Bipartisan group urges deeper diplomacy with Muslim world
WASHINGTON (IPS) — In an implicit indictment of President George W. Bush's "global war on terror" and the hawkish pronouncements by Republican candidate John McCain, a bipartisan group of nearly three dozen U.S. leaders called here Wednesday for Bush's successor to place much greater emphasis on high-level diplomacy — including...Bush’s war widens to Pakistan
The decision to make public a presidential order of last July authorizing American strikes inside Pakistan without seeking the approval of the Pakistani government ends a long debate within, and on the periphery of, the Bush administration. Senator Barack Obama, aware of this ongoing debate during his own long battle with Hillary...It’s the oil, stupid
American policy toward the Middle East has always been determined by the politics of oil and the politics of oil are determined by the oil companies. It would be difficult to find many who would argue that the invasion of Iraq was premised, not on seizing Iraq's oil, but rather to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons held by...Israel of the Caucasus
WASHINGTON (UPI) — NATO guarantees that an attack against one member country is an attack against all are no longer what they used to be. Had Georgia been inside NATO, a number of European countries would no longer be willing to consider it an attack against their own soil. For Russia, the geopolitical stars were in perfect...The Saudi Arabia of solar energy
In the wake of the first Gulf War, the U.S. Army assessed Saudi Arabia's solar energy resource potential in a classified effort to determine how oil fires had affected the region. The results were clear and surprising. In addition to being a vast petroleum repository, the desert nation was also the heart of the most potentially...Georgia and the push for Cold War
John McCain said it first: "In the 21st century nations don't invade other nations." George W. Bush said it, too: Russia's way is not the "way to conduct foreign policy in the 21st Century". And Condoleezza Rice on August 19 said it: "Russia is a state that is unfortunately using the one tool that it has always used whenever it...Arab countries take six medals
After winning three medals in their first week at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics last week, Arab countries upped the ante and won three more medals this past week, including their first two gold medals. Both gold medals represented landmark achievements for their countries, as Oussama Mellouli won the first swimming medal for...Big three block Iran attack
The United States is in a huge foreign policy muddle in the Middle East. It wants to dominate and control Iran but requires the support of the world community to accomplish its aims. Diplomacy and sanctions require only a low level of support. On the other hand, to launch a military attack or green-light one by Israel, the United...The race for renewable energy sources
DUBAI (IPS) — As the world scrambles to develop renewable energy sources (RES), the oil-rich Gulf countries that benefit from high prices on fossil fuels are making sure that they are not left behind. According to "REN 21: Renewables Global Status Report 2007," though the share of fossil fuels in the global final energy...The startling truth about Gitmo
Three firefighters raise an American flag over the ruins of the World Trade Center at Ground Zero in New York — a moment in time captured for the records of history by a newspaper photographer, forever symbolizing the tragic events of the September 11, 2001 attack, and the American resolve to overcome any challenge. It's an image in...Israeli arms sales to Georgia raise new concerns
JERUSALEM (IPS) — With the eruption of fighting between Russia and Georgia, Israel has found itself in an awkward position as a result of its arms sales to Georgia, caught between its friendly relations with Georgia and its fear that the continued sale of weaponry will spark Russian retribution in the form of increased arms sales to...Queen Rania uses Web to break stereotypes of Arabs
AMMAN — Queen Rania Al Abdullah already had something of an Internet following for her dashing beauty. Now her majesty is leveraging her relative celebrity to shatter stereotypes about the Arab world. With personal videos, slide shows, and documentaries, Jordan's first lady has created her own YouTube page in a virtual experiment...The 2008 Summer Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympic Games will begin today in Beijing, China, and Arab nations will be well-represented. Participating countries from the Arab World include Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen,...Sadam Ali: First ever Arab American boxer to compete in Olympics
When Mohammed Ali's boxing career took off in the United States, he became an athletic pioneer who used his status as a platform for social change. Now, another boxer with the same last name is poised to blaze a new path for the Arab American community to follow. The 2008 Summer Olympics will kick off in Beijing, China with the...U.S. convicts bin Laden’s driver at Guantanamo
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba — A military court on Wednesday convicted Osama bin Laden's driver of supporting terrorism but acquitted him on the more serious charge of conspiring with al Qaeda in the first U.S. war crimes trial since World War Two. On Thursday, he was sentenced to five and a half years. He is eligible for......
Top ten intellectuals all Muslim
Two prestigious Western magazines — Foreign Policy in the United States and Prospect in Britain — asked their readers to choose which among the world's 100 public intellectuals deserved the top honours. Over 500,000 people cast their votes via the internet. The results published this July were surprising. The first ten names on the...Yale University hosts first session between prominent Muslims, Christians
Quest for understanding, commonality Top-tier religious leaders in the Muslim world are emerging as major proponents of dialogue with Christians and other world faiths. With two distinct initiatives this month, they are breaking new ground and sending signals to Muslims and others globally that interreligious understanding and joint......
Obama in Iraq
Baghdad — Government officials in Baghdad make two contradictory points about the state of Iraq. On one hand, they say the government is much stronger, having largely crushed the Sunni insurgents last year and severely weakened the Mahdi Army Shi'a militia in the past six months. They claim journalists like myself do not give them...Guantánamo video, deserter case draw Canadian criticism of U.S. ties
Toronto — At a glance, they look like unrelated events unfolding thousands of miles apart and yet, they're both windows into Canada's passive partnership with the U.S. in the war on terror. On Tuesday, the release of a previously classified video shows a Canadian teenager accused of killing a U..S soldier in Afghanistan sobbing...Saudi king to lead interfaith talks in Spain
RIYADH — In a first for a Saudi Arabian leader, King Abdullah will convene a conference in Madrid as part of a Saudi outreach to defuse interfaith tensions, improve Islam's image, and restore respect for religious values. King Abdullah's initiative — a three-day meeting starting July 16 that will include Muslim, Christian, and...Does Iran have Bush over a barrel?
WASHINGTON (IPS) — If U.S. President George W. Bush wants to boost Republican chances of holding on to the White House and keeping Democratic gains in Congress to a minimum in the November elections, he might consider taking an attack on Iran before the end of his administration "off the table." Of course, that's probably the last......
Resolutions amount to declaration of war
July 5th, 20080 Non-binding resolutions in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to demand that President Bush impose "stringent inspection requirements" on trade with Iran — language that leaves the door open for a military blockade — will likely come to a vote this week or next, according to sources close to Congressional leadership. The...Anti-torture campaign wins influential backers
WASHINGTON (IPS) — On the eve of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a bipartisan group of some 200 religious leaders and former top U.S. national security and military officers launched a campaign for a presidential order to outlaw torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of all detainees. The campaign,......
China can’t get enough oil
WASHINGTON (IPS) — For China these days it seems that nothing — not rising energy prices, not sanctions aimed at its more unsavory business partners, Burma and Sudan, not even the prospect of a nuclear Iran — can curb its thirst for oil. As China's energy needs grow at a rate higher than any other country's, so too have its...Fearing escalation, Pentagon fought Cheney plan
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Pentagon officials firmly opposed a proposal by Vice President Dick Cheney last summer for airstrikes against Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bases by insisting that the administration would have to make clear decisions about how far the United States would go in escalating the conflict with Iran,......
