Al-Sharq al-Awsat says that it has gotten hold of an American intelligence document detailing undue Iranian influence in Iraq and in the Iraqi elections. The document says that Ahmad Chalabi and Ali al-Lami, influential members of the ‘Jusice and Accountability Committee’ in charge of purging Baathists from public life, met repeatedly with Iranian officials last […]
3 Bombings in Baquba kill 16; Arrest Warrant for Sadr
On Wednesday morning, three suicide bombers attacked the HQ of the provincial government, a police station, and a hospital in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province east of Baghdad, killing at least 16 persons and wounding over 40. (The report of the explosion at the government building comes via Aljazeera Arabic.) The attack was probably […]
Al-Maliki in BBC Interview: No need for US Combat Troops after Election, Would require renegotiating SOFA
The public affairs office of the US Embassy in London put out this Spot Report via its Media Outreach Center -London Hub March 2, 2010. The interview with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, now campaigning for his political survival, challenges the assertion of US military commander Ray Odierno that US combat troops could or would […]
Tensions between Kurds and Arabs in Northern Iraq; US Killing sparks protest in Diyala; Al-Maliki will Seek Coalition Partners in Parliament
Political violence spiked in Iraq during February ahead of the March 7 elections, with an 80% increase in deaths and casualties over January of this year. Some 352 civilians, policemen and troops were killed, along with about 50 anti-government guerrillas. Over 600 persons were wounded. Tensions between the Kurdistan leadership and the governor of nearby […]
Al-Khalil/ Hebron and Jerusalem Protests Point to the Dangers of Nationalizing Sacred Space
Abraham has been an important figure for theologians, philosophers, chroniclers and religious poets and lyricists among Jews, Christians and Muslims. All three monotheistic religions honor him and claim him as a patriarch or in Islam’s case as a prophet of the one God. All tell the story of his willingness to sacrifice his son for […]
Major Iraqi Parties Anxious over Possible Massive Ballot Fraud
Iraqis go to the voting booth a week from today, on Sunday, March 7, to elect the second full-term parliament (4 years) since the fall of the one-party Baath regime in 2003. Given the turmoil surrounding last summer’s elections in Iran and Afghanistan, with massive vote fraud and stolen elections being alleged in both, many […]
Advice to Climate Scientists on how to Avoid being Swift-boated and how to become Public Intellectuals
Climate Scientists continue to see persuasive evidence of global warming and climate change when they speak at academic conferences, even though, as Andrew Sullivan rightly put it, the science is being ‘swift-boated before our eyes.’ (See also Bill McKibben at Tomdispatch.com on Climate Change’s OJ Simpson moment). This article at mongabay.com includes some hand-wringing from […]
Ahmadinejad once again fails to call for the annihilation of Israel, despite what you heard on CNN
I saw Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN Friday afternoon. Oren said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had called for the annihilation of Israel, and was therefore speaking of genocide. It is dreary to see this constant drumbeat of dishonest propaganda. Whatever one thinks of Ahmadinejad or the Iranian regime, one […]
Taliban Hit 5 Star Hotel, Indian Hostels in Downtown Kabul; 18 Dead, 32 Wounded; Indians Targeted
The Afghan capital was struck by three suicide bombings early Friday morning, beginning at 6:30 am local time. Radio Azadi reports that there were five attackers, who struck in the area near the entrance of the Hotel Safi Landmark. The first bomb damaged the hotel. Two of these bombings, Aljazeera Arabic says, targeted guest houses […]
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