Ferit Demir reports (via The Scotsman): ‘ Kurdish rebels [of the PKK/ Kurdish Workers Party] killed at least 17 Turkish soldiers, wounded 16 others and took several hostage in an ambush near the Iraqi border yesterday . . . Turkey’s military general staff said 32 rebels were killed in continuing clashes. Its artillery also shelled […]
The Sadism of the Israeli Occupation
The Guardian reports on a building scandal in Israel over the extreme brutality of its occupation of the Palestinians in the West Bank. Excerpt: ‘ According to Yishai Karin: ‘At one point or another of their service, the majority of the interviewees enjoyed violence. They enjoyed the violence because it broke the routine and they […]
Iraq/ Turkey Tensions in Streets, Halls of Parliament Turkish Economy Imperilled Istrabadi Resigns, Slams Iraqi Government
Iraqi president – slash – Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani condemned Syria’s president Bashar al-Asad for supporting the Turkish claim of the right to invade Iraq in search of Kurdish guerrillas [the Turks–and I suppose the US State Department — say ‘terrorists’] being given safe harbor there. Talabani connived at the US invasion of Iraq in […]
Dictating Islam to Muslims
At the Napoleon’s Egypt blog, Jaubert’s important letter critical of Napoleon Bonaparte’s use of the naval forces. It also contains the crucial passage, “You will laugh outright, perhaps you witlings of Paris, at the Mahometan proclamation to the Commander in Chief. He is proof, however, against all your raillery; and the thing itself will certainly […]
Turkey: We are More than Serious [About an Invasion] Barzani: Iraqi Kurdsistan will Defend Itself
The leader of the Kurdistan Regional Authority in Iraq, Massoud Barzan, called Friday for talks with Turkey. The call was immediately rejected by Ankara, which accuses Barzani of deliberately harboring 3,000 to 5,000 guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party who have been going back over into Turkey and blowing people up or killing them (i.e. […]
Gen. Abizaid: Iraq about Petroleum
Gen. John Abizaid at Stanford U.: ‘ While [panelists] discussed green technology, the subject of America’s operations in Iraq was also a hotly debated topic. Abizaid, who was formerly the Commander of the United States Central Command, quickly established a connection between the two topics. “Of course it’s about oil, we can’t really deny that,” […]
Sneaky FCC Must be Stopped
Alexandra Russell writes: This morning, the New York Times revealed that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is rushing through a plan to rewrite media ownership rules, letting the biggest media companies control even more local outlets. And he’s doing it without giving the public a chance to respond. The rules could take effect as early as […]
Karachi and Waziristan
Barnett Rubin points in our Global Affairs group blog to the impact of the failures in Afghanistan, of the tribal turmoil in Waziristan, on the Karachi bombing at the center of Pakistani politics.
136 Dead in Pakistan Bombing Gilani: Neighboring Country Warned of Attack on Bhutto
Manan Ahmed at our Global Affairs Blog points out that Karachi has now joined New York, Madrid and London as a site of a major terrorist attack. Late reports say 136 are dead and over 500 wounded in a bombing aimed at assassinating former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto on her return after years […]
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