Month: July 2008

A new poll suggests that US Jews hold views about the Middle East that are considerably more dovish than frequently acknowledged, with large majorities favoring diplomacy with Iran, supporting a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine, and advocating US withdrawal from Iraq. US Jews also favor Barack Obama over John McCain by a wide margin in the … Continue reading “Doves Outnumber Hawks in Jewish Community”

This past May, voters in Serbia were subjected to a barrage of propaganda about how the "democratic reformers" would lead the country into a better, prosperous future, while the "nationalists" would somehow plunge it back into the "horrors of the 1990s." In yet another twist of Balkans irony, the "reformers" eventually ended up in a … Continue reading “The More Things Change…”

National Public Radio has been spending much news time on Darfur in Western Sudan where a great deal of human suffering and death are occurring. The military conflict has been brought on in part by climate change, according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Drought is forcing nomads in search of water into areas occupied … Continue reading “Only Little War Criminals Get Punished”

FALLUJAH – Security has collapsed again in Fallujah, despite US military claims. Local militias supported by US forces claim to have "cleansed" the city, 70 km to the west of Baghdad, of all insurgency. But the sudden resignation of the city’s chief of police, Colonel Fayssal al-Zoba’i, has appeared as one recent sign of growing … Continue reading “Unrest Surfaces in Fallujah Again”

You say you expected more rhetoric than reality from Senators Obama and McCain in their speeches about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, that’s certainly what you got. What I find nonetheless amazing is how they, and the pundits, have taken such little notice of the dramatic change in the political landscape occasioned by Iraqi … Continue reading “Maliki’s ‘Timetable’ Shakes Iraq Debate”

What will it take to get our troops out of Iraq? The roughly 70 percent of Americans who are firmly against the war often ask this question. Those in power are reluctant to give conditions, but when they do and those conditions are met, the goal post is quietly moved. Voters were promised, passionately and … Continue reading “Getting Out of Iraq”

Updated at 7:05 p.m. EDT, July 16, 2008Mosul continues to suffer excessive violence compared to other regions. Most of today’s reported casualites were from the northern city. Overall, 29 Iraqis were killed and 126 more were injured. Also, a U.S. Marine was killed in combat in Anbar province. Meanwhile, the U.S. troop “surge” has officially … Continue reading “Wednesday: 1 US Soldier, 29 Iraqis Killed; 126 Iraqis Wounded”

As one who is most consistently opposed to war and violence, I join my colleagues in condemning the brutal and unjustified attack on a Jewish community center in Argentina 14 years ago. I do not support this resolution, however, as it misuses a tragedy 14 years ago in a foreign country to push for U.S. … Continue reading “Using One Tragedy to
Create Another”

As the Abu Ghraib scandal demonstrates, a photo is worth a thousand words – even if, as Errol Morris’ newly released documentary Standard Operating Procedure demonstrates, those words are sometimes what the viewer wishes to see, rather than what actually happened. There is, therefore, enormous excitement in the media about the first ever release of … Continue reading “Omar Khadr’s Canadian Interrogation at Guantánamo”

JERUSALEM – Shopping malls. Schools. Medical centers. Charities. Orphanages. Soup kitchens. These are the latest targets in the campaign the Israeli military is waging against Hamas in the West Bank. Israeli military officials have identified Hamas’ civilian infrastructure in the West Bank as a major source of the Islamic group’s popularity, and have begun raiding … Continue reading “Israel Targets Hamas Philanthropy”