Abe Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, would be unemployed if he couldn’t demonstrate that the world is awash in anti-Semitism. In his latest foray in self-justification, he was interviewed by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on June 12. Foxman states that 30% of Americans believe that Jews are more loyal to Israel than they are …
Continue reading “Abe Foxman in Search of Enemies”
P5 +1 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany) and Iran failed to secure a breakthrough at the third round of talks in Moscow last week. Meanwhile, Israel’s trigger finger remains itchy. On May 17 Michael Stott of Reuters reported: “I think they’ve gone into lockdown mode now,” the senior Western …
Continue reading “Heavy Grows Israel’s Finger on the Trigger”
In a statement on his website, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki criticized opposition parties for refusing to negotiate with him to solve the current political crisis and warned that the only resolution for this would be to dissolve parliament and call early elections. Parliament quickly issued a statement asserting itself as the highest authority above even Maliki.Meanwhile, the surge in violence that many blame on the political tensions continues. At least 21 Iraqis were killed and 25 more were wounded:
Israel’s daily Maariv reported yesterday that the long delayed war games between U.S. and Israeli forces will take place in October. It noted that some commentators are calling it a “dress rehearsal” for the aftermath of an Israeli attack on Iran. IDF sources quoted in the article called the exercises “of immense importance.” These will …
Continue reading “Obama’s October Surprise: Largest War Games in US-Israeli History”
The recent downing of a Turkish military aircraft by Syria is one indication that Turkey may now be more aggressively supporting the overthrow of the Assad regime. Although Turkey insists that its aircraft had accidentally entered Syrian airspace but was in international airspace when shot down, the Syrians claim that the aircraft was flying threateningly …
Continue reading “Stay Out of Syria”
We hear cries of “another Munich” with very little provocation: it’s the War Party’s pat response to any attempt to negotiate or otherwise engage our alleged enemies. It was a favorite neoconservative trope during the cold war era, one that greeted every diplomatic approach to the reds, from Nixon’s China trip to Reagan at Reykjavik. …
Continue reading “Policy and Analogy”
Russia’s unyielding support for Damascus throughout the 16 months of Syria’s escalating crisis has earned Moscow strong condemnation from Washington and other Western governments, but the reasons for Russia’s implacable position have never been fully explained by Moscow or its critics. Washington’s latest tension with Russia over Syria came last week in a face-to-face meeting …
Continue reading “What Russia Fears in Syrian Conflict”
In a traditional cowboy movie, we know what to do: we look for the guy wearing the white hat to be sure whom to cheer, and for the one wearing the black hat to know who deserves to die, preferably gruesomely, before the credits roll. If Hollywood learned early to play on these most tribal …
Continue reading “The Evil of Humanitarian Wars”
Responding to international condemnation and accusations of political censorship, the Iraqi government has backed off on plans to shutter 44 media outlets. Meanwhile, at least three Iraqis were killed and 19 more were wounded in new violence.
Information activist Julian Assange shocked his fans and gave more grist to his haters last week by announcing he would flee Swedish extradition orders to seek asylum from the South American nation of Ecuador. “I had expected him to face the allegations. I am as surprised as anyone by this,” Tweeted socialite and activist Jemima …
Continue reading “Assange and Correa: Marriage of Convenience?” 
