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The Kind of Justice he Denied...
2007-01-01 15:59:02
According to US President George Bush, "Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial -- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime." It seems there is no end to the... Visit Counter-Spin for more...
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How The US Is Losing The Middle East...
2006-12-21 03:53:01
Even as events overtake planners and policy analysts around the world, and particularly in such places as Washington, London and Jerusalem, the response emanating from them is wooden, stilted and... Visit Counter-Spin for more...
More About: Middle East , The Middle East , East , Middle , Sing

Iran: Back to Basics
2006-12-18 03:51:01
It seems we've come full circle and back to the basics of post-Vietnam American Foreign Policy. What started out with Reagan's obsession with the Islamic Republic of Iran , which made the US seem... Visit Counter-Spin for more...
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Palestinian Civil Strife and Western Responsibility
2006-12-18 03:51:01
It doesn't take much analytic skill to understand that when a government is elected into power, and the rest of the world doesn't approve of that result, an economic boycot will eventually lead to... Visit Counter-Spin for more...
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A History of the Future Middle East
2006-12-14 15:48:01
As we near the end of 2006, already one can make out the outlines of a remarkable year. It will surely be one which historians will look back upon and trace out the contours of the trend that became... Visit Counter-Spin for more...
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The New (Nuclear) Middle East
2006-12-12 21:46:02
Now that Israel is the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East , what next? Aides to PM Olmert are trying desperately to create the impression that Mr. Olmert was misinterpreted. But... Visit Counter-Spin for more...
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Holocaust Denial or Smart Move?
2006-12-12 09:46:01
Why would a man of obvious intelligence, as President Ahmedinejad of Iran surely is, want to provoke the West by inspiring a conference meant to look at the Holocaust ? What is really behind the... Visit Counter-Spin for more...
More About: Smart , Mart , Move , Holocaust Denial

Rays of Hope?
2006-12-12 09:46:01
According to news reports coming out of Lebanon and Syria, there might be some good news on the way. In Lebanon, reports are coming out of an imminent deal between Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah... Visit Counter-Spin for more...
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Jitters in Israel...
2006-12-10 15:43:02
Almost a week later, the repercussions of Robert Gates' statement on Isra el 's nuclear capability are still reverberating through Israeli media and, no doubt, Israel's government, military and intelligence establishment.Just at the moment that Israel needs most desperately to contain the 'Iranian threat', and to show the world that the new danger is in Tehran, along comes the new Secretary of Defence who, by the sound of it, legitimates Iran's nuclear program by saying that Iran may only be trying to build a nuclear deterrence to counter the Pakistani, Russian, Israeli and US nuclear powers that surround it.According to many in Israel's media, despite the government's view that this is not a serious matter, the US has abandoned the policy of ambiguity concerning Israel's nuclear capability. Robert Gates has come out and said that Israel has nuclear weapons and (indirectly) this constitutes a regional threat to some, or at least it can be perceived in this way.The degree to w...

