Month: February 2009

The strong showing by right-wing parties in Israel’s elections is likely to create new obstacles to U.S. President Barack Obama’s hopes for achieving a swift and substantial progress, if not a breakthrough, in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to most experts here. While the precise composition of the government that will emerge … Continue reading “Rightward Shift in Israeli Polls Creates New Headaches”

BAGHDAD – There is less water now in the Tigris, and it is less clean. The river has fewer fish, and rising fuel and other costs mean they are more costly to catch. It’s not, as Hamza Majit finds, a good time to be a fisher. "It’s getting worse everyday," Majit told IPS on board … Continue reading “The Tigris Too Tells the Story”

Already it’s begun – the endless non-departure from Iraq. The Obama plan, restated many times during the presidential campaign, involved a 16-month schedule for withdrawing not all U.S. forces, but only U.S. "combat troops." Now, his (and, of course, George W. Bush’s) generals are showing visible evidence of dragging their combat boots in the sand … Continue reading “Iraq’s ‘Teflon Don’”

Erik Fosse, a Norwegian cardiologist, worked in Gaza hospitals during the recent war. "It was as if they had stepped on a mine," he says of certain Palestinian patients he treated. "But there was no shrapnel in the wound. Some had lost their legs. It looked as though they had been sliced off. I have … Continue reading “Gaza: Death’s Laboratory”

President Obama’s campaign promise to get us out of Iraq in sixteen months gave him the electoral heft to oust "frontrunner" Hillary and catapulted him into the White House. Yet, now that the public’s attention is fixed on our swiftly deteriorating economic plight, that promise is being quietly – but definitely – broken. I’ve been … Continue reading “Out of Iraq?”

Violence against Arbaeen pilgrims not only continued today, but a bomber was able to plant explosives less than 1 km from an important shrine in Karbala. This attack and others across Iraq left at least 22 Iraqis dead and another 53 wounded. A U.S. soldier died from non-combat causes in Baghdad on Sunday. Meanwhile, amidst … Continue reading “Thursday: 1 US Soldier, 22 Iraqis Killed; 53 Iraqis Wounded”

JERUSALEM – Israel’s foreign minister Tzipi Livni clung precariously to a narrow lead over her right-wing rival Benjamin Netanyahu as vote counting neared conclusion from Israel’s Tuesday general election. Both would-be prime ministers continue to claim victory: "I won," read the headline of the country’s biggest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronot, alongside the photos of the two. … Continue reading “Wary Netanyahu in Driving Seat”

Central Asia is shaping up to be an early test of Barack Obama’s foreign policy, as the increased demands of the war in Afghanistan force his administration to decide how far to accommodate or to pressure the region’s autocratic governments. These questions have become more pressing in recent weeks, with news of the closing of … Continue reading “Afghanistan Pressures Beget Dubious Alliances”

Two years after the administration of President George W. Bush backed Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia, President Barack Obama is being urged to pursue a much more flexible policy toward the East African nation than his predecessor and let Somalis, including Islamist leaders who were targeted by the invasion, sort things out for themselves. Recent events … Continue reading “US Advised to Back Somalia Reconciliation Efforts”

With the new U.S. administration comfortably situated and setting political goals and policies, looming Iranian elections cast a long shadow over one of its thorniest issues: how to deal with the Islamic Republic. "We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist," U.S. President Barack Obama told adversaries of the U.S. … Continue reading “Hoping for a Spontaneous Regime Change in Iran”