December 2009

The inertia option

by Paul Woodward 12.18.2009

The inertia option By Roger Cohen, New York Times, December 18, 2009 I hope Iran policy makers in Washington and Europe are reading histories of that world-changing year, 1989. I hope so because the time has come to do nothing in Iran. As Timothy Garton Ash has written of the year Europe was freed, “For [...]

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Muslims say FBI tactics sow anger and fear

by Paul Woodward 12.18.2009

Muslims say FBI tactics sow anger and fear By Paul Vitello and Kirk Semple, New York Times, December 18, 2009 The anxiety and anger have been building all year. In March, a national coalition of Islamic organizations warned that it would cease cooperating with the F.B.I. unless the agency stopped infiltrating mosques and using “agents [...]

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Pakistan angered by American arrogance

by Paul Woodward 12.17.2009

Pakistan angered by American arrogance By Jane Perlez and Eric Schmitt, New York Times, December 17, 2009 Parts of the Pakistani military and intelligence services are mounting what American officials here describe as a campaign to harass American diplomats, fraying relations at a critical moment when the Obama administration is demanding more help to fight [...]

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Afghans fleeing Taliban are flooding Tajikistan

by Paul Woodward 12.17.2009

Afghans fleeing Taliban are flooding Tajikistan By Isabel Gorst, Washington Post, December 17, 2009 The night his 11-year-old son escaped from kidnappers, Abdul Aziz bundled a few belongings into a car and drove his family 18 miles north across the Afghan border into Tajikistan. “It is too frightening to live in Afghanistan anymore,” he said, [...]

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Israeli women’s group tells Livni to turn herself in

by Paul Woodward 12.17.2009

Israeli women’s group tells Livni to turn herself in Ma’an, December 16, 2009 The Women’s Coalition for Peace sent a letter on Wednesday to Israel’s former Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, calling on her to cooperate with international investigations into her role in the assault on Gaza last winter, after a British court issued an warrant [...]

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Insurgents in Iraq hack U.S. drones

by Paul Woodward 12.17.2009

Insurgents in Iraq hack U.S. drones By Siobhan Gorman, Yochi J Dreazen and August Cole, Wall Street Journal, December 17, 2009 Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations. Senior defense and [...]

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U.S. imprisoned Iranian engineer secretly for two years before sentencing

by Paul Woodward 12.17.2009

U.S. imprisoned Iranian engineer secretly for two years before sentencing By Justin Elliot, TPM, December 15, 2009 In a case drawing criticism from outside lawyers, an Iranian engineer sentenced to prison Monday for violating arms control laws was lured to the nation of Georgia by American authorities for a fake arms deal, arrested, extradited to [...]

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Documents show DHS improperly spied on National of Islam in 2007

by Paul Woodward 12.17.2009

Documents show DHS improperly spied on National of Islam in 2007 By Spencer S. Hsu and Carrie Johnson, Washington Post, December 11, 2009 The Department of Homeland Security improperly gathered intelligence on the Nation of Islam for eight months in 2007 when the leader of the black Muslim group, Louis Farrakhan, was in poor health [...]

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When will it be our time?

by Paul Woodward 12.16.2009

When will it be our time? By Mustafa Barghouti, New York Times, December 16, 2009 I have lived my entire adult life under occupation, with Israelis holding ultimate control over my movement and daily life. When young Israeli police officers force me to sit on the cold ground and soldiers beat me during a peaceful [...]

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Blaming the Goldstone Report

by Paul Woodward 12.16.2009

Blaming the Goldstone Report By Rami G Khouri, Agence Global, December 16, 2009 A brief news item in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) a few days ago made depressing reading. It was entitled: “State Department blames Goldstone for stalled peace talks.” “Wow!” I thought to myself, has it really come down to this? The United [...]

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British court issued Gaza arrest warrant for former Israeli minister Tzipi Livni

by Paul Woodward 12.15.2009

British court issued Gaza arrest warrant for former Israeli minister Tzipi Livni By Ian Black and Ian Cobain, The Guardian, December 14, 2009 A British court issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s former foreign minister over war crimes allegedly committed in Gaza this year – only to withdraw it when it was discovered that she [...]

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Obama refuses to rule out drone attacks in Quetta

by Paul Woodward 12.15.2009

Obama refuses to rule out drone attacks in Quetta By Anwar Iqbal, Dawn, December 15, 2009 President Barack Obama has warned that the United States would launch strikes inside Pakistan if it had actionable intelligence about the presence of top Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in a particular area. His statement – included in the [...]

