Showdown Looming Over Israeli Settlements
JERUSALEM - A showdown over Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is looming between Israel and the United States barely a week after the encounter at the White House between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What's...
Monday: 9 Iraqis, 1 Syrian Killed; 8 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 7:10 p.m. EDT, May 24, 2009
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) offered to end a decades long conflict with Turkey if the Turks are willing to negotiate a settlement. At least nine Iraqis were killed, along with a Syrian fighter, and another eight were wounded in the latest attacks. Meanwhile, Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Iyad al-Samarraie said that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has the right to reshuffle or select cabinet ministers in order to implement government programs. Political pressure had prevented Maliki from doing so previously.
read moreObama’s Democratic Authoritarianism
He's not closing Guantanamo, he's continuing the "preventive detention" policy of the Bush administration under a new rubric ("prolonged detention"), he's on board with military commissions ("reformed," of course) and the denial of habeas...
Dueling Speeches, but Not Much Difference
Sunday: 24 Iraqis Killed, 39 Wounded
Updated at 11:40 p.m. EDT, May 24, 2009
At least 24 Iraqis were killed and 39 were wounded, mostly in Mosul where a suicide bomber stuck in the al-Duwasa neighborhood. Casualty numbers could rise, as American figures have not yet been reported for this incident. No other Coalition attacks were reported.
read moreSaturday: 1 US Soldier, 2 Americans, 13 Iraqis Killed; 11 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 8:20 p.m. EDT, May 23, 2009
At least 13 Iraqis were killed and 11 more were wounded in light attacks. One U.S. soldier was killed in a non-combat incident in Baghdad province as well. Also, two American contractors were killed in separate attacks in the Green Zone. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed Sunni ex-detainees for the recent increase in violence and is now rejecting an amnesty law that has allowed thousands of innocent Iraqis to leave jail.
read moreCheney: Support for Israel Feeds Terrorism
If we hear in the coming days that former vice president Dick Cheney has fired one of his speechwriters – or perhaps grounded Lynne or Liz – it will be clear why. Oozing out of the sleazy speech he gave Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute was an inadvertent...
