If the Palestinian application for United Nations full membership actually takes place Friday and the United States uses its Security Council veto to stop the process, it will be the final step in a predictable and preventable tragedy playing out. Some are arguing that Washington might actually abstain, thereby gaining considerable favorable sentiment from much …
Continue reading “Biggest Losers in Palestine Veto? The American People”
“Now we can see [success in Vietnam] clearly, like the light at the end of a tunnel.” – Gen. Henri Navarre, commander French forces in Vietnam, May 20, 1953 “A new phase is starting … we have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view … there is a light at …
Continue reading “Light at End of Afghan Tunnel Recedes”
New violence left 11 Iraqis dead and 10 more wounded. Separately, a mass grave yielded 27 decomposed bodies. Meanwhile, Turkey renewed its air strikes against rebels in northern Iraq, and Iran declared victory in its own operations on a related group of Kurdish rebels.
U.S. Special Operations Forces have been increasingly aiming their nighttime raids, which have been the primary cause of Afghan anger at the U.S. military presence, at civilian noncombatants in order to exploit their possible intelligence value, according to a new study published by the Open Society Foundation and the Liaison Office. The study provides new …
Continue reading “Study: US Night Raids Aimed at Afghan Civilians”
Surprisingly, as the U.S. threatens to veto in the U.N. Security Council a resolution for Palestinian statehood, President Barack Obama faces plunging poll numbers with Jewish Americans. Obama’s sinking poll numbers in the Jewish community (dropping from 80 percent in 2008 to 60 percent in July 2011), usually an extremely loyal bedrock of support for …
Continue reading “Unconditional Support for Israel Encourages Bad Behavior”
If Rick Perry makes it to the White House, what will American foreign policy in the Middle East look like? We got a clear indication of that, recently, when he stated: “As a Christian I have a clear directive to support Israel, from my perspective its pretty easy both as an American and a Christian. …
Continue reading “Perry’s Faith-Based Foreign Policy Directive”
New violence left at least 12 Iraqis dead and 28 more wounded. The worst attack occurred in Anbar province where, coincidentally, four Nukheib massacre suspects were finally released. Also, U.S. Admiral Mike Mullen said that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq should fall to 30,000 this month, a drop of about 15,000 troops.
Lal Mohammed says his 9-year-old son was stabbed and shot and left to die in a raid on his home. Another Afghan villager reported that a 17-year-old boy had been detained, beaten, and had nails driven into his feet. His injuries were so bad that his family packed up and left the country to get …
Continue reading “Community Policing, Afghan-Style”
At least two Iraqis were killed and nine more were wounded in new violence. One incident involved members of the Yazidi sect, who are threatening to demonstrate over it tomorrow. Meanwhile, Iran claims its bid to defeat P.J.A.K. rebels is almost complete.
The decision by the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to claim a seat in the United Nations is a last ditch effort by one side of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to resolve the region’s eternal crisis peacefully. The statement largely drafted by Tony Blair on behalf of the “Quartet,” which essentially gave the Israelis everything they …
Continue reading “A Palestinian State?” 
