Month: May 2011

Pakistan Playing the China Card

In the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, outrage against Pakistan has become commonplace in Washington, as exasperation grows, pressure builds, and the threats multiply.  Members of Congress from both parties have urged major cuts in the third largest U.S. aid program, which has gone mainly to the Pakistani military.  (Republican Congressman Ted … Continue reading “Pakistan Playing the China Card”

Egypt-Gaza Border Remains Closed to Trade

Despite the Egyptian revolution, which ousted Israeli ally and former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and despite Israel’s claim to have eased the blockade on Gaza following last year’s bloody clashes on the ill-fated Mavi Marmara flotilla, the coastal territory’s economy remains crippled thanks to both countries. International attention will once again focus on the siege … Continue reading “Egypt-Gaza Border Remains Closed to Trade”

Iran: Khatami Calls for National Reconciliation

Amid intensified factional fighting among conservatives who dominate the presidency, the parliament, and the office of the Islamic Republic’s Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an appeal for national reconciliation and forgiveness by a former reformist president is making a major splash in Iran’s political discourse. The May 18 speech of Mohammad Khatami to a group of … Continue reading “Iran: Khatami Calls for National Reconciliation”

Netanyahu Conditions Denounced as ‘War’ by Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out what he called his vision for peace with the Palestinians Tuesday, but listed a set of conditions the Palestinians immediately called "a declaration of war." Speaking before a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress that capped five days of speeches by Netanyahu and President Barack Obama on the … Continue reading “Netanyahu Conditions Denounced as ‘War’ by Palestinians”

‘Bibi’ Votes Republican

Not since Nikita Khrushchev berated Dwight Eisenhower over Gary Powers’ U-2 spy flight over Russia only weeks earlier has an American president been subjected to a dressing down like the one Barack Obama received from Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. With this crucial difference. Khrushchev ranted behind closed doors and, when Ike refused to apologize, blew … Continue reading “‘Bibi’ Votes Republican”

The Absurd US Stance on Israel’s Nukes: A Video Sampling of Denial

On Tuesday, at a rare joint session of Congress for a foreign leader, members of Congress will clap hands raw for Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel—a nation many members of Congress are incapable of speaking simple truths about. The upshot of the professional wrestling “fight” between Obama and Netanyahu the last several days … Continue reading “The Absurd US Stance on Israel’s Nukes: A Video Sampling of Denial”

Bringing It All Back Home

Republican members of Congress—nigh lockstep supporters of the Wall Street bailout, the Iraq War, and the PATRIOT Act when their party controlled the executive branch—profess to have rediscovered the Constitution during the first two years of the Age of Obama. Those of us who were not swept away by the Francophobia of 2003 might say … Continue reading “Bringing It All Back Home”