Month: August 2006

BANGKOK – Their identities may still be a mystery, but suspected Malay-Muslim militants in southern Thailand are removing any doubts about what they have in mind when they come calling. They want to prove that the Thai government is losing control of that troubled region, say analysts. Tuesday night saw the latest of well-coordinated bombing … Continue reading “Thailand’s Malay-Muslim Insurgency Gaining Ground”

As Israel’s bombing of Lebanon continues unabated into its fourth consecutive week, the United States says it stands ready to provide food, medicine, and humanitarian assistance to the thousands of internally displaced Lebanese caught in the crossfire. But Washington has also decided to accelerate the supply of lethal weapons to Israel – "perhaps intended to … Continue reading “US to Supply Food With One Hand, Arms With Other”

While the war in the Levant continues apace, Americans ought to focus for a moment on the near-pathetic ignorance of the bipartisan governing elite that directs their nation’s foreign policy. This vacuity was again highlighted last week by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Democratic Party chief Howard Dean. Sen. Schumer boycotted Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s … Continue reading “Is There a Role for Reality in US Foreign Policy?”

co·nun·drum: A paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma A conundrum is exactly what the United States finds itself in as a result of Israel’s incursion into Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and firing Katyusha rockets into Haifa. On the one hand, U.S. security – defined as defense of the homeland, … Continue reading “The Lebanon Conundrum”

Pressure to Surrender Kosovo Grows The ongoing farcical "talks" between Serbia and the rebel Albanians from Kosovo reached the heights of absurdity last Monday, when the Serbian president and prime minister were brought to the same table as the "president" and "prime minister" of their occupied province. Making the "law and order" PM Vojislav Kostunica … Continue reading “Serbia’s Choices”

Uncertain about the condition of longtime U.S. nemesis Cuban President Fidel Castro, the administration of President George W. Bush said Tuesday it would not alter its policy toward the Caribbean nation with which it has had no regular diplomatic communications for most of the past six years. “There are no plans to reach out,” said … Continue reading “Castro’s Brother at the Helm, but No Change in US Policy for Now”

TYRE, Lebanon – Israeli warplanes have attacked the Lebanese Red Cross repeatedly, members of the medical aid group say. "The night of July 23, we were called to rescue a family whose home was bombed," Kassem Shaulan, a 28-year-old medic with the Lebanese Red Cross in Tyre told IPS. "Just as I finished loading the … Continue reading “Lebanese Red Cross Repeatedly Targeted”

QANA, Lebanon – Red Cross workers and residents of Qana, where Israeli bombing killed at least 60 civilians, have told IPS that no Hezbollah rockets were launched from the city before the Israeli air strike. The Israeli military has said it bombed the building in which several people had taken shelter, more than half of … Continue reading “‘No Hezbollah Rockets Fired From Qana’”

But the world desperately needs an “E” for EXIT from the march of folly toward a wider Middle East war that is increasingly likely to result from plural U.S. foreign policy fiascos – in Iraq, Israel, and Lebanon, for starters; in Syria and Iran for the next stage. Fortunately, Webster’s does allow the insertion of … Continue reading “Sadly, the Plural of ‘Fiasco’ Requires No ‘E’”

The Qana massacre was the occasion for a full-court propaganda campaign by Israel’s amen corner, and one has to say they rose to the occasion like real pros. First, of course, they expressed remorse – then, naturally enough, they blamed it all on… Hezbollah. How so? Well, you see, the Israelis bombed a building filled … Continue reading “Israel and ‘Moral Equivalence’”