November 2009

Abbas is advised to cancel January vote

by Paul Woodward 11.14.2009

Abbas is advised to cancel January vote By Charles Levinson, Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2009 Palestinian election officials said they can’t hold planned elections in January, which could give President Mahmoud Abbas a way to stay in office despite his threat to stand down — but could further roil Palestinian and Israeli politics. Mr. [...]

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U.S. Army sends infant to protective services, mom to Afghanistan

by Paul Woodward 11.14.2009

U.S. Army sends infant to protective services, mom to Afghanistan By Dahr Jamail, IPS, November 13, 2009 U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to [...]

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Why the neocons turned against the Iranian opposition

by Paul Woodward 11.14.2009

Why the neocons turned against the Iranian opposition By Daniel Lubin, The Faster Times, November 13, 2009 The campaign against the National Iranian-American Council and its president, Trita Parsi, intensified today with the publication of a long hit piece in the Washington Times by neoconservative journalist Eli Lake. The piece’s unusual length may be an [...]

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9/11 trial poses unparalleled legal obstacles

by Paul Woodward 11.14.2009

9/11 trial poses unparalleled legal obstacles By Eric Lichtblau and Benjamin Weiser, New York Times, November 14, 2009 How do you defend one of the most notorious terrorist figures in history? One step, legal analysts say, may be to ask for a change of venue. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed’s lawyers, whoever they are, will no doubt [...]

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Newly-released Taliban video of the battle of Wanat

by Paul Woodward 11.14.2009

The battle of Wanat Washington Post, October 3, 2009 On July 13, 2008, Taliban fighters launched a major assault on a small U.S. Army outpost in Afghanistan, killing nine soldiers and wounding 27. This timeline chronicles the battle from the perspective of a lieutenant killed in the fight, Jonathan Brostrom, and his father, who has [...]

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Those ‘prone to violence’

by Paul Woodward 11.13.2009

Those ‘prone to violence’ By Paul Woodward, War in Context, November 13, 2009 I sometimes wonder: was Charles Krauthammer always such an unhappy man? So often the sourness imprinted upon his face makes it difficult to know whether any distinction can be made between what he thinks and how apparently he feels. Today he ever-so-predictably [...]

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Goldstone to Haaretz: U.S. does not have to protect Israel blindly

by Paul Woodward 11.13.2009

Goldstone to Haaretz: U.S. does not have to protect Israel blindly By Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz, November 13, 2009 The Goldstone report is expected to be raised for discussion in the United Nations Security Council in the near future, and Goldstone Thursday discussed the possibility that the United States would veto any resolution that would hurt [...]

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U.S. adviser to Kurds stands to reap oil profits

by Paul Woodward 11.13.2009

U.S. adviser to Kurds stands to reap oil profits By James Glanz and Walter Gibbs, New York Times, November 12, 2009 Peter W. Galbraith, an influential former American ambassador, is a powerful voice on Iraq who helped shape the views of policy makers like Joseph R. Biden Jr. and John Kerry. In the summer of [...]

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How America’s wars are systematically destroying our liberties

by Paul Woodward 11.13.2009

How America’s wars are systematically destroying our liberties By Alfred W. McCoy, TomDispatch, November 12, 2009 In his approach to National Security Agency surveillance, as well as CIA renditions, drone assassinations, and military detention, President Obama has to a surprising extent embraced the expanded executive powers championed by his conservative predecessor, George W. Bush. This [...]

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U.S. envoy resists increase in troops

by Paul Woodward 11.12.2009

U.S. envoy resists increase in troops By Greg Jaffe, Scott Wilson and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, November 12, 2009 The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai’s government demonstrates that it is willing to [...]

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Israeli Jews and the one-state solution

by Paul Woodward 11.12.2009

Israeli Jews and the one-state solution By Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada, November 10, 2009 Ultimately, as we now know, the combination of internal resistance and international isolation did force whites to abandon political apartheid and accept majority rule. However, it is important to note that the combined strength of the anti-apartheid movement never seriously threatened [...]

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What Goldstone says about the US

by Paul Woodward 11.12.2009

What Goldstone says about the US By Mark LeVine, Al Jazeera, November 11, 2009 … if Israel is guilty of committing systematic war crimes across Gaza and the West Bank, then the US, which supported, funded and armed Israel during the war, is an accessory to those crimes. Goldstone explains in no uncertain terms that [...]

