstone report stance

by Paul Woodward 10.06.2009

Abbas may reverse Goldstone report stance AFP, October 6, 2009 Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas was on Tuesday “seriously studying” the possibility of asking that a UN Gaza war report be passed on to the Security Council, a senior official said. “President Abbas is seriously studying the possibility of asking the Arab and Islamic bloc [...]

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Rory Stewart on Obama’s approach to the war in Afghanistan

by Paul Woodward 10.06.2009

Rory Stewart interviewed on Bill Moyers Journal September 24, 2009 LYNN SHERR: You’ve met with Secretary Clinton? RORY STEWART: Sure. LYNN SHERR: You’ve met with Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke? RORY STEWART: Sure. LYNN SHERR: What do you tell them? RORY STEWART: Again, my message is: focus on what we can do. We don’t have a [...]

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Does Iran have data to build a nuclear bomb? No, says US

by Paul Woodward 10.06.2009

Does Iran have data to build a nuclear bomb? No, says US. By Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, October 4, 2009 A senior US security official Sunday disagreed with the assessment that Iran now knows how to make a nuclear bomb. According to the Sunday New York Times, a secret International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [...]

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The demise of the dollar

by Paul Woodward 10.06.2009

The demise of the dollar By Robert Fisk, The Independent, October 6, 2009 n the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and [...]

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Hamas, not Abbas, is the Palestinians’ real leader

by Paul Woodward 10.05.2009

Hamas, not Abbas, is the Palestinians’ real leader By Amira Hass, Haaretz, October 5, 2009 In a single phone call to his man in Geneva, Mahmoud Abbas has demonstrated his disregard for popular action, and his lack of faith in its accumulative power and the place of mass movements in processes of change. For nine [...]

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Israel minister feared UK arrest

by Paul Woodward 10.05.2009

Israel minister feared UK arrest BBC, October 5, 2009 Israeli minister and former military chief Moshe Yaalon cancelled a UK visit because of fears of arrest for alleged war crimes, his office says. Pro-Palestinian groups in Britain want Mr Yaalon to face trial over the 2002 killing of a Gaza militant, in which 14 others [...]

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Deadly attack by Taliban tests new strategy

by Paul Woodward 10.05.2009

Deadly attack by Taliban tests new strategy By Joshua Partlow and Greg Jaffe, Washington Post, October 5, 2009 US commanders had been planning since late last year to abandon the small combat outpost in mountainous eastern Afghanistan where eight U.S. soldiers died Saturday in a fierce insurgent assault. The pullout, part of a strategy of [...]

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Iran’s diplomatic dexterity

by Paul Woodward 10.04.2009

Iran’s diplomatic dexterity By Paul Woodward, War in Context, October 4, 2009 The Geneva talks with Iran have been presented as a diplomatic victory and vindication of President Obama’s commitment to engagement. As Juan Cole wrote: “Barack Obama pwned Bush-Cheney in one day, and got more concessions from Iran in 7 1/2 hours than the [...]

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Report says Iran has data to make a nuclear bomb

by Paul Woodward 10.04.2009

Report says Iran has data to make a nuclear bomb By William J Broad and David E Sanger, New York Times, October 4, 2009 Senior staff members of the United Nations nuclear agency have concluded in a confidential analysis that Iran has acquired “sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable” atom [...]

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Israel names Russians helping Iran build nuclear bomb

by Paul Woodward 10.04.2009

Israel names Russians helping Iran build nuclear bomb By Uzi Mahanimi, Mark Franchetti and Jon Swain, The Sunday Times, October 4, 2009 The West says the plant [near Qom] is tailor-made for a secret weapons programme and proves Iran’s claim that its nuclear programme is intended only for peaceful purposes is a lie. The plant [...]

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