The UN is concerned about the continued flight of Christians from the northern metropolis of Mosul. Sunni radicals are targeting them and several have been assassinated. Iraqi refugees who try to return to their old homes are often still facing violence on their return, McClatchy reports. The UN High Commission on Refugees staff in Amman […]
Archives for October 2008
Guantanamo Counsel Resigns in Disgust
Lt. Col. Darrel J. Vandeveld resigned from the military commissions tribunals at Guantanamo convinced that the system denies defense attorneys exculpatory evidence that the government knows about, which might prove the innocence of the defendant. The Guantanamo issue tells us a lot about the candidates and their commitment to the Constitution and the rule of […]
1000 Policemen Sent to guard Christians of Mosul; Turkish War Planes Strike Again
Turkish war planes again bombed positions in northern Iraq where guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) were thought to be holedup. Iraqi authorities ordered 1,000 police into the districts of Mosul where Christians tend to live to stanch the flow of emigrants sparked by a series of assassinations of Christians. About 3,000 Christians are […]
Polk: Iran falling into the “net” of a “worldwide policy”: On the U.S. Foreign Policy Doctrine and Its Dangers
Ali Fathollah-Nejad interviews veteran Middle East Expert William R.Polk on United States foreign policy toward Iran: Iran falling into the “net” of a “worldwide policy”: On the U.S. Foreign Policy Doctrine and Its Dangers William R. Polk* interviewed by Ali Fathollah-Nejad** A former high-ranking member in the foreign and security policy staff of U.S. President […]
Zogby: I am an Arab and a Decent Man
James Zogby: :John McCain: I Am an Arab and a Decent Man”: ‘ We are disturbed by the degree to which ‘Arab’ has become the metaphorical mud to sling against your opponent. This week, for example the Republican Jewish Coalition released a document in which they use the term Pro-Arab as a pejorative accusation. For […]
October Surprise? Security Agreement said Near Signing; 3000 Christians Flee Mosul
Is this part of a Bush attempt at an October surprise? Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that its sources in Baghdad say that the al-Maliki government will sign off on a security agreement with the Bush administration “within days.” The report says that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has assured the government that he will accept the […]
100 Killed in Afghanistan; Security Deteriorating
Anand Gopal at Tomdispatch.com on ‘Who rules Afghanistan’? NATO is planning a crackdown on narcotics traffickers in Afghanistan. Pushtun guerrillas in Helmand Province attacked police positions near the capital, Lashkargah, provoking a land attack from the AFghan military with close air support from NATO, which left about 100 Afghans dead, who are being labled ‘Taliban.’ […]
McCain: Obama Decent, no Arab
John McCain quickly shed his last vestiges of decency when he allowed his campaign to try to smear Barack Obama for having been in the same room with Bill Ayers, who had been a Weatherman in the 1960s when Obama was a child. McCain knows very well that Obama is a centrist, not a radical, […]
Turkish Air Strikes; Bombings, Attacks Kill 24
Turkish war planes hit 21 targets inside Iraq, in the Kurdish north, on Friday night. Meanwhile, bombings and attacks killed 24 and wounded 45 in the mixed district of Dora.