Mr. Olmert Wants 'Dramatic Steps' Taken Against Iran
2006-12-09 21:42:01
Israel's Prime Minister Olmert has stated in the German magazine Spiegel that he is not 'happy with action taken against Iran so far and expects 'dramatic steps' to be taken in the future.Mr. Olmert does not hesitate to be a parrot and repeat the 'wipe Israel of the map' mantra that has been ascribed to Mr. Ahmadinejad. For more information on this little scandal, and how western media 'outlets' have used false translations in order to create and disseminate disinformations, you may want to visit this site:The Information Clearinghouseor read my previous post on this subject:Ahmmedinejad: The Holocaust and it's Myth...In any case, Israeli PM is trying to stir the pot a bit before he travels to Germany on Tuesday in order to huddle with Chancellor Angela Merkel.As time runs out for Israel to convince western nations to make sure the Middle East remains weighted in favor of Israel, the Tel Aviv administration has shifted all its efforts towards a public relations blitz that s...
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Ahmmedinejad: The Holocaust and it's Myth...
2006-12-09 09:41:01
With the conference about to be held in Tehran concerning the Holo caust , I have to say that all of the talk devoted to it has become rather boring. We all know (excepting a few idiots) that the Holocaust did happen and that about 6 million Jews died in it (along with a substantial number of other people). We might also do well to remember that so did more than 60 million people all over the world during the second world war.And now, to the point. This whole tempest concerning Ahmedinejad's Holocaust denial is dishonest at best. One has to question why so many journalists, as if they were parrots, are willing to repeat something that was never said and which can be easily verified. What purpose is being served by this journalistic dishonesty?One thing is for sure: it does not take too much time or research effort to find out that the President of Iran has never denied the Holocaust. What he has done, is question the mythology that's been built up around it by those who stood to gai...
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Why Israel Is Beginning To Worry...
2006-12-07 15:38:01
President Bush is nearing the end of his second term, and that has Isra el i hard-line militarists worried because time is running out for attacking Iran, since any attack would need US assistance and full military support.These hardliners of the Israeli press and in the Israeli government are also worried that the new defence secretary, Robert Gates, will not be on their side when it comes to raising the alarm about Iran's nuclear capabilities, research and development.During his confirmation hearings, when asked about Iran, Gates basically agreed that Iran has legitimate reasons for wanting to develop a deterrent nuclear capability. According to him, "I think that they [Iran] would see it in the first instance as a deterrent." Furthermore, Gates stated that "They [Iran] are surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons - Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west, and us in the Persian Gulf."In other words, Iran is more interested in developing nuclear ...
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The Polls of War: How The Lebanese See It...
2006-12-07 03:37:02
As the situation in Lebanon seems to heat up and more and more Western media focus on the sectarian divide rather than the political differences that have created the present problems, an interesting poll has emerged.According to a recent Gallup poll that entailed over 1000 face to face interviews with Lebanese adults in Lebanon, and a 3 % margin of error, most Lebanese consider the US and Israel to be responsible for last summer's war.While 40% of Lebanese think that Israel was responsible, 24% think the US was to blame, while only 18% held Hezbollah accountable, 8% accused Iran and 5% pointed the finger at Syria.To my mind, these are surprising figures and lend credence to Nasrallah's claims that the Siniora government did not support the resistance during the war. Clearly, 64% of Lebanese viewed the war as an aggression against Lebanon. Why did a democratically elected Prime Minister, whom I presume represents the majority of the country's population, fail to bring the Lebanes...
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The Iraq Study Group: Magnitude of Mess Becoming Apparent
2006-12-07 03:37:02
The long awaited report that spell out the findings of the 'Iraq Study Group ' are out. Now everyone can breathe a sigh of relief, especially Republicans, because they can officially say that US policy in Iraq has been wrong all along and its time to make some changes.Well that's just fine, isn't it? After 100 000 civilian deaths, over 3000 coalition troop deaths and close to a trillion dollars worth of damage, now these very same people who caused this disaster and should be called to account for this war crime, are free to 'lighten up', and say that they will take into consideration all the findings of the Study Group.An ill wind blows in Washington. What is even more foul is the fact that far too few Americans have woken up to the criminality of their leaders. Where are the huge marches and demonstrations that will call these politicians to account? Are they too busy playing with their toys or writing their resumes in hope of a better career move?America is diseased. Not unl...
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Too Young To Remember, Old Enough To Die...
2006-12-05 15:35:02
Over the last little while there's been some mention in articles concerning the troubles in Lebanon that many of the youth today, who are itching for a sectarian fight, are too young to remember the horrors of the previous Lebanese civil war.What these article have failed to mention is the fact that most of these youth were brought up with stories of glory and bravery emanating from the civil war years. If the Lebanese are anything like the rest of the people of the Mediterranean, then they've probably told many stories to these youth, about how an older brother, an uncle or a father was killed unjustly by others, or how he justly killed others.When I was a little boy, I was living in a small Greek village. My grandfather and grandmother told me many stories of both the second world war and the Greek civil war that followed. Of all the dead relatives and friends of the family I learned about, all had died in glory, either in a flash of bravery fighting the enemy, or at the hands o...
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A Poem for Lebanon
2006-12-04 15:34:02
Cedars, Stand TallCedars, stand tall on mount Lebanon look down upon all those who, through the ageshave trampled on your landWhore and war mongerspimps who would sell youto every passing 'saviour'Greeks, RomansByzantines and Turksand then...Those who would imitate themlike the farsical French andstiff lipped BritishAll have desired your bodybut all have been trampledinto dust at your feetThese too, nowwho desire your clear waterslet them dreamThey too will eat your stonestheir mouths filled with your dusttheir mothers will wail, far awayLet them come with helicopterswearing night vision gogglesyou see more clearlyYour minutes are yearsyour hours are centuriesyour days milleniaYou have seen them beforeyou know how weak is their fleshhow they must one day lay prostrateStand tall