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Evidence of Iran’s nuclear arms expertise mounts

by Paul Woodward 12.15.2009

Evidence of Iran’s nuclear arms expertise mounts By Joby Warrick, Washington Post, December 15, 2009 Long denied access to foreign technology because of sanctions, Iran has nevertheless learned how to make virtually every bolt and switch in a nuclear weapon, according to assessments by U.N. nuclear officials in internal documents, as well as Western and [...]

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Are crippling droughts the next great threat to Iraq?

by Paul Woodward 12.15.2009

The dust bowl of Babylon By Martin Chulov, TomDispatch, December 14, 2009 From his mud brick home on the edge of the Garden of Eden, Awda Khasaf has twice seen his country’s lifeblood seep away. The waters that once spread from his doorstep across a 20% slab of Iraq known as the Marshlands first disappeared [...]

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Relations with Turkey kindle hopes in Syria

by Paul Woodward 12.15.2009

Relations with Turkey kindle hopes in Syria By Robert F Worth, New York Times, December 15, 2009 Ever since Syria and Turkey lifted their visa restrictions in September, Turkish visitors have poured into this picturesque northern city. Hawkers in Aleppo’s ancient souk now call out to shoppers in Turkish, and cross-border commerce has soared. The [...]

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“People here prefer the Taliban to the government”

by Paul Woodward 12.14.2009

“People here prefer the Taliban to the government” By Miles Amoore, The Sunday Times, December 13, 2009 Taliban insurgents who have infiltrated Kabul are nailing “night letters” to the doors of policemen, soldiers and government workers, warning them to leave their jobs or face punishment. The militants are being welcomed in the Afghan capital’s poorer [...]

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New US strategy and Pakistan’s response

by Paul Woodward 12.14.2009

New US strategy and Pakistan’s response By Munir Akram, The News, December 14, 2009 There are good reasons to conclude that the “new” US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan announced by President Obama on 1 December will fail. But it could have serous consequences for Pakistan and the region. First, the objectives of the strategy [...]

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Drone attacks may be expanded in Pakistan

by Paul Woodward 12.14.2009

Drone attacks may be expanded in Pakistan By Greg Miller and Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2009 Senior U.S. officials are pushing to expand CIA drone strikes beyond Pakistan’s tribal region and into a major city in an attempt to pressure the Pakistani government to pursue Taliban leaders based in Quetta. The [...]

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To beat al Qaeda, look to the east

by Paul Woodward 12.13.2009

To beat al Qaeda, look to the east By Scott Atran, New York Times, December 13, 2009 Al Qaeda’s main focus is harming the United States and Europe, but there hasn’t been a successful attack in these places directly commanded by Osama bin Laden and company since 9/11. The American invasion of Afghanistan devastated Al [...]

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Iran’s worst enemy

by Paul Woodward 12.13.2009

Iran’s worst enemy By Ronen Bergman, Newsweek, December 12, 2009 Even among Israel’s tough security chiefs, Meir Dagan has always been known for his raw nerve. As a military trainee he would wander around the base during his off hours flinging a knife at trees and telephone poles like a circus entertainer, one fellow soldier [...]

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Nuclear Iran: stop the clock ticking and start talking

by Paul Woodward 12.13.2009

Nuclear Iran: stop the clock ticking and start talking By Tony Karon, The National, December 12, 2009 Instead of the breakthrough he had hoped for in nuclear diplomacy with Iran, Barack Obama has allowed himself to be painted into a corner. But so, too, have his Iranian counterparts, with neither side now capable of breaking [...]

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The strange consensus on Obama’s Nobel address

by Paul Woodward 12.13.2009

The strange consensus on Obama’s Nobel address By Glenn Greenwald, Salon, December 11, 2009 Reactions to Obama’s Nobel speech yesterday were remarkably consistent across the political spectrum, and there were two points on which virtually everyone seemed to agree: (1) it was the most explicitly pro-war speech ever delivered by anyone while accepting the Nobel [...]

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Let’s face the facts, Israel is a semi-theocracy

by Paul Woodward 12.13.2009

Let’s face the facts, Israel is a semi-theocracy By Gideon Levy, Haaretz, December 12, 2009 The storm over remarks made by Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman is in many respects a tempest in a teapot, which has for a long time taken on holier aspects than it seems. Neeman wants Torah law, or in other words, [...]

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Viva Palestina convoy heading to Gaza – day 7

by Paul Woodward 12.13.2009

Vans, plans and solidarity By Joti, Joti’s Journey to Gaza, December 12, 2009 It’s day 7 and we’ve completed the first leg of our journey to Gaza. We’ve made it through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Italy, successfully loaded all vehicles onto the overnight ferry at Ancona and off again at Igoumenitsa, crossed the [...]

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