The USG Open Source Center translates an Arab nationalist call to the southern Shiite province of Maysan, which is ruled by the Sadr Movement of Muqtada al-Sadr, to block Iranian influence. In fact, Maysan, which borders Iran, is negotiating with Iran to receive electricity and other aid. Movement Calls For Efforts To Prevent Iran From […]
Militia Blues
A US soldier was killed and four wounded by rocket fire south of Baghdad. Courtesy ABC News The Guardian video does a report, streamed below, on the prospect that some of the 80,000 members of the Awakening Councils or Concerned Local Citizens in Diyala Province and elsewhere are going to go on strike. Many of […]
Bush Lies about Iran on Now-Ruz
On Thursday, Bush lied about Iran again: “President Bush said the Iranian government has “declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people . . .” The Iranian leaders have consistently condemned nuclear weapons as inhumane and denounced them and said that they don’t want them and it would be illegal in Islamic […]
"Al-Qaeda" Deploys Widows as Suicide Bombers in Iraq: Fayyad
courtesy al-Sharq al-Awsat The misery of the some 2 million widows in Iraq has security implications. Ma’d Fayyad reports in Arabic that fundamentalist Sunni guerrillas in Iraq are increasingly deploying widows as suicide bombers. Two major bombings this week, at Baladruz and Karbala, appear to have been undertaken by women. Fayyad says that one change […]
Iraqi TV Channels Carry Reactions to Fifth War Anniversary
The USG Open Source Center translates Iraqi television reactions to the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq Iraqi TV Channels Carry Reactions to Fifth War AnniversaryIraq — OSC SummaryThursday, March 20, 2008 . . . Al-Rafidayn [Sunni fundamentalist, affiliated with the Association of Muslim Scholars] Harith al-Dari Within its 0700 GMT newscast, the […]
Iran: Danger and Opportunity; Polk Guest Op-Ed
William R. Polk writes: Cassandra and Yogi Berra are an unlikely pair, but I hear both of their voices today. Cassandra, like some of us, was cursed to be always disbelieved as she correctly predicted the future while baseballer Yogi Berra will be remembered for his penetrating insight into the flow of history, “This is […]
The Arab Conscience and the 5th Anniversary of the Iraq War
The below is part of an anti-war “opera” sung by the most famous of the Arab videoclip stars (Nancy Ajram and Cheb Khalid are featured here). The whole is very long. The Zoom videoclip satellite channel is playing it repeatedly this week, apparently to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. It begins with […]
Egyptian Politics
For my class, reports on Mubarak’s Egypt: Journeyman pictures clip on the Muslim Brotherhood and Kefaya in Egypt, 2005 Journeyman Pictures clip on Islamic Jihad and other oppositional groups in Egypt. Aljazeera: Inside Story, Hosni Mubarak, Nov. 2007 Part 1: Part 2:
5 Years, 5 Lies: Cole in Salon
My fortnightly column for Salon.com is now up, commemorating the 5th anniversary of Bush’s invasion of Iraq: “Five years of Iraq lies:” How President Bush and his advisors have spent each year of the war peddling mendacious tales about a mission accomplished. I posit that each year of the war has been characterized by a […]
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