More couples’ therapy in Annapolis
Here we go again with another meaningless "couples' therapy" session with no concrete goals or meaningful substance. Palestine is the spouse who wants to discuss tangible issues. Israel appears to be the spouse who doesn't really want to be there but wants to say, "Hey, I showed up. Isn't that proof enough that I want...Averting violence is everyone’s job
A crime wave has hit the Arab American community with sudden force, leaving us to wonder where it came from and how we can stop it. The recent shootings that resulted in the tragic deaths of local two Arab Americans have emplaced a dark cloud over the heads of everyone in the community. The first occurrence, a senseless shooting...Hands off Iran or forget my tax money
I will not pay my income tax if we go to war with Iran. I realize this is a desperate and perhaps futile gesture. But an attack on Iran — which appears increasingly likely before the coming presidential election — will unleash a regional conflict of catastrophic proportions. This war, and especially Iranian retaliatory strikes on...Democracy as a means and an end
Pervez Musharraf is a liar, and not a very good one at that. How suspending the Supreme Court and postponing elections indefinitely will protect his country against Al-Qaeda and its allies isn't exactly clear, since no known terrorists sit on the court, or for that matter, practice law. The modus operandi of terrorism is guerrilla...Hello: Iraq is not our country
A few reminders: Iraq is not our country. Our invasion and occupation are illegal, being in violation of both international law and our own traditions. We were lied into war. We are still being lied to. Both the Bush administration and the Democrats intend to maintain American troops in Iraq indefinitely.The catchy little phrase "If you...A moment before the lights go out
Alan Johnston, the BBC corresponded kidnapped in Gaza, related in an interview that at a relatively early stage, he started suffering from all kinds of aches because of the water he drank. This was the same water that the kidnappers drank, but Johnston's unaccustomed body sent warning signals: This is not water that is fit for drinking....The importance of a successful Annapolis summit
The skeptics have unassailable arguments: History and a consistent record of failure are on their side. Weak Israeli and Palestinian governments, an American president in the last stretch of his second term, dysfunctional Israeli and Palestinian body politics, and cynical media coverage, all dampen any reasonable expectations of success...The importance of a failed Annapolis summit
Do not belittle the Annapolis summit. Despite all the prophecies of failure, justified as they are, this summit could still make an important contribution to the history of Israeli-Arab negotiations: For the first time, it will become crystal-clear who aspires toward peace and, more important, who flees from it as if from fire. Israel...U.S. energy challenge is Michigan’s economic opportunity
During November, I will be traveling around the state with my economic development team, talking to local business leaders who are growing a new industry right here in our backyard. We’ll be visiting cities where the alternative energy sector is growing jobs and helping to reduce our reliance on foreign oil. And I will be listening to...Engaging Hamas and Hizbullah
Nothing could be easier in the present atmosphere than to accuse anyone who calls for recognition of and dialogue with Hamas, Hizbullah and other Islamist movements of being closet supporters of reactionary "extremism" or naive fellow travelers of "terrorists." This tactic is not surprising coming from neoconservatives and Zionists. What...Please let’s prioritize Palestinian dignity
Mahmoud Jnaid recently doused himself in fuel and tried to set himself on fire before other Palestinian on-lookers overpowered him. "I am Mr. Nobody," he said in an October 19th Reuters article. "When I poured the petrol on my body I felt life was the same as death," the 25-year-old said while sitting next to his wife and...Last chance for two-state solution
The prevailing worldwide view of how to resolve politically the conflict of two nationalisms in Israel/Palestine is the so-called two-state solution — that is, the creation of two states, Israel and Palestine, within the boundaries of the onetime British Mandate of Palestine. Actually, this position is not at all new. One might argue...Cleaning out the Pipes
DETROIT — On October 8th, Daniel Pipes, author and founder of the Middle East Forum and Campus Watch, spoke at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the threat from radical Islam. Pipes, an advisor to Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani and a columnist for...New case for war in Mideast
The Middle East peace conference proposed by the Bush administration is clearly a smokescreen, aimed at concealing the true intentions of U.S. foreign policy in the region. In the predictable process of rewarding "moderate" allies and chastising "extremist" foes, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will most likely receive the...Critical clarity from humanitarians
Karen Abuzayd, commissioner-general of the United Nations' agency that provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees, and Alvaro de Soto, the recently retired UN diplomat from Peru, offer critical clarity with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. BEIRUT — It is very refreshing when law, international responsibility, and human......
Arabs should seize the peace initiative
In the aftermath of Secretary of State Rice's fourth recent visit to the region to prepare for a Middle East peace conference, only the meeting's proposed location has been decided. The situation looks quite bleak, with little to show for the efforts made to date. Early in her visit, Rice made an effort to tamp down expectations about...Government’s fear-mongering didn’t work
A prosecution that is likely to go down in the record books as one of the great abuses of the American legal process ended with a mistrial this week in Dallas, Texas. The politicized case against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), an American charity providing aid to needy families in Palestine, alleged material support for a terrorist......
Only Congress can declare war
If anyone doubts that the republic created by the U.S. Constitution is dead, he or she only has to watch the Republican presidential debates. Save for Dr. Ron Paul, all of the candidates believe a president can take the country to war on his own, though most concede it might be a good idea to "consult" attorneys and even...Explosion of freedoms brings responsibilities too
We are living in an era of remarkable world-wide transformation, which has accelerated dramatically in just the last few decades. The collapse of communism led to the emergence of free market democracies throughout Eastern and Central Europe. Previously marginal economies in the Arab Gulf and South and Southeast Asia have emerged as...Conference will prolong agony in Arab world
After spending many hours trying to reach Jerusalem, a trip which took twenty minutes before the imposition of the humiliating Israeli checkpoints, a Palestinian woman said: "I am dying to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque, but after so many hours of being harassed at so many checkpoints, I was not allowed to pray and I am hungry and thirsty...November talks must be inclusive
WASHINGTON (IPS) ? To succeed, next month's Israeli-Palestinian conference here should establish and endorse the contours of a permanent peace accord and secure the participation of Arab states that do not currently recognise Israel, including Syria, according to a letter sent Wednesday to President George W. Bush from a bipartisan group......
The evil that men do
Once again, the Bush administration is flimflamming the hapless Democratic majority in Congress into rushing an important piece of legislation into law without serious thought or debate about the implications. Although Congress passed a temporary extension of the FISA law in August that carries it through to February, the...Excuses keep on coming
The evolution of excuses for blundering into and maintaining the Iraq War is becoming comical. The first excuse was weapons of mass destruction. Do you remember the constant talk about weapons of mass destruction, "the worst weapons in the hands of the worst dictator"? Do you remember how President Bush said the sole reason for the......
Army needs to leave Iraq, not recruit more Arab Americans
The article "Army wants more Arab Americans to serve their country", with Brigadier General Anthony A. (Tony) Cucolo III, Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Army, in last week's issue, was not convincing enough as to why more Arab Americans should serve their country by enlisting in the army to serve in Iraq. I don't question the...The unstated message from Petraeus and Crocker
After weeks of leaks and media preparation, after staging the event and using very vague and manipulative language hiding the facts rather than elucidating them, the reports of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker came down to this: the United States is in Iraq to stay as long as the oil reserves in Iraq are expected to last —......
