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Articles in The Middle East

Israel and Palestine: The Folly of Strength and the Folly of Weakness
Tuesday, 16 Mar, 2010 – 6:00 | 2 Comments
Israel and Palestine: The Folly of Strength and the Folly of Weakness

John Peeler: Vice President Biden’s visit to Israel didn’t go so well. When the Interior Ministry announced plans for a major expansion of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem just as Biden was helping to organize renewed—if indirect—negotiations with the Palestinians, he, on instructions from the White House, promptly condemned the plan, a condemnation, which was amplified in a long, “tough” conversation between Secretary of State Clinton and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Israeli Women Soldiers Break the Silence
Wednesday, 3 Feb, 2010 – 6:00 | 3 Comments
Israeli Women Soldiers Break the Silence

Ira Chernus: Sometimes, as the Breaking the Silence report indicates, the level of brutality grows beyond comprehension: a five-year-old child beaten; a nine year old who “posed no danger” shot to death; another child with both arms and both legs intentionally broken. The Yediot Aharonoth article offers a series of such horrifying incidents. When the full report is available on the Breaking the Silence website, it will be surely include even more heart-breaking tales.

Martin Luther King’s Legacy and Israel’s Future: Stepping Beyond Fear
Tuesday, 19 Jan, 2010 – 6:00 | 3 Comments
Martin Luther King’s Legacy and Israel’s Future: Stepping Beyond Fear

Ira Chernus: On this Martin Luther King Day, then, American Jews face a choice. They can dwell on one casual, misinformed, easily misinterpreted remark that King made and use it to justify continued Israeli intransigence and violence. Or they can remember the words in which he summed up a lifetime of nonviolence, on the last night of his life — “I’m not fearing any man!” — and call on their own government to demand at least a start toward ending the conflict: a genuine halt to all settlement expansion.

Israel Giving Gas Masks to Babies
Friday, 15 Jan, 2010 – 6:00 | 4 Comments
Israel Giving Gas Masks to Babies

Ira Chernus: In tough political times, Israeli leaders know that they always hold one winning card, if they know how to play it right: the fear card. The same anxiety-driven “rally round the flag” effect that works in so many nations — as we saw vividly in the U.S. after the 9/11 attack — has a well-proven track record in Israel.

The Wars in Yemen: More Complex Than We’re Being Told
Friday, 8 Jan, 2010 – 6:00 | 3 Comments
The Wars in Yemen: More Complex Than We’re Being Told

Carl Bloice: With Al Qaeda now in the picture and linked to an attempted physical attack on the U.S., the Obama Administration, obsessively carrying on the “war against terrorism,” has suddenly become enmeshed in still another civil war.

The Israel/Gaza Face-Off In Los Angeles
Thursday, 31 Dec, 2009 – 6:00 | One Comment
The Israel/Gaza Face-Off In Los Angeles

Linda Milazzo: Monday night, in remembrance of the one-year anniversary of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead that killed 1,400 Gazans, and in solidarity with the 1,400 international peace pilgrims converging in Egypt from 42 countries for the planned Gaza Freedom March, Los Angelenos gathered in front of the Israeli Consulate for a solemn candlelight vigil.

An AVATAR Awakening
Wednesday, 30 Dec, 2009 – 6:00 | 4 Comments
An AVATAR Awakening

David Swanson: Let’s face it, if James Cameron had made a movie with the Iraqi resistance as the heroes and the U.S. military as the enemies, and had set it in Iraq or anywhere else on planet earth, the packed theaters viewing “Avatar” would have been replaced by a screening in a living room for eight people and a dog.

Neo-Con Renews Call to Bomb Iran in NY Times Op-Ed
Saturday, 26 Dec, 2009 – 6:00 | 15 Comments
Neo-Con Renews Call to Bomb Iran in NY Times Op-Ed

Charley James: The saddest thing about Kuperman is that the Times gave him serious space in a supposedly serious newspaper to spout the same discredited nonsense that got us into a mess in the Middle East at the same time President Obama is trying to extricate the world from the chaos unleashed the last time the neo-con war mongers had their way.

The Speech Obama Should Give Tonight
Tuesday, 1 Dec, 2009 – 15:57 | No Comment
The Speech Obama Should Give Tonight

If the health care outcome shows that the U.S. Senate will not allow progressive change even with a 60-vote Democratic caucus, then what argument can the Obama team make to infrequent voters in 2010? If electing Obama and strong Democratic congressional majorities in 2008 did not bring real Change, why even bother voting?

Stop US Meddling: Support Afghan Women at the Table
Saturday, 7 Nov, 2009 – 11:04 | No Comment
Stop US Meddling: Support Afghan Women at the Table

No where in this war-torn nation do we find a focus on principles that the United States claims to prize so much. The people I met with didn’t ask for a new election: they asked, “Where is the democracy?”

Obama, the Karzai Brothers and the Ghost of Najibullah
Thursday, 5 Nov, 2009 – 14:07 | One Comment
Obama, the Karzai Brothers and the Ghost of Najibullah

In any case, the proper path for the U.S. must not involve continuing to bed down with the feudal warlords and the likes of the Karzai brothers. That puts us on the wrong side of history and decency.

US Words Thwart Middle East Peace
Thursday, 5 Nov, 2009 – 12:00 | No Comment
US Words Thwart Middle East Peace

So Palestinians will be watching, more closely than most Americans, the House vote on H.R. 867, condemning the Goldstone Report. If it passes, that will be one more signal to the Palestinians that the fine words they’ve heard coming from the White House may have no substance behind them.

Obama Still Doesn’t Quite Get It
Monday, 2 Nov, 2009 – 17:09 | No Comment
Obama Still Doesn’t Quite Get It

U.S. meddling in the Muslim world and elsewhere continues because politically powerful interest groups benefit from the policy at the expense of the general public.

The Siege on Gaza Continues
Friday, 30 Oct, 2009 – 14:00 | 2 Comments
The Siege on Gaza Continues

While Israel bears direct responsibility for the persecution of the Gaza Palestinians, many others are complicit. Most complicit is the Obama Administration, which has done nothing to end the siege, and has no visible plans to do so

The Plight of the Right of Return
Tuesday, 20 Oct, 2009 – 15:43 | One Comment
The Plight of the Right of Return

The whirlwind of summiteering on climate change, non-proliferation, the economy, and Iran swept the Arab-Israeli conflict off the news – but not before Barack Obama had spoken of a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.” That startling turn of phrase – used just before his trilateral with Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu – is a throwback to a much earlier era of American peacemaking.

Open Letter: How to Leverage the Prize
Friday, 16 Oct, 2009 – 6:00 | One Comment
Open Letter: How to Leverage the Prize

You should use the clout and credibility from the prize to convene serious, multiparty negotiations aimed at verifiably eliminating nuclear weapons from all arsenals, backed up with cooperative intelligence-gathering to ensure that non-state actors do not acquire or independently develop such weapons.

Obama Trapped Behind Wall of Mideast Containment: It’s the Iranians, Stupid
Saturday, 10 Oct, 2009 – 13:37 | One Comment
Obama Trapped Behind Wall of Mideast Containment: It’s the Iranians, Stupid

In reality, Obama’s troubles are not caused primarily by “the bad guys,” nor by Israel’s supposed power or that of the domestic “Israeli lobby,” nor even, as some critics charge, his own tendency to vacillate. Instead, he’s trapped in the conundrum that’s built into U.S. containment strategy in the Middle East. No matter what other nations do or don’t do, everything that looks like it might be a solution only turns out to create new problems.

A Fast for Human Rights in Gaza
Friday, 9 Oct, 2009 – 9:00 | 3 Comments
A Fast for Human Rights in Gaza

As Jews and people of conscience,” the group declares, “we can no longer stand idly by Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza.” Their efforts have been endorsed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).

Obama: Walking the Tightrope on Iran
Wednesday, 24 Jun, 2009 – 14:13 | No Comment
Obama: Walking the Tightrope on Iran

When massive turmoil occurs in an important country, U.S. policymakers struggle to make heads or tails of it and arrive at an appropriate reaction. Kibitzers and pundits, however, have no trouble reaching immediate and sweeping …

Better Relations with Iran Require Change in U.S. Thinking and Policy
Wednesday, 17 Jun, 2009 – 14:00 | One Comment
Better Relations with Iran Require Change in U.S. Thinking and Policy

One election in Iran will not significantly change U.S.-Iran relations—only a change in U.S. thinking and policy will do so.
Historically, the U.S. government, under both Republican and Democratic presidents, has painted relatively poor third world …

Will Obama Save the Mideast from Itself?
Saturday, 13 Jun, 2009 – 5:16 | No Comment
Will Obama Save the Mideast from Itself?

With his speech at Cairo University, President Obama has laid the groundwork, potentially, for a new era of peace in the Mideast. Israeli officials are now realizing that they will have to accept a …

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict—Why the U.S. Should Care Less
Friday, 5 Jun, 2009 – 4:08 | One Comment
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict—Why the U.S. Should Care Less

Hillary Clinton’s blunt public statement that President Obama “wants to see a stop to settlements—not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions” made for good headlines. The Israelis were shocked and upset that their …

What’s Not Being Said About the Obama-Netanyahu Talks
Saturday, 30 May, 2009 – 12:00 | No Comment
What’s Not Being Said About the Obama-Netanyahu Talks

The day after the White House talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the news agency AFP (Agence France-Presse) sent out an unusual story. It seems to have noticed what …

When the Law Is the Crime Being Committed
Thursday, 21 May, 2009 – 9:00 | No Comment
When the Law Is the Crime Being Committed

When a person commits a crime, everyone has an answer as to what punishment should or should not be meted out. But what do you do when a law is a crime unto itself, and …

Bibi Goes to Washington: How About a Nuclear Free Middle East?
Tuesday, 19 May, 2009 – 12:35 | One Comment
Bibi Goes to Washington: How About a Nuclear Free Middle East?

Israel’s Likudnik Prime Minister, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, was one of the driving forces behind the neo-conservative foreign policy doctrine of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). PNAC called for a new “realm” in …

Obama Meets Netanyahu: Time to Tell Israeli the Facts of Life
Monday, 18 May, 2009 – 8:41 | No Comment
Obama Meets Netanyahu: Time to Tell Israeli the Facts of Life

For those too young to have been alive at the time or whose memories became fogged with age, in June 1961 – less than six months after being inaugurated – a very young President John …

Will It Remain Business as Usual in the Middle East?
Wednesday, 13 May, 2009 – 14:18 | No Comment
Will It Remain Business as Usual in the Middle East?

One of the most glaring ironies of the Middle East conflict is the righteous indignation displayed by the region’s leaders towards each other’s policies. In a region where violent and oppressive rule is the norm, …

Obama Offers Iran “A Promise of a New Day”
Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009 – 16:00 | No Comment
Obama Offers Iran “A Promise of a New Day”

President Barack Obama has taken the first step toward reversing United States policies and actions aimed at Iran that have failed both countries for the past 56 years. “My administration is now committed to diplomacy …

Reading The Videos: Israel’s Glamor v. Palestine’s Despair
Wednesday, 11 Mar, 2009 – 13:50 | One Comment
Reading The Videos: Israel’s Glamor v. Palestine’s Despair

Certainly no person aware of Israel’s blockade of goods and services to Gaza, or Israel’s devastating bombing of Gaza, would consider Gaza a vacation haven. Gaza is not a place of joy. It’s an overcrowded …

My Letter to Middle East Envoy George Mitchell, Asking Him to Speak with Gaza Women
Friday, 13 Feb, 2009 – 18:00 | 2 Comments
My Letter to Middle East Envoy George Mitchell, Asking Him to Speak with Gaza Women

CODEPINK Women For Peace will be traveling to Gaza on March 6th. The purpose of their mission is to provide “humanitarian and emotional support to women and women’s organizations and exert pressure on US, Egyptian …

Can Obama Bring the Audacity of Hope to the Middle East?
Friday, 30 Jan, 2009 – 9:05 | One Comment
Can Obama Bring the Audacity of Hope to the Middle East?

On August 1, 2007, at the start of his campaign for President, Barack Obama made a speech to the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC where he laid out his plans for transforming American foreign …

Dissing Rice
Tuesday, 27 Jan, 2009 – 12:00 | No Comment
Dissing Rice

Let’s see if I got this right. The prime minister of an allied government disses the U.S. Secretary of State, says he went over her head and got her boss, the President of the United …

Who Will Save Palestinians From Themselves
Saturday, 24 Jan, 2009 – 6:00 | No Comment
Who Will Save Palestinians From Themselves

It was a hot September day in Gaza and I was sitting in the office of a Hamas-affiliated newspaper talking with a senior Hamas intellectual. As the French news crew that had given me a …

Blood and Soil: The Price of Zionism
Friday, 23 Jan, 2009 – 14:00 | 2 Comments
Blood and Soil: The Price of Zionism

Well, another Israeli “war” on the Palestinians, another shelling of UN facilities where refugees fled to escape massacre, another round of brazen excuses, another Palestinian government building reduced to rubble, another round of craven U.S. …

The World Needs Dr. King Now More Than Ever
Friday, 16 Jan, 2009 – 12:39 | No Comment
The World Needs Dr. King Now More Than Ever

On this 80th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as I look at the state of human rights in the world I ask myself, “What would Dr. King do?”
Look at the …

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