Here is David A. Westbrook’s guest column for Informed Comment It is in many ways a critique of the position Juan Cole has taken, that a limited air intervention in Libya was necessary and desirable. Westbrook argues that the intervention is flawed policy because half-hearted. IC is open to alternative points of view and seeks […]
Questions for Glenn Greenwald on Libya and the end of NATO
I have a set of questions for Glenn Greenwald. I ask them in the spirit of open and reasoned dialogue and am genuinely interested in his response. He is a hero of mine for his stances against torture and against government surveillance, and because he himself was suggested by security firms to the Bank of […]
Afghan Protests against Qur’an-Burning cause Deaths
Some 2000 protesters came out in Qandahar on Friday, meeting police fire that left 9 dead and 73 injured, when they protested the burning of the Qur’an, the Muslim holy book, by a crazed American pastor. In the northern city of Mazar-i Sharif, thousands demonstrated, and a mob attacked a UN outpost and killed 5, […]
7 Dead in Syria Unrest
Smaller than expected protests were held in Syria on Friday that were nevertheless met with deadly force that left between 7 and 10 dead. An alleged 5000 come out in the southern city of Deraa and some 2000 in the Duma suburb of Damascus. Al-Sharq al-Awsat says that for the first time there were also […]
Libya Rebels: Reject Violence, Terrorism, Give Rights to Minorities
The USG Open Source Center in conjunction with the BBC translates a broadcast of the Libyan liberation movement in Benghazi on Friday that emphasizes the rebels’ commitment to religious and ethnic tolerance: The Interim National Committee said in a communique, “The state we want rejects violence, terrorism and fanaticism, and respects human rights and the […]
Defections, US Withdrawal Point to Political Solution in Libya
The United States is ending its active involvement in the UN-authorized air raids to stop dictator Muammar Qaddafi from massacring dissidents. NATO says it is against arming the rebels or fomenting a civil war. The slow, cautious war of attrition from the air against Qaddafi’s forces that undertake attacks on civilians in rebel-held cities will […]
Torpey: Support the Libyans but Don’t Arm Them!
John Torpey writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Looking After the Neighborhood in Libya John Torpey After much mischief and brutal behavior, the police have finally moved against a vicious druglord and troublemaker in a notoriously rough neighborhood. The beleaguered residents of the neighborhood have been gamely fighting back of late, but they […]
Asad’s Speech Falls Flat in Syria
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad gave a major speech to the nation before his parliament on Wednesday, which largely disappointed the hopes of reformers . He declined to lift the state of emergency curbing basic civil and human rights that has been in place since 1963. He announced no specific reforms, but just talked about the […]
Answer to Glenn Greenwald
Answer for Glenn Greenwald, for whom I have enormous respect: Yes. Iraq was an illegal war, for no pressing national interest & with no UNSC authorization. The Libya intervention is legal and was necessary to prevent further massacres and to forestall a threat to democratization in Tunisia and Egypt, and if it succeeds in getting […]
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