The plot, so unexpectedly, thickened in Iraq on a Sunday like no other. The two main actors US President George W. Bush, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki took to the stage to perform another well-rehearsed press conference. The scripts were ever...
Somalia: What the Media
Failed to Report
The people of Somalia are enduring yet another round of suffering as Ethiopian forces wreak havoc in the capital, Mogadishu. Apparently in response to an attack on one of its units and the dragging of a soldier's mutilated body through the city's streets, an Ethiopian...
The Real Terror Plot
And yet another menacing terror plot was thwarted August 10, with the arrest of 24 suspects, all British Muslims. It was an ominous conspiracy aimed at committing "mass murder" on an "unimaginable" scale, British authorities quickly concluded. US authorities hastily...
Extraordinary Precision
A Sky News newscaster, interviewing British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Sunday July 30, demanded an answer to this paraphrased question: if indeed Israel had precise intelligence that a Hezbollah operative was present in the village of Qana, in southern...
Pentagon Misinformation the Only Sure Thing in This War
To their credit, top Pentagon officials cautioned journalists and the public, since the Iraq war's early days, that the dissemination of misinformation would be a vital weapon in their war strategy. Needless to say, they have certainly held true to their word. But...
Redefining the Middle East
It may be convenient to perceive the Middle East as a politically charged, fractious region, rife with conflicts and disputes, void of many prospects, save those leading to even further uncertainty and turmoil. While history is indeed rich with instances that would...
Iran vs. US: Nuclear Standoff or Realpolitik?
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice couldn't possibly have been more accurate when she accused Iran of "playing games" with the international community. Rice was specifically referring to an announcement made April 30, by deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy...
Hamas Victory Has Changed Everything
There is a degree of surrealism in all of this. Hamas has presented its choice for prime minister to President Mahmoud Abbas, as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine says it has agreed in principle to join a Hamas-led government. In the Arab world, such...
Exalting Sharon: A Dire Case of Collective Amnesia
The mainstream medias lionizing and exalting of the fatally ill Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon could only be compared to that of great men and women of past years. The hundreds of endearing commentaries, venerating news reports and glorifying television...
Israel’s Successful Use of the Art of Realpolitik
Many lessons can be drawn from the observation of Israeli dominion over the Palestinians in the past fifty-five years, most notably the audacious mandate of institutionalized violence. Even more alarming than the crimes themselves is the fact that even after blatantly...