The rebel strategy of taking Syrian government bases and airports in north Syria to prevent the regime from resupplying its forces in the north has made strides this week. The LAT reports that the revolutionaries are fighting for Aleppo International Airport, having taking Jarrah military airport a couple of days ago. The regime cannot easily […]
Archives for February 2013
America at Peace? Obama Halving US force in Afghanistan, winds down War
President Obama announced Tuesday that he would pull some 34,000 US troops out of Afghanistan over the next year, about half of the force that is in the country now. US forces are going into a support role this spring, but one suspects they will be doing more than that till they leave, given the […]
Despite Offer of Direct Talks, U.S. Intensifies Economic War Against Iran (Democracy Now!)
Trita Parsi of the National Iranian American Council is interviewed on Democracy Now about US sanctions on Iran and the prospect of talks about Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.’ The blurb: “The Obama administration is ratcheting up its economic war against Iran ahead of nuclear talks slated for Kazakhstan later this month. Last week, the White […]
New Pope has Opportunity to Improve Christian-Muslim Relations
Pope Benedict XVI’s suprise announcement on Monday that he plans to resign at the end of this month marks a potential generational change in the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. His successor has an opportunity to revive the breakthroughs of the Second Vatican Council in promoting inter-religious dialogue, and repairing the Church’s troubled relationship […]
Ahmadinejad: US must Cease Militarily Targetting Iran before Direct Negotiations
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad replied on the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution to recent US overtures from Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, suggesting direct talks between the US and Iran over its nuclear enrichment program. Ahmadinejad is quoted as saying, “The change of tone is necessary but not sufficient […]
Bad Precedent: Obama’s Drone Doctrine is Nixon’s Cambodia Doctrine (Dietrich)
Christopher R. W. Dietrich writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The cynical manipulation of legal and historical precedent regarding unmanned targeted killings vehicles damages the credibility of the Obama administration. The recently-leaked argument by the Justice Department is as weak and counterproductive in the light of contemporary international history as it is in […]
Chuck Hagel Confirmation Hearings Satire (Saturday Night Live)
Saturday Night Live’s parody of the Senate confirmation hearings for Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. (Sorry, for US-based viewers only.)
Will Obama Stand up to the Keystone XL Pipeline & Climate-Destroying Tar Sands? (Klare)
Michael T. Klare writes at Tomdispatch.com: Presidential decisions often turn out to be far less significant than imagined, but every now and then what a president decides actually determines how the world turns. Such is the case with the Keystone XL pipeline, which, if built, is slated to bring some of the “dirtiest,” carbon-rich oil […]
On How the visit of Iran’s Ahmadinejad to Egypt was a Dud
The first visit of an Iranian president to Egypt, in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and the 2011 Egyptian Revolution against Hosni Mubarak, was expected to be a big deal. It wasn’t. Oh, it marked a change. The Mubarak regime despised the Khomeinist government of Iran. Egypt’s staff generals helped Iraq […]
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