WASHINGTON – In what may be the first concrete example of the effects of the Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal in Iraq, lawyers and human rights groups in Egypt, a major U.S. ally in the Middle East, say that local police are increasingly resorting to new torture tactics similar to those used by U.S. soldiers …
Continue reading “Egyptian Police Learn From Abu Ghraib”
LAHORE – Protests against Pakistan’s acquisition of vast tracts of land for mega military projects in its western Balochistan province are snowballing, with armed tribesmen blowing up an airport in the gas-rich region of Sui last week, and local nationalist parties threatening political action on August 1. The tribesmen battled security forces in Balochistan, which …
Continue reading “Military Steals Peasants’ Land – Could Pakistan Face Another Secession?”
While more than 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq continue trying to impose security in advance of the June 30 handover of limited sovereignty to the new Iraqi administration, the security situation in nearby Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. With national elections just three months away, observers here say that tribal warlords, as well as resurgent Taliban …
Continue reading “Afghan Elections Threatened by Lack of Security”
From Dahr’s weblog The floor of my hotel rumbled as yet another bomb detonated in central Baghdad at 8:55 a.m. today. My colleague down the hall showed up and asked, “Did you feel that?” I responded, “Yeah, Abu Talat is scheduled to show at nine so we can go to work … get your stuff.” …
Continue reading “‘Bush Is a Great Actor’”
The willingness of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to show greater deference to the United Nations and international law will be severely tested this week as it tries to persuade the Security Council to extend its exemption of U.S. troops serving in peacekeeping operations from the jurisdiction the new International Criminal Court …
Continue reading “Will the World Give US War Crimes Immunity?”
BAGHDAD – The authorization was in writing. Brigadier-General Amer Ali, the second most senior officer of the Iraqi Police had given IPS permission to interview officers inside the Asha’ab police station in Baghdad. When I showed up at the police station, U.S. military police officer Schneider controlling the checkpoint at the front gate briefly glanced …
Continue reading “A Wreck Will Be Hard to Drive”
Over the coming months, few Middle Eastern issues are likely to become more pressing than Iran’s nuclear program. Admitting only to the pursuit of civilian energy, the Iranians are now preparing to complete a heavy water reactor at Arak from which the fissile material for a warhead could be extracted, threatening to enrich uranium in …
Continue reading “Dealing with Iran’s Nuclear Challenge”
Two weeks ago, the international community made a shocking declaration. Giving in to a demand by George Bush, the “Quartet” accepted the “Revised Disengagement Plan” of Ariel Sharon. This means that the United Nations, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States confirmed this document. I wonder if any one of the honorable …
Continue reading “Israel’s Intelligence Scandal”
http://www.independent.org/tii/antiwar/e040622.html
Memo To: Tim Russert, Meet the Press From: Jude Wanniski Re: Your Powell interview It has been a week since I watched you interview Secretary of State Colin Powell on Meet the Press June 13, but I did want to calm down before I wrote some complaints in this space. I think you know I …
Continue reading “Colin Powell’s Vanishing Credibility” 
