Archives for November 2009

Afghan insurgent and former prime minister Gulbadin Hikmatyar has told Aljazeera that Usama Bin Laden is alive and well. Hikmatyar, once the recipient of 20 percent of all the funds disbursed by US intelligence for fighting the Soviets, is now fighting US troops in eastern Afghanistan. He condemned bombings against the Pakistani military, saying that […]

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the Iraqi parliament approved the electoral law to govern the elections scheduled for early next year. The vote was 141 in favor out of what Al-Zaman said were 175 attending (the Iraqi parliament has 275 seats, so a simple majority is 138). AFP estimated attending MPs at 195. President Barack […]

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the Iraqi parliament approved the electoral law to govern the elections scheduled for early next year. The vote was 141 in favor out of what Al-Zaman said were 175 attending (the Iraqi parliament has 275 seats, so a simple majority is 138). AFP estimated attending MPs at 195. President Barack […]

Hussein Ibish writes in a guest commentary for Informed Comment Last Thursday on Informed Comment, Juan Cole uttered a powerful cris de coeur about prospects for a two-state agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, echoing warnings by chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat that if Israeli colonization continues, Palestinians may switch to demanding equal rights in […]

Hussein Ibish writes in a guest commentary for Informed Comment Last Thursday on Informed Comment, Juan Cole uttered a powerful cris de coeur about prospects for a two-state agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, echoing warnings by chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat that if Israeli colonization continues, Palestinians may switch to demanding equal rights in […]

Outgoing head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Muhammad Elbaradei, said that UN inspectors this week discovered “nothing to be worried about” at a new nuclear enrichment facility that is being built in a mountain near Qom. He added, “The idea was to use it as a bunker under the mountain to protect things. It’s […]

Outgoing head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Muhammad Elbaradei, said that UN inspectors this week discovered “nothing to be worried about” at a new nuclear enrichment facility that is being built in a mountain near Qom. He added, “The idea was to use it as a bunker under the mountain to protect things. It’s […]

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he wants to stand down and he declines to run in the upcoming Palestine Authority elections. The decision came in the wake of the US failure to convince the Israelis to halt colonization of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem. It also followed a series of embarrassing flip-flops […]

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he wants to stand down and he declines to run in the upcoming Palestine Authority elections. The decision came in the wake of the US failure to convince the Israelis to halt colonization of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem. It also followed a series of embarrassing flip-flops […]