Middle East

The USG Open Source Center in conjunction with the BBC translates a broadcast of the Libyan liberation movement in Benghazi on Friday that emphasizes the rebels’ commitment to religious and ethnic tolerance: The Interim National Committee said in a communique, “The state we want rejects violence, terrorism and fanaticism, and respects human rights and the […]

The United States is ending its active involvement in the UN-authorized air raids to stop dictator Muammar Qaddafi from massacring dissidents. NATO says it is against arming the rebels or fomenting a civil war. The slow, cautious war of attrition from the air against Qaddafi’s forces that undertake attacks on civilians in rebel-held cities will […]

John Torpey writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Looking After the Neighborhood in Libya John Torpey After much mischief and brutal behavior, the police have finally moved against a vicious druglord and troublemaker in a notoriously rough neighborhood. The beleaguered residents of the neighborhood have been gamely fighting back of late, but they […]

My conversation with Katrina van den Heuvel, the editor of the Nation, “Do we belong in Libya?” is available at the Nation’s web site. . They also kindly reprinted my open letter to the Left on Libya. Here is the embedded podcast: It looks like you don’t have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now. […]

Leaders of much of the world agreed that Qaddafi must go on Wednesday morning at a conference in Europe. Canadian jets pounded an ammunition dump on Wednesday morning near the beleaguered city of Misrata. US naval vessels launched Tomahawks at munitions storage points in Tripoli. And US ships fired on and chased away ships of […]

My debate over intervention in Libya with my esteemed colleague Professor Vijay Prashad is available as a transcript and podcast at Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now!. Here is the embedded video: And here is part 1 via YouTube for the Adobe Flash challenged: And Part 2: