Pressure has been building on the UN Security Council to address the impact of the Gaza war on civilians in advance of its meeting Wednesday to discuss the Middle East. "The Security Council has a historic opportunity to uphold the principle of civilian protection and promote regional peace," said Steve Crawshaw, UN advocacy director at …
Continue reading “Security Council Urged to Take Up Gaza War”
RAMALLAH – An increasingly isolated and unpopular Palestinian Authority (PA) has again made a 180-degree turn in the Goldstone report fiasco as it tries to fend off mounting criticism from all and sundry, including its own organization. On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did a complete about-face over UN-appointed Justice Richard Goldstone’s controversial report on …
Continue reading “Rift Developing Between PA and Fatah”
Israel celebrated over the weekend its success at the United Nations in forcing the Palestinians to defer demands that the International Criminal Court investigate allegations of war crimes committed by Israel during its winter assault on the Gaza Strip. The about-turn, following vigorous lobbying from Israel and the United States, appears to have buried the …
Continue reading “How Israel Killed UN’s War Crimes Probe”
Is there no limit to the wiles of those dastardly anti-Semites? Now they have decided to slander the Jews with another blood libel. Not the old accusation of slaughtering Christian children to use their blood for baking Passover matzoth, as in the past, but of the mass slaughter of women and children in Gaza. And …
Continue reading “War Crimes and Denial”
Six months into Barack Obama’s presidency, the U.S. public’s display of antiwar sentiment has faded to barely a whisper. Despite Obama’s vow to withdraw all combat forces from Iraq before September 2011, he plans to leave up to 50,000 troops in "training and advisory" roles. Meanwhile, nearly 130,000 troops remain in that country and more …
Continue reading “Soldiers Who Just Say No”
As another August 6th approaches, let me tell you a little story about Hiroshima and me: As a young man, I was probably not completely atypical in having the Bomb (the 1950s was a great time for capitalizing what was important) on my brain, and not just while I was ducking under my school desk …
Continue reading “64 Years Too Late and
Not a Moment Too Soon”
Don’t turn the page on history, says Tom Engelhardt
Like the ghost of Hamlet’s father, the evil spirit of the Gaza War refuses to leave us in peace. This week it came back to disturb the tranquility of the chiefs of the state and the army. "Breaking the Silence," a group of courageous former combat soldiers, published a report comprising the testimonies of 30 …
Continue reading “Israeli Way of War Inherently Criminal”
The attack in Farah province killed as many as 140 Afghan civilians. The US military says errors were made, but insists the "targets" "posed legitimate threats to Afghan or American forces." The May 4 US bombing in Farah Province in Afghanistan was reportedly the single worst aerial attack by US forces since the 2001 invasion …
Continue reading “US Admits but Still Defends Afghan Civilian Slaughter”
What’s the difference between murder and massacre? The answer is Terry Halbardier, whose bravery and ingenuity as a 23-year-old Navy seaman spelled the difference between the murder of 34 of the USS Liberty crew and the intended massacre of all 294. The date was June 8, 1967; for the families of the 34 murdered and …
Continue reading “Navy Vet Who Foiled Israeli Attack Honored” 
