Month: August 2006

With a truce in Lebanon shakily in place but challenged by small incidents almost every day, it’s just another tenuous week in the Middle East. The 33-day war may be provisionally over, but it probably has not ended – and the scale of the destruction in Lebanon should not be forgotten. With that in mind, … Continue reading “Beirut Diary”

Since the start of the current Middle East crisis, analysts have been trying to figure out who is responsible for this mess. Who made the crucial decisions that triggered the fighting between the Israeli military and the Hezbollah guerrillas, which has resulted in death of many Israeli and Lebanese civilians and the destruction of villages … Continue reading “And the Loser Is… Everyone”

Even before Iran gave its formal counteroffer to ambassadors of the P5+1 countries (the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China) Tuesday, the George W. Bush administration had already begun the process of organizing sanctions against Iran. Washington had already held a conference call on sanctions Sunday with French, German, and British officials, the Washington … Continue reading “Bush Ensured Iran Offer
Would Be Rejected”

Empire, Kosovo, and “Natural Albania” Between the relative calm of the summer vacation season and the turbulent events in Lebanon over the past month, the Balkans have been on the periphery of news lately. Just because something isn’t seen on CNN, however, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. After over seven years of UN/NATO occupation, the … Continue reading “Wishful Thinking”

The other day on CNN’s Reliable Sources, Washington Post reporter Tom Ricks revealed the true face of the utter ruthlessness that underlies Israel’s actions on the ground in the Middle East: Howard Kurtz: “And joining us now here [in] Washington [is] Anne Compton who covers the White House for ABC News, and Thomas Ricks, Pentagon … Continue reading “Israel’s ‘Moral High Ground’”

Upon arrival in Beirut in early August 2006, Michael Birmingham met Abu Mustafa. Michael is an Irish citizen who has worked with Voices campaigns for several years. Abu Mustafa is a kindly Lebanese cab driver. Having fled his home in the Dahiya neighborhood, which was being heavily bombed, Abu Mustafa was living in his car. … Continue reading “A Proportionate Response”

Although this weekend’s Israeli commando raid into Lebanon was billed by the Israeli government as an effort to prevent the rearming of Hezbollah, many suspect it was designed to grab a high-level Hezbollah leader to exchange for the Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah. Why then, wasn’t this type of raid Israel’s initial response to the … Continue reading “The Cult of the Offensive”

U.S. President George W. Bush has fancied himself playing Gary Cooper’s role in High Noon. Yep, Sheriff W. and his loyal deputy Tony B. ride into Mideastville, where they confront a revenge-seeking killer by the name of Saddam and his Islamofascist gang, while cowardly lawmen Jacques C. and Gerhard S. hide in the Old Europe … Continue reading “Playing Cowboy – and Falling Off the Horse”

According to a poll conducted a week after the arrest of 24 Brits of Pakistani origin suspected of being involved in an alleged plot to blow up American airliners in-flight, by a margin of more than five to one the Brits want Prime Minister Tony Blair to "split" with President George Bush over his conduct … Continue reading “The Brits Want to Split”

The single most basic fallacy underlying the present American catastrophe in Iraq is the belief that the U.S. can somehow solve that country’s problems, however extreme and intractable they may seem; that, in short, we are part of the solution in Iraq, not part of the problem. Once you’re thinking that way, it’s always a … Continue reading “Making Sense of Our Iraq Disaster”