Flashback to 1995:US-Israel-Turkey-Jordan-Egypt alliance at Prime Minister Rabin’s Funeral (tags)
6 years before the launch of a genocidal, never-ending and ever-expanding “global war on terror” across Asia and Africa, the funeral of the assassinated “hero of peace” Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin proved to be an opportune moment to discreetly reveal an overt military alliance between U.S., Israel, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt against Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya and the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.
The geopolitics of the Syrian uprising/insurgency (tags)
The continuing mass uprising against Syria’s Bashar Assad dictatorship on the one hand, and the growing intervention by the reactionary Gulf monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, along with Turkey, on the side of the growing armed insurgency on the other, has led to a situation where many on the left are sharply divided over who to “support”.
BTL:Days Before Egyptian Presidential Election, Court Sentences Mubarak, Ignites Massive P (tags)
Interview with Seif Da'Na, associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, conducted by Scott Harris
Mubarak Toppled by CIA Because He Opposed US Plans for War with Iran? (tags)
"In terms of imperialist mentality, not all that much has changed since the days of 1956, when British Prime Minister Anthony Eden would become apoplectic at the mere sight of Colonel Amal abd-el Nasser, the gallant Egyptian leader who successfully nationalized the Suez Canal in defiance of the British and the French. When the imperialists look across the northern edge of Africa, the valuable assets they see are the oil of Algeria and Libya, and above all the Suez Canal, one of the classical naval choke points of the world, through which 8% of world maritime trade currently passes. The Anglo Americans are acutely aware of the endless possibilities for mischief against countries like Iran, China, and Russia that could be derived from a reassertion of the old imperialist control of Suez. If some pretext could be found for banning Chinese ships from the Suez Canal, China’s entire trade with Europe would be severely disrupted. However, in order to make a grab for Suez politically feasible, Egypt would have to descend into chaos. This may in fact be one of the prime motivations of what is currently going on. If the national states collapse, then the empire is free to step in and seize what it wants."
U.S. Aim in "Peace Process": Liquidation of Palestinian struggle (tags)
"On the day the talks began, a press conference in Gaza City by 12 Palestinian organizations including Hamas, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, Popular Resistance Committees, Palestine People's Party and others denounced the Washington talks as a sham and announced their intention to intensify the resistance against Israeli occupation. Renewed negotiations are taking place against a backdrop of the accelerated seizure of Palestinian land in the West Bank, a vast expansion of Israeli settlements and the continued blockade of Gaza. Today, there are more than 500,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The extreme right-wing Israeli government, which includes outright fascist elements, has intensified repression against Palestinians who make up 20 percent of the population inside the 1948 borders"
To discuss prisoners
Chief Palestinian Negotiator to Israel: Acknowledge Right of Return (tags)
"The guideline of our policy has always been the idea that a permanent situation of no peace and a latent war is the best situation for us, and that it must be maintained at all costs. ... we are becoming stronger year by year in a situation of impending conflict where it is possible that actual fighting may break out from time to time. SUch wars will usually be short and the results guaranteed in advance, since the gap between us and the Arabs is increasing. In this way we shall move on from occupation to further occupation. ... this criminally mischievous policy has led us into the crisis we are living through today" (Yeshayahu Leibowitz, 30 November 1973) "We have not been seeking peace for twenty-five years -- all declarations to that effect have been no more than coloured statements or deliberate lies. There is of course no assurance that we could have made peace with the Arabs if we had wanted to. However, it has to be heavily emphasized that we have not only made no attempts to seek peace, but have deliberately and with premeditation, sabotaged every possibility of doing so." (Yeshayahu Leibowitz, 30 November 1973)
The current Gaza crisis reviewed.
Egypt: Baha'is must register as members of other religion (tags)
Egypt: Baha'is must register as members of other religion
UN sets April deadline for Syrian pullout (tags)
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned Syria it must withdraw all its forces from Lebanon by April in the latest escalation of tension between the international community and Damascus. The hardening of attitude comes as Syria said it will "redeploy" all of the 15,000 troops it has stationed in Lebanon to the country's eastern border with Syria in a last ditch attempt to defuse increasing international pressure against it.
Bush Says World Owes Israel's Sharon a 'Thank You' (tags)
"my judgment, the whole world should have said, 'Thank you, Ariel. Now we have a chance to begin the construction of a peaceful Palestinian state"' -- George W Bush
Will Pre-emptive War Make America Safer? (tags)
Another aspect of U.S. safety is threatened by pre-emptive war. The Founding Fathers realized that not all enemies are foreign. What keeps U.S. citizens safe is adherence to the U.S. Constitution. Losing any part of the Constitution is precedent for losing other parts. Congress - the American people's representative - now has lost the constitutional right to declare war.
The Most Dangerous President Ever (tags)
I miss Ronald Reagan.
Practice to Deceive-- Chaos in the MiddleEast is not the Bush hawks' nightmare scenario-- (tags)
"In short, the administration is trying to roll the table--to use U.S. military force, or the threat of it, to reform or topple virtually every regime in the region, from foes like Syria to friends like Egypt, on the theory that it is the undemocratic nature of these regimes that ultimately breeds terrorism. So events that may seem negative--Hezbollah for the first time targeting American civilians; U.S. soldiers preparing for war with Syria--while unfortunate in themselves, are actually part of the hawks' broader agenda."
Iraq War Will Produce '100 Bin Ladens' - Mubarak (tags)
This echoes the leaked C.I.A. Report which reached the same conclusion. Not to mention the 4 U.S. Career Diplomats who have resigned so Far for the same reason.
U.N. Resolution Violations other than Iraq (tags)
This is an interesting list and summary of U.N. Security Council Resolutions which are being violated by countries other than Iraq.