Ehud Olmert raised his hands before his face, two fingertips almost touching: “We were that close!” He was talking about the negotiation he had conducted personally with Mahmoud Abbas, just before he himself was forced to vacate the prime minister’s office. That was the climax of the speech he made last week at a meeting …
Continue reading “Olmert’s Fingertips”
The first nationwide census in decades was delayed again due to political concerns in northern areas of Iraq. Meanwhile, at least 12 Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in the latest violence. Also, Ninevah provincial Gov. Atheel al-Nujaifi, a Sunni, warned that Iraqi’s fragile democracy could be derailed if Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is allowed to shoehorn his way into the premiership again.
Violence was very light ahead of Independence Day observations. At least two Iraqis were killed and four more were wounded in new attacks.
Following serious setbacks to the U.S. military’s war plan in Afghanistan, the Barack Obama administration has taken the first tentative step toward a negotiated settlement of the conflict by actively seeking to ascertain the willingness of the Taliban to enter into negotiations, according to a source familiar with the administration’s thinking about the issue. But …
Continue reading “US Still Taking a Hard Line on Peace Talks with Taliban”
Robert Koehler on breaking the law for justice
Updated at 8:22 p.m. EDT, Oct. 1, 2010
As of today, Iraq has spent 208 days without an elected government. It now stands as the country that has gone the longest between parliamentary elections and the formation of a new government. Meanwhile, at least eight Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in light prayer day attacks across the country.
