Month: November 2013

OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM , Nov. 7 2013 (IPS) – As Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and nuclear talks on Iran’s disputed nuclear program continue, a unique international conference, “A Middle East without Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)”, was held in Jerusalem. The topic is taboo because Israel maintains a veil of “studied ambiguity” on its alleged nuclear … Continue reading “Israel’s Nuclear Ambiguity Prodded”

Ever since Hassan Rouhani was elected Iran’s President on 14 June 2013 and promised that he will lead a government of "hope and prudence," the United States’ most important allies in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia and Israel – and their lobbies here have been doing their best to prevent any agreement between Iran … Continue reading “Saudi Arabia and Israel Try To Derail Nuclear Negotiations With Iran by Terrorism”

At least 24 Iraqis were killed and 84 more were wounded.

Is democracy just civil war, only with ballots instead of bullets? Like chess, or football, politics is a stand-in for war, designed to ritualize conflict so as to prevent bloodshed. As long as everyone abides by the rules, and accepts the restrictions of the system, that is all fine and good. Once someone decides to … Continue reading “Breaking the Game”

After a drone strike had reportedly killed Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud Nov. 1, the spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council declared that, if true, it would be “a serious loss” for the terrorist organization. That reaction accurately reflected the Central Intelligence Agency’s argument for the strike. But the back story of the episode … Continue reading “Drone Strike Served CIA Revenge, Blocked Pakistan’s Strategy”

The investigation into the death of Yaser Arafat took a giant step forward the other day when Al Jazeera posted the report of a team of Swiss doctors that pretty conclusively shows he was poisoned. The big news, however, is that this was no ordinary poisoning: the agent was polonium-210, the same radioactive substance that … Continue reading “Killing Arafat”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Back in the distant year 2003, my novel about a world I had inhabited for decades, The Last Days of Publishing, came out. In its last pages, three superannuated book editors huddled in a coffee shop in Manhattan, dreaming about DIY publishing. A decade later – for me – fiction has … Continue reading “The Cost of War American-Style”

Suicide bombers attacked two separate army bases in Iraq today. At least 58 Iraqis were killed and 82 more wounded. Police, Sahwa members, and civilians were also targeted.

Two weeks ago we learned that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been spying on the chancellor of Germany and on the president of the United States. Last week we learned that it has spied on the Pope and on the conclave that elected him last March. This week we learned that it also has … Continue reading “End Runs Around the Constitution”

Against a backdrop of cautious optimism, Iran and six world powers known as the P5+1 are reconvening here for talks Nov. 7-8 over Tehran’s nuclear program. “This government [of Hassan Rouhani] has a lot riding on the resolution of the nuclear issue because it made it a campaign promise and priority,” Farideh Farhi, an Iran … Continue reading “US, Iran Try to Narrow Gaps on Nuclear Deal”