Bush: It’s a goat even if it flies!
What did President Bush read in his oval office on Monday Dec. 3, 2007? He read a report compiled by sixteen American intelligence agencies concluding that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, contradicting a previous assessment that Tehran was working on, even close to, building a nuclear weapon. This report...What it’s really all about
When Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinians, responded to Ehud Olmert's statement, "We won't hold negotiations on our existence as a Jewish state," he made an error. Erekat declared that the Palestinians wouldn't accept a Jewish state, because "No state in the world connects its national identity to a religious identity."...Carter documentary makes you care about Mideast
Even before anyone realized that Jimmy Carter's book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" would stir up controversy and a lively but sometimes vicious debate, filmmaker Jonathan Demme decided to follow the former president during his book tour. Demme has produced a powerful documentary, "Jimmy Carter: A Man from Plains," now...A Muslim belongs in the Cabinet
LAS VEGAS — Mitt Romney tells good jokes. I had the chance to hear a few of them this month at a political fundraiser in Las Vegas, where the Republican presidential contender gave his audience a few good chuckles before going into his domestic and foreign policy agenda. His platform seemed sound enough analytically — until he...Two angels on a mission
A friend handed me a leaflet and said I should really check this event out. It had a big title: Anna Baltzer in Detroit. Noted Jewish American author-lecturer-photographer presents her compelling witness of life in Occupied Palestine. There was a photo of the cover of a book titled "Witness In Palestine: A Jewish American...The thought police are coming
A month ago, the House of Representatives passed legislation that targets Americans with radical ideologies for research. The bill has received little media attention and has almost unanimous support in the House. However, civil liberties groups see the bill as a threat to the constitutionally protected freedoms of expression, privacy...A minute of anger for Palestinians
The Jerusalem meeting in Istanbul was touching, inspiring, saddening and encouraging. It was extremely touching when we began to see people from Al-Quds and from Palestine whom we only usually see on television screens being arrested by Israeli occupation forces and on their way to the prisons which house thousands of Palestinians...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......