Australia — President Bush had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day at the Sydney Opera House. He’d only reached the third sentence of Friday’s speech to business leaders, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, when he committed his first gaffe. “Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit,” Bush said to Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Oops. That would be APEC,
It is difficult to identify all the pro-Israel PACs because they fly under the radar with innocuous sounding names such as Metro PAC, Badger PAC, Pacific PAC, etc. By Ron Forthofer, Ph.DSpecial to PalestineChronicle.com In March 2006, two respected academics, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt from the University of Chicago and Harvard University, respectively, wrote a paper that shook up the academic and foreign policy communities. These authors broke the
by Jim Lobe “This October 22-26, I am declaring Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week,” declared David Horowitz Tuesday in a friendly interview on www.FrontpageMag.com, one of Horowitz’s many front groups. “I will hold demonstrations and protests, teach-ins and sit-ins on more than 100 college campuses. Our theme will be the Oppression of Women in Islam and the threat posed by the Islamic crusade [????] against the West.” Horowitz, who, along with Frank
A pending court case could expose the administration’s torture regime. by James Bovard From the first days after the Abu Ghraib photos hit the airwaves, the torture scandal has epitomized the worst of the Bush presidency. A timid media, a cowardly opposition party, and a refusal by most Americans to face the grisly facts has contained the damage since 2004. But the web of lies and lawlessness is rapidly unraveling.
Neolibs and Neocons, United and InterchangeablePhilip Giraldi When it comes to foreign policy, particularly as it relates to the Middle East, there is not a whole lot of separation between the Democratic and Republican Parties. Republicans tend to be more bellicose in their statements, but Democrats have more than made up for that with their steely resolve to take the fight to the enemy wherever he might be. Both Republicans
Bush, Colombia & Narco-Politics By Andrés CalaAugust 8, 2007 George W. Bush’s strategy of countering Venezuela’s leftist president Hugo Chávez by strengthening ties to Colombia’s rightist government has been undercut by fresh evidence of high-level drug corruption and human rights violations implicating President Alvaro Uribe’s inner circle. These new allegations about Colombia’s narco-politics have tarnished Uribe’s reputation just as Bush has been showcasing the Harvard- and Oxford-educated politician as a
Where is the War on Terror heading?By Bita Ghaffari, Press TV, TehranRecent remarks by the US presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo have shed more light on the absolute chaos governing American politics. The Republican long shot said last week the best way to ward off a nuclear assault on American soil is to threaten to bomb Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. The brash assertion even sparked a reaction from
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation. Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning – for the first time – that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves
On Tony Karon’s excellent blog Mark Perry offers 10 reasons why Hamas, rather than Abu Mazen and his U.S. backers will prevail in the struggle for Palestinian hearts and minds. The Islamists today represent the Palestinian mainstream, while Fatah is broken from top to bottom. Even more importantly, Abbas is increasingly isolated within his own organization, most of whose grassroots and mid-level leadership want nothing to do with the U.S.
Stephen Koff Plain Dealer Washington Bureau Chief Dennis Kucinich, the colorful Cleveland congressman and longshot presidential candidate, has outraged Jewish leaders in Northeast Ohio by insisting that Iran’s anti-Zionist leader is not seeking to exterminate Israel. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is regarded by many in the western world as a menace with nuclear ambitions, who recently called for supporters of Israel to, among other things, “burn in the fire of the Islamic
by Philip Giraldi The naming of leading neoconservative Norman Podhoretz as one of Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani’s senior foreign policy advisers is disconcerting to those Americans who have hoped that the current disagreements with Iran might be resolved short of war. Giuliani—together with Mitt Romney and John McCain—has publicly advocated a military strike against Iran to keep it from acquiring nuclear weapons. He has also not ruled out the
by Eran Shayson for The Jerusalem Post A month after its takeover of Gaza, it seems Hamas has begun to translate its military achievements into political dividends, while Fatah is wallowing in the mud and becoming even less relevant. Although Hamas’s victory in Gaza was decisive, leaving the movement with no serious rivals in the area, the victory also held the potential to work against it. First, following the collapse
by Jim Lobe Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani announced his foreign-policy advisory team Tuesday, and it looks from the membership as if he’s bidding for the Likud vote (for which he will no doubt receive tough competition from John McCain, Fred Thompson, and, eventually perhaps, Newt Gingrich). Heading the team is Charles Hill, a retired career foreign service officer who worked as former Secretary of State George Shultz’s executive officer during
Ynet news reports that, according to Marwan Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, her husband might be released from jail as part of a deal that would include the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. If true, this is interesting as it was reported that Shalit was captured by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of the Palestinian governing party Hamas), the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic
Commentary by Tony Karon: Hamas represents the moderate current in Islamism that advocates for democracy and electoral politics. The alternative — which the West is effectively chosing – is violent nihilism First, it’s worth noting that the whole idea that Palestinian “moderates” are being bolstered in order that they will make peace with Israel is just a PR line, or a rather sick joke. The Israelis have left no doubt
By Rachel MorrisOn December 15, 2001, early in the morning on the last day of Ramadan, a reporter and a cameraman from Al Jazeera arrived at the Pakistani town of Charman on the Afghanistan border, on their way to cover the American military operation. The reporter, Abdelhaq Sadah, was replacing a colleague, but the cameraman, a Sudanese national named Sami al-Haj, had been on such an assignment before, and had
Islam’s emphasis on women’s family role never means it refuses their presence in other parts of society Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei told an elite assembly of Iranian women Wednesday that in Islam’s view, the responsibility of running the society and country falls on every individual men and women alike whereas the prime assignment of women at every social status lies in the foundation of family. Ayatollah Khamenei
Thousands of Palestinians stuck under appalling conditions at Rafah – 31-year old mother of five died yesterday under the blazing sun – Gush Shalom demands immediate opening of the Rafah Crossing for which the government of Israel and the European Union share responsibility After the translated press release follows a call for action Press Release, July 2, 2007 – Hebrew attached / עברית מצורף Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc,
Reflections of President Fidel Castro The killing machine SUNDAY is a good day to read something that would appear to be science fiction. It was announced that the CIA would be declassifying hundreds of pages on illegal actions that included plans to eliminate the leaders of foreign governments. Suddenly the publication is halted and it is delayed one day. No coherent explanation was given. Perhaps someone in the White House
The Ma’an news agency reports that clashes erupted in Gaza City on Sunday night between the Army of Islam, with the powerful Dughmosh clan, and the Hamas movement. Army of Islam said that Hamas and the Executive Force injured the group’s leader, Khattab Maqdisi, before abducting him. In retaliation, Army of Islam kidnapped ten Hamas members. “A group affiliated to Khattab opened fire at members of the Executive Force before
