Middle East

The bodies of two US troops MIA were recently discovered in Iraq. Have Israeli planes been flying in Iraq, in and out of US air bases, to case Iran for and attack? The Israelis are denying it. I also think it unlikely, since the US air force would have to give the Israelis its Identify […]

Aljazeera International reports on the current situation in Iraq and the negotiations between Iraq and the US for a Status of Forces Agreement. US Ambassador in Baghdad Ryan Crocker is interviewed at great length. This is the sort of in-depth interview with no-holds-barred questioning that has become rare on US television. Part One: And, Part […]

Madhavi Bhasin writes: On July 7th the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in an Address before the Arab Ambassadors stated that his Government was looking at the necessity of terminating foreign presence on Iraqi land and restoring full sovereignty. The U.S. public diplomacy machinery began operating in full swing after the statement was released and […]

Charles Knight writes In October of last year a Boston-area activist called me and reported that he’d recently visited an antiwar Massachusetts congressperson in order to urge that more be done to get the US out of Iraq quickly and completely. Representative Jim McGovern (MA-03-D) had replied that he was doing what he could, but […]

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the chances that a Status of Forces Agreement will be concluded between Baghdad and Washington have declined substantially. The intention is now to sign a memorandum of understanding instead of a SOFA, according to Shaikh Jalal al-Din Saghir, an MP, a member of the Policy Council for National Security and […]

The statements of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and National Security Counsellor Muwaffaq Rubaie about the need for a timetable for US troop withdrawal may have an unexpected and significant impact on the US presidential campaign. On Tuesday, after consultations with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf, Rubaie held a news conference. His remarks suggested that […]

A US observer with experience on the ground in Iraq writes with regard my link on Sunday to a piece about Monsanto and hooking Iraqi farmers on genetically modified seeds: The small report about Bremer dictating that Iraqi farmers cannot use their seed from year to year is utter nonsense. It is not true. Iraqi […]

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Bush Friday by video conference that the US could not use Iraqi territory or airspace to attack neighboring Iran. He basically told Bush to suck it up and negotiate with Ahmadinejad. It is amazing what $70 billion a year in petroleum revenue will do for a prime minister’s self-esteem. […]

Your Fourth of July is blood for oil. My Fourth of July is the pure sunbeam of peace. Yours is the imperial presidency and “so what?” to public opinion. Mine is “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” Yours is profiling and discrimination. Mine is “all men are endowed by their Creator […]