Grooming the Syrian version of Ahmed Chalabi
December 15th, 20070 Richard Perle is again propping up regime-toppling Mideast dissidents who lack credibility. On a cold morning last winter, I arrived at the home of Richard Perle outside Washington for a scheduled interview. I was about 10 minutes early, so I chose to shiver a bit on the front porch. Perle, the point man for the neoconservatives'...After Annapolis: U.S. peace allies ready to build ‘political will’ for successful diplomacy
WASHINGTON Over 200 people attended the Capitol Hill event last Thursday, "Digesting Annapolis: What Happened, What it Means, and What Happens Next?" co- sponsored by Churches for Middle East Peace, together with Americans for Peace Now, the American Taskforce on Palestine, the Arab American Institute, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Israel...Saudi rape case: a catalyst for change?
Recently in Saudi Arabia, a young woman from the town of Qatif who had been raped by seven men was sentenced to prison and to 90 lashes, which were later increased to 200 lashes because of the woman's denunciation of her case through the media. When Josιe Verner, the Canadian minister for the status of women, called the sentence...West Bank Palestinians imprisoned by Israel
The lives of 10,000 Palestinians trapped within West Bank enclaves cut off from Israel to the west by the Green Line and separated from the West Bank proper to the east by the barrier have been ruined socially and economically, with their education disrupted and their livelihoods destroyed or seriously damaged. Some have died or...Darkness surrounds spotlight on peace talks
NEW YORK (IPS) In the aftermath of the Annapolis peace conference, foreign policy analysts and human rights advocates are finding considerable irony in Israel's Arab neighbors pressing for freedom for Palestinians while their own citizens continue to carry a heavy burden of unrelenting political repression. Most of those representing...
Will army commander take control of Lebanon?
December 9th, 20070 BEIRUT (IPS) As the constitutional clock ticks away the last few hours of Emile Lahoud's presidential term, Lebanon faces its worst political deadlock since the end of the civil war. Five parliamentary sessions to elect Lahoud's successor have already been postponed since Sep. 24, with the danger of civil strife looming over the...When the roadmap is a one way street
Israel's strategy for permanent occupation One may well think that the struggle inside the Jewish community of Israel is between those of the political right, who want to maintain the settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank so as to "redeem" the Greater Land of Israel as a Jewish country, and those of the left who seek a...Detentions escalate in Diwaniyah
DIWANIYAH (IPS) Detentions have become commonplace in Iraq, but now more than ever before people are being detained after being accused of membership in "militias supported by Iran." "Hundreds of our men were detained and accused of being militiamen supported by Iran," Mahmood Allawi, a 50-year-old lawyer from Diwaniyah,...Palestinians protest the Annapolis summit
We do not recognize those who hold talks in Annapolis; they do not represent the Palestinian people," said Ismail Haniyeh, the dismissed Palestinian Prime Minister, in response to the Washington-sponsored Palestinian-Israeli summit in Annapolis this week. The streets of Palestine bore witness that it isn't only the Hamas leader who...
What happened in Annapolis?
December 2nd, 20070 BEIRUT The Middle East peace gathering at Annapolis, Maryland, Tuesday was full of lofty rhetoric, some intriguing new promises, a few bold commitments and a tantalizing cast of characters alongside plenty of rehashed old rhetoric, rigid positions and regurgitated failed diplomatic mechanisms. It left us with as many questions as...
The U.S. narrative for Lebanon
December 2nd, 20070 Even if France were tempted to play guardian again for the Christians in Lebanon with the approval of the American Empire, instead of the Ottoman Empire this time the official Arab and international order could not directly imprint itself on Lebanon in a way favorable to the opposition, not even the Christian opposition, which makes...Christians and Muslims coexist in Gaza
GAZA CITY (IPS) As Sunday dawns in Gaza City the traditional Islamic call to prayer mingles melodically with church bells. Side by side, mosque and church doors swing open, welcoming the faithful. Greetings are eagerly exchanged. The October kidnapping and murder of Rami Ayyad, the manager of Gaza's only Christian bookstore, sent...The untold story of HAMAS
When the Holy Land Foundation was acquitted of funneling money to terrorist organizations, it was not only a victory against Washington's and Tel Aviv's efforts to stifle any kind of support to the Palestinians, but also a reality check. Specifically, it highlighted a fact known to most, that groups like HAMAS don't get their funding...Demolition decimating Palestinian village
RAMALLAH (IPS) Al Walajeh village was once a quiet but busy place. Just four kilometers from Bethlehem and 8.5 km from Jerusalem, its rolling hills filled with fruit trees, natural forests, and blooming vegetation made it a prime farming location. Easy access to large and consistent markets led its inhabitants to relative economic...Iraq spending bill stalls in Senate
Former Iraqi commander says bring the troops home The Senate remains deeply divided over whether to give President Bush all the money he wants without limitations for continuing the war in Iraq, as two opposing war funding measures failed to pass Friday morning. Republicans had the first crack at the latest war funding bill, as......
Likudniks work to undermine Annapolis
WASHINGTON (IPS) Despite near-universal skepticism about the prospects for launching a serious, new Middle East peace process at next week's Israeli-Palestinian summit in Annapolis, a familiar clutch of neo-conservative hawks close to the Likud Party leader, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, isn't taking any chances....
Divided Lebanon has no president
November 24th, 20070 Country unable to elect a president, vote delayed for another week Beirut Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on Friday handed over the task of securing law and order in Lebanon to the country's army commander until a political consensus is reached and a new president is elected, after efforts to again chose his...
UN: Israel’s siege of Gaza breeds extremism and human suffering
November 23rd, 20070 Jerusalem A senior United Nations official has issued an unprecedented appeal to British MPs to use their influence to try to alleviate the impact of "indiscriminate" and "illegal" Israeli sanctions in Gaza which display "profound inhumanity" and are "serving the agenda of extremists."In one of the strongest attacks on recent Israeli...Dealing Syria out of rogue statehood
For decades Syria has played the role of a bad student at school, its leaders thinking that if you don't cause trouble, no one will pay attention to you. The Syrian regime meddled in Iraq, nurtured Palestinian militants opposed to peace with Israel and dominated its smaller neighbor, Lebanon. Syria's gambits in a tough part of the world......
The undeclared Palestinian civil war
The Palestinians have never been as divided and weak as they have been since this summer's infighting in Gaza. Their internal conflict is undermining international solidarity and distracting them from challenging the Israeli occupation. The Palestinian territories could explode at any moment. HAMAS accuses Fatah of conspiring against its...Will ‘armloads’ of U.S. cash buy tribal loyalty?
The U.S. policy of paying Sunni Arab sheikhs for their allegiance could be risky. TIKRIT Inside a stately guesthouse on the grounds of Saddam Hussein's palace in Tikrit on the banks of the Tigris, sheikh Sabah al-Hassani jokes that the initials "SH" of the former dictator etched on the walls are his. "I have a weakness for Cuban......
Presidential election tops international agenda
BEIRUT (AFP) U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned Lebanese leaders Friday that their country stood on the brink of an "abyss" if they failed to put their differences aside to elect a new president by a November 23 deadline. "If the responsibilities are not shouldered, there might be a move to the brink of an abyss," the U.N. chief said after...The Sunni in Iraq’s Shi’a leadership
Baghdad Tariq al-Hashemi says he cringes when he's described as Iraq's Sunni vice president. Mr. Hashemi, one of two vice presidents the other, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, is Shi'i says he is trying to reach out to all Iraqis. In September, he met for the first time with Iraq's most influential Shi'i cleric, the reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali......