Iraq’s antiquities garner international attention
Across southern Iraq, large stretches of terrain resemble a moonscape, the earth pocked by dozens of untidy craters. The man-made holes have been dug as part of the looting of Mesopotamia's archaeological sites that experts say is robbing Iraq of its ancient heritage. The looting not only funds unscrupulous dealers of...U.S. allies picking up the pieces
WASHINGTON (IPS) As the White House agenda for the Middle East continues to unravel, events over the past 24 hours seem to suggest that U.S. allies in the region are determined to construct a new edifice based on diplomacy, with or without Washington's help. In spite of efforts by President George W. Bush's administration to...Will U. S. policy in Lebanon and the Middle East ever change?
"Absolutely not! Without a credible deterrent force, there is no real Lebanese sovereignty. Israel came very close to getting nearly all it wanted with the 1983 May 17th agreement. Had Hizbullah not prevented this, Lebanon today would be colonized with near confederation status with Israel. The Bush administration's democracy and...
A victory for Lebanon
May 23rd, 20080 The agreement gives Hizbullah and its opposition allies enough control in the government to have veto power over legislation. Beirut After 18 months of living on the streets in an encampment that has paralyzed this city's downtown, Lebanon's opposition supporters started going home Wednesday. They dismantled their...
Bush’s Middle East policy in tatters
May 23rd, 20080 Last Tuesday, while United States President George W. Bush was setting out from Washington on a five-day tour of the Middle East, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency quoted Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad as hinting that Tehran might consider a cut in oil exports. Of course, Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari quickly...When will Arab oil translate into political power?
Arab oil producers are awash in wealth. They have never been so rich. But the paradox is that, in spite of their great and growing wealth, their political weight in the world remains small, even derisory. They have not or at least not yet converted their wealth into political influence on a global scale. This is...Refugees, peace activists mourn
As Israel celebrates 60 years of statehood, Palestinians worldwide mourn the loss of their homes and homeland. While one people Jews fleeing persecution in Europe gained a country, another people the land's indigenous Palestinians lost nearly everything they had. In 1948 hundreds of...Lebanon’s Sunni bloc built militia, officials say
The Future Movement used a security firm to assemble a private force, officials say. But the fighters were no match for Hizbullah. BEIRUT For a year, the main Lebanese political faction backed by the U.S. built a Sunni Muslim militia here under the guise of private security companies, Lebanese security experts...New Israeli scholars face up to country’s origins
A former French ambassador reviews a wealth of texts documenting Israel's ugly history In the 1980s in Israel, a new generation of men and women who had not lived through the Holocaust or the creation of their country came of age intellectually and embarked on a remarkable period of change. This change...Siege hits Palestinians before they are born
GAZA CITY (IPS) The Israeli siege of Gaza that has restricted access to food, water and medicine is now beginning to hit unborn children and newborn babies. "Many babies are born suffering from anemia that they have inherited from their mothers," Dr. Salah Al-Rantisi, head of the women's health department at the Palestinian...Iran shifts attention to brokering peace in Iraq
Details from a secret meeting between top Iranian and Iraqi officials signal Iran's aim to 'stop arming' militias ISTANBUL and BAGHDAD Iran's role in helping broker a cease-fire in Baghdad's Sadr City may be the first sign that it is acting to fulfill recent promises to stop arming Iraq's militias and...The Israeli project has failed in Lebanon
Note: This is the third installment in Franklin Lamb's extraordinary series. The fourth installment will appear in the next issue. Dahiyeh Despite the media hype these days, many Middle East analysts as well as the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by former presidential candidate Joe Biden...
Bush hails Israel on 60th anniversary visit
May 16th, 20080 On his second trip to Israel, President Bush will address the issue of settlement building and try to push for progress on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. JERUSALEM President Bush landed here Wednesday to join the Jewish state in its 60th anniversary gala part of his drive to propel...
Transformation in Lebanon
May 16th, 20080 Events in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon continue to move erratically, with simultaneous gestures of political compromise and armed clashes that have left 46 dead in the past week. The consequences of what has happened in the past week may portend an extraordinary but constructive new development. If Lebanon shifts from...Israel is suppressing a secret it must face
How did a Jewish state founded 60 years ago end up throwing filth at cowering Palestinians? By Johann Hari When you hit your 60th birthday, most of you will guzzle down your hormone replacement therapy with a glass of champagne and wonder if you have become everything you dreamed of in your youth. In a few......
The Israeli project has failed in Lebanon
Why the Bush administration wants to negotiate now with Hizbullah Note: This is the second installment in Franklin Lamb's extraordinary series. The third and fourth installments will appear in the next two issues. Dahiyeh As discussed below, and contrary to conventional wisdom, the Bush administration...Troubles pile up in Yemen
This year, Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Saleh, 66, celebrates his 30th year in power a record of political longevity beaten among Arab heads of state only by Muammar al-Qadhafi, Libya's ruler since 1969. But, whereas Qadhafi's Libya, flush with oil money, is enjoying an unprecedented boom, Yemen, the Arab world's poor......
The prospects for Syrian-Israeli peace
Turkey's prime minister seems determined to bring Israel and Syria to the negotiating table A faintly hopeful aspect of the current frost between Syria and Israel is that Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems determined to bring the two countries to the negotiating table. Turkey has emerged over the...Pressure to cut costs, troops strains “surge”
WASHINGTON (IPS) - Growing impatience in Congress over the enormous costs being racked up by the Iraq war, as well as the Pentagon's belief that it needs more troops in Afghanistan to fight insurgents there, is putting the vaunted success of the George W. Bush administration's "surge" strategy to the test. Although the House of...
Lebanon on the brink as violence erupts
May 9th, 20080 Nasrallah hits out at government BEIRUT Hizbullah's leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned that any crackdown by the government on the Shi'a organizaion would be tantamount to a "declaration of war." Hassan Nasrallah's comments were broadcast on television on Thursday, as street clashes in Lebanon between government loyalists and...A day to remember in Jericho
Caritas Jerusalem celebrates Mother's Day for members of the Ramallah Elderly Day Care Center with a special outing to Jericho JERUSALEM Catholic relief group Caritas Jerusalem took members of its elderly day care center in Ramallah to Jericho on March 30 to celebrate Mothers Day. The Ramallah......
Why Palestinian unity is not an option
Just days after the HAMAS-Fatah clash last June in Gaza, Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas looked firm and composed as he shook hands with members of his new emergency government. He made sure his move appeared as legitimate as possible, issuing decrees that outlawed the armed militias of HAMAS, and also suspended...
Bush to Nasrallah: An offer Hizbullah cannot refuse?
May 3rd, 20080 The Bush administration no longer believes there is a viable military option American, Israeli or combined for destroying Hizbullah "The Bush administration parking a flotilla from its U.S. 6th fleet off the coast of Lebanon was made necessary, it claims, to demonstrate Washington's 'commitment to......
Tunisia strives for religious tolerance
TUNIS In Tunisia, synagogues and churches stand side by side with mosques. Jewish and Christian minorities freely practice their religious rituals. This tolerant climate is ensured by the constitution which provides for habeas corpus, guarantees freedom of conscience and protects freedom of religious practice. But this open...Israel told to tackle West Bank plight
JERUSALEM Israel is coming under concerted international pressure to give swift agreement to specific measures to improve Palestinian life in the West Bank which senior diplomats believe could eventually make or break negotiations between the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.......