Fallout from the Gaza earthquake
The mass break-out of some 700,000 Palestinians from Israel's open-air prison at Gaza has profoundly changed the political landscape of the Middle East. In magnitude, it can be compared to the impact on Europe of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Nothing will be the same again. There can be no return to the past. All the main actors in the...People’s power in Gaza: They simply did it
In a radio interview prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, David Barsamian asked Noam Chomsky what ordinary Americans could do to stop the war. Chomsky answered, "In some parts of the world people never ask, 'what can we do?’ They simply do it." For someone who was born and raised in a refugee camp in Gaza, Chomsky's seemingly oblique...Creating a great Arab city
Dubai can serve as a model for growth elsewhere DUBAI — I always find it exhilarating to visit Dubai, one of the most dynamic and visually spectacular examples of rapid urban growth in the world. Especially coming from Beirut, where I live, the contrasts are sharp and immediately felt: security vs. chronic political...
The breaking of the Rafah wall
February 5th, 20080 It looked like the fall of the Berlin wall. And not only did it look like it. For a moment, the Rafah crossing was the Brandenburg Gate. It is impossible not to feel exhilaration when masses of oppressed and hungry people break down the wall that is shutting them in, their eyes radiant, embracing everybody they meet — to feel so even...Iraq: Police and army getting sidelined
BAQUBA (IPS) — New military operations in Diyala province north of Baghdad have exacerbated a growing conflict between U.S.-backed Sunni fighters on the one hand and Iraqi army and police forces on the other. The U.S. military commenced a large military operation Jan. 8 in the volatile Diyala province. Seven U.S. battalions led an...
Breaking the siege
January 28th, 20080 Hundreds of thousands cross downed Gaza wallArab street erupts in protests supporting Palestinians Thousands of Palestinians continued to cross into Egypt for a second day on Thursday to buy much needed supplies. Egyptian officials have warned that the border with the Gaza Strip, breached by Palestinian fighters seeking to end an...The struggle for Lebanon
Syria has vital security issues with regard to Lebanon, and sees its lesser neighbor as an essential \geo-politicalpartner. And Syria's security necessities could help stabilize Lebanon's political crisis, if the Arab World -- particularly Saudi Arabia — can come to terms with Damascus. It does not look as if the long-running Lebanese...Study: Truth first casualty of Iraq war
U.S. President George W. Bush and his top officials ran roughshod over the truth in the run-up to the Iraq war, lying a total of 935 times, a study released this week found. Bush and his then-secretary of state Colin Powell made the most false statements as they sought to drum up support for the March 2003 invasion to topple Saddam...Jordan’s shift to democracy slows
AMMAN - The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was supposed to take a big step (this week) toward becoming the democracy that both its people and its rulers say they want it to be. But instead of a breakthrough vote that might have seen this desert state emerge from a long history of one-man rule, the parliamentary elections will again return...Christian Zionists feel ‘betrayed’ by Road Map
OAKLAND (IPS) — President George W. Bush returned home from his trip to the Middle East optimistic about the possibility of a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians before he leaves office in January of next year. "In order for there to be lasting peace, President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert have to come together...Lebanon vote delayed again
BEIRUT — A parliament session scheduled for Monday to elect Lebanon's president has been postponed to February 11, despite Arab mediation to break the deadlock. The latest delay brings to 13 the number of sessions that have had to be postponed since September 25 to pick a successor to Emile Lahoud, the president who stepped down in...A bankrupt Mideast policy
The presidency of the United States of America is a position of immense power, even when the office is tarnished and debased, as it has been by its present occupant. George W. Bush’s recent Middle East tour was a unique opportunity — very probably his last — to restore his country's prestige and his own reputation by making a decisive...Awakened to a new danger in Iraq
Credited with reducing violence, forces have actually sown new conflict BAGHDAD (IPS) — The newly formed "Awakening" forces set up by the U.S. military are bringing new conflict among people here. For months now the U.S. military has been actively building what it calls "Awakening" forces and "Concerned Local Citizens" in an effort to...
Gaza strike hardens Hamas position
January 19th, 20080 In an interview, key Hamas strategist Mahmoud Zahar discusses how his movement has been preparing for a potentially imminent Israeli assault on Gaza. Gaza City — Mahmoud Zahar, the Hamas leader widely seen as the strategic mind behind the Islamist movement's successful takeover of the Gaza Strip last summer, struck a defiant tone when...Attack on U.S. vehicle in Beirut kills 4
As Bush tours Mideast, was this a message? BEIRUT — An explosion targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle Tuesday in northern Beirut, killing four Lebanese and injuring a local embassy employee, American and Lebanese officials said. In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said two embassy employees — including......
Nationalists stirring in Iraq
Country may have a chance if U.S. gets out of way On January 13, an emerging Sunni-Shi'a nationalist bloc in Iraq signed a groundbreaking agreement aimed at ending Iraq's civil war, blocking the privatization of Iraq's oil industry and checkmating the breakaway Kurdish state. It's a big step forward, and it could change the...New era of regional cooperation in Mideast
CAIRO (IPS) — Recent months have witnessed several notable political reorientations in the Middle East, involving Iran, the Gulf states, Egypt and Lebanon. Several experts say the changes reflect a shift in Washington's regional strategy following recent U.S. policy setbacks. "U.S. policies in the region are either in retreat or...Top ten myths about Iraq 2007
10. Myth: The U.S. public no longer sees Iraq as a central issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. Fact: In a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, Iraq and the economy were virtually tied among voters nationally, with nearly a quarter of voters in each case saying it was their number one issue. The economy had become more...New Year begins unhappily in Iraq
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The end of 2007 produced a telltale indication of what the New Year seems likely to bring to Iraq."We the Iraqi members of parliament signing below demand a timetable for withdrawal of the occupation forces (MNF) from our beloved Iraq," 144 members of the 275-member parliament, a clear majority, wrote in a declaration......
Is Suleiman up to the challenge?
In Lebanon over the last three months, ten parliamentary sessions to elect a new president have been postponed. By tradition the president has to be a Maronite Christian; this tradition is a problem that has never been addressed adequately. The eleventh parliament election session, scheduled for December 29, is expected to be...Yemen mourns speaker of parliament
The speaker of Yemen's parliament, Abdullah Bin Hussein al-Ahmar, died on Saturday at the King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after a long fight with cancer.Al-Ahmar was elected the first speaker of the Republic of Yemen's House of Representatives in 1993, and was re-elected in 1997, 2003 and 2007. al-AhmarThe 74-year-old was......
Syrian expatriates return hoping for wealth
Many Syrian-Americans are leaving for Damascus, lured by the opportunities offered by a newly open economy.Damascus — For Louay Habbal, sipping his latte in an upmarket coffee shop in Damascus, the U.S. will always be home.The warmth of the people, the possibility of achieving success from nothing, and the vast open spaces are...
Politics, distress as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha
December 23rd, 20070 It was a typical holiday of Eid al-Adha, the biggest Muslim holiday of the year. Two men in paper overalls placed the struggling sheep in the direction of Mecca before taking a shiny blade to its throat and unleashing a fountain of warm blood that quickly filled the floor of the small cement courtyard. Half a dozen small......