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Why the US will not cut aid to Israel

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

Department of meaningless gestures By Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy, November 10, 2009 Two eminent mainstream journalists — Tom Friedman and Joe Klein — recently called for United States to disengage from the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, on the grounds that Palestinians were too divided to make a deal and the Israelis were not interested in one. [...]

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90,000 casualties, but who’s counting?

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

90,000 casualties, but who’s counting? By Kelley B Vlahos, Antiwar.com, November 10, 2009 Veterans Day arrives tomorrow, and with it, the anticipated harvest of heartbreaking anecdotes driving the press coverage and our ever wandering attention back to less desirable realities: the disfigured but persevering hero, the homeless warrior, the unemployable sergeant, the father or son [...]

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The Taliban solution

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

The Taliban solution By Deepa Narayan, New York Times, November 10, 2009 A powerful grassroots movement has blossomed in Afghanistan, giving its people new hope, self-esteem and a sense of belonging. The problem is that this movement is the Taliban. As President Obama and his advisers ponder a new Afghan strategy, the conventional wisdom is [...]

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Gulf Al-Qaida chief: Shi’ites, like Iran, more dangerous than Jews

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

Gulf Al-Qaida chief: Shi’ites, like Iran, more dangerous than Jews Haaretz, November 10, 2009 The leader of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Penninsula warned Tuesday that Shi’ite Muslims, particularly Iran, posed more danger to the world than either Jews or Christians. “They [Shiites] are being driven by a greed to take over Muslim countries and they [...]

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Key oil figures were distorted by US pressure, says whistleblower

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

Key oil figures were distorted by US pressure, says whistleblower By Terry Macalister, The Guardian, November 9, 2009 The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering [...]

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Blackwater said to approve Iraqi payoffs after shootings

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

Blackwater said to approve Iraqi payoffs after shootings By Mark Mazzetti and James Risen, New York Times, November 10, 2009 Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security [...]

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Israeli rabbi approves murder of non-Jews

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

Israeli rabbi approves murder of non-Jews By Vita Bekker, The National, November 10, 2009 A book published this week by a radical Jewish rabbi from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and endorsed by prominent religious right-wing figures suggests killing any non-Jew, including children and babies, who pose a threat to Israel. The book’s publication, just days [...]

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Ft. Hood and the Clash of Civilizations: Security vs political correctness revisited

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

Ft. Hood and the Clash of Civilizations: Security vs political correctness revisited By Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy, November 9, 2009 Since the Ft Hood atrocity, I’ve seen a meme going around that it somehow exposed a contradiction between “political correctness” and “security.” The avoidance of Nidal Hassan’s religion out of fear of offending anyone, goes [...]

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Goldstone vs Gold debate at Brandeis

by Paul Woodward 11.11.2009

Goldstone vs Gold debate at Brandeis Brandeis University, November 5, 2009 Share

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Muslim US Army psychiatrist displayed suspicious interest in how Muslim soldiers might think and feel

by Paul Woodward 11.10.2009

Fort Hood suspect warned of threats within the ranks By Dana Priest, Washington Post, November 10, 2009 The Army psychiatrist believed to have killed 13 people at Fort Hood warned a roomful of senior Army physicians a year and a half ago that to avoid “adverse events,” the military should allow Muslim soldiers to be [...]

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Mofaz seeks meeting with senior Hamas officials

by Paul Woodward 11.09.2009

Mofaz seeks meeting with senior Hamas officials By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz, November 10, 2009 Opposition MK Shaul Mofaz is planning to meet with senior Hamas officials, the Channel 10 website reported late Monday. On Sunday, Mofaz presented his peace plan, which calls for the establishment within a year of a Palestinian state with provisional boundaries [...]

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West Bank rabbi: Jews can kill Gentiles who threaten Israel

by Paul Woodward 11.09.2009

West Bank rabbi: Jews can kill Gentiles who threaten Israel Haaretz, November 9, 2009 Just weeks after the arrest of alleged Jewish terrorist, Yaakov Teitel, a West Bank rabbi on Monday released a book giving Jews permission to kill Gentiles who threaten Israel. Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro, who heads the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the [...]

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