Month: October 2004

JERUSALEM – A historic vote in Israel‘s parliament to withdraw from Gaza has been overshadowed by serious concern over the health of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. Just days after the Israeli press unanimously described the highly contested vote in parliament in favor of a withdrawal from Gaza as "historic," the event has been eclipsed … Continue reading “‘What After Arafat?’”

Is there really much difference between John Kerry and George Bush when it comes to Iraq? George Bush’s remark that Kerry’s Iraq plan is the same as his own has some basis in truth, since neither Kerry nor Bush is willing to do the one thing that’s necessary to end the armed insurgency in Iraq: … Continue reading “A Tale of Two Elections”

BANGKOK – The Thai government’s credibility among the country’s Muslim minority has taken a nosedive thanks to the cavalier approach Bangkok has adopted in explaining the deaths of 78 men and boys while in military custody following a protest early this week in the southern province of Narathiwat. Outraged Muslim leaders have dismissed the defiant … Continue reading “Thai Muslims Doubt Official Version of Killings”

Much has been written in support of and against Sharon’s planned disengagement from the Gaza Strip, to include the dismantling of the settlements in the Gaza Strip, isolated settlements in the northern part of the West Bank, and the redeployment of the Israeli army within the Gaza Strip; yet one crucially important aspect has been … Continue reading “Israel’s Settlers Cut Down to Size”

An FBI memorandum released Oct. 15 demonstrates a lack of consistency regarding agents’ knowledge of permitted interrogation techniques used at Abu Ghraib prison. Several Bureau special agents and translators told inspectors during an internal inquiry in May that, while visiting the infamous facility between October and December 2003, they saw detainees hooded or naked and … Continue reading “FBI Glossed Over Abu Ghraib Abuses”

Scott Horton interviews journalist James Bovard, author of The Bush Betrayal, on life in the welfare-warfare state. Interview conducted on Oct. 16, 2004. Download MP3 Listen to Streaming Audio James Bovard has written for The Wall Street Journal, Playboy, the American Spectator, The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, The New Republic, The Washington Post and … Continue reading “The Bush Betrayal”

Groups representing Arab and Muslim-Americans are confused by what appear to be conflicting signals from the Bush administration – which claims to be making serious efforts to "build bridges" to these constituencies, but simultaneously continues to practice discrimination and harassment. They note the following: – In Washington, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller … Continue reading “Arabs, Muslims Puzzled by Govt ‘Outreach’”

The Bush administration heralds Indonesia as the world’s largest Muslim democracy and a crucial ally in the war on terrorism. Since 9/11 it has pushed Congress to allow it to bolster the Indonesian military with weapons and military training. For many years, the United States was Indonesia’s largest weapons source, equipping the country with everything … Continue reading “Ignoring Indonesian Repression for the War on Terror”

WASHINGTON – The United States has failed to meaningfully change its policies on the treatment of prisoners, opening the door to repeats of abuses like those at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and making an independent probe into torture by the U.S. military essential, says a leading human rights group. In a 200-page report released Wednesday, … Continue reading “Amnesty: No Change in US Torture Policy”

JERUSALEM – Child abuse in Israel has gone up five-fold compared to the time before the Intifada, a new report says. Israeli society is paying a heavy price for the flare-up in the conflict with the Palestinians over the last four years, it emerged from the annual report of the country’s Association for the Protection … Continue reading “Child Abuse ‘Rises with Intifada’”