Month: January 2009

CAIRO – Despite declarations of Arab unity at a recent economic summit, Egyptian commentators say that fundamental differences between rival Arab camps – especially over the issue of Palestine – are far from over. "The deep divisions currently plaguing the Arab world cannot be solved over the course of an official state luncheon," Mohamed Abu … Continue reading “Arab Rivalries Evident at Economic Summit”

International human rights groups have expressed mixed reactions to the European Union’s lukewarm pledge to accept some detainees from U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay once the facility closes. After some prodding, European leaders said they are willing to accept detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay prison as long as the U.S. shows that they pose … Continue reading “Few Welcome Mats for Guantanamo Detainees”

I was having brunch with my good friend Michael Vlahos (who, by the way, has a new book, Fighting Identity: Sacred War and World Change, that I recommend reading), and, inevitably, the conversation touched on movies. He and I both share a love of movies and feel that movies are more than just escapism and … Continue reading “Terror, Torture, and Empire
on the Silver Screen”

Updated at 8:10 p.m. EST, Jan. 27, 2009At least three Iraqis were killed and 10 more were wounded in the latest violence. A couple of the attacks appeared to be election-related, but an expected uptick in such attacks has not yet been seen. No Coalition deaths were reported. Separately, a British tribunal has ordered the … Continue reading “Tuesday: 3 Iraqis Killed, 10 Wounded”

While the decision of President Barack Obama to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay Cuba and end the practice of interrogation techniques that violate international law made front-page news throughout the United States, press reaction in the Middle East was far less extensive – but generally favorable. One reason is that, while in the U.S., … Continue reading “Muslim World Hails End of a Despised Symbol”

“Where there is no solution, there is no problem,” geostrategist James Burnham once wryly observed. Ex-Sen. George Mitchell, the latest U.S. negotiator to take up the Palestine portfolio, may discover what it was that Burnham meant. For Israel’s three-week war on Gaza, where Palestinians died at a rate of 100 to one to Israelis, appears … Continue reading “A Bibi-Barack Collision?”

In the latest issue of the Nation magazine, Jonathan Schell has written a piece, “Obama and the Return of the Real,” that should stand as a manifesto for sanity in our times. In it, he considers just how self-inflicted our present catastrophic situation, from economic meltdown to foreign policy disaster, actually is. Of Iraq, for … Continue reading “Five Questions for George Mitchell”

A few days after the inauguration, in a piece celebrating the arrival of the Obama administration, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote that the new president has clearly signaled: "No more crazy wars." I wish. Last week – and 44 years ago – there were many reasons to celebrate the inauguration of a president … Continue reading “44 Years Later, LBJ’s Ghost Hovers Over the 44th President”

"And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once … Continue reading “Meet the New Boss;
Same as the Old Boss”

Prosecute George W. Bush for Illegal Acts Mr. Eland, You have omitted, whether intentionally or not, one of the most significant impediments, from Obama’s point of view, to a full-scale investigation of Bushco war crimes and, in the Valerie Plame case, outright treason: The complicity of the Democrats. The illegal spying program was cleared with … Continue reading “Backtalk, January 27, 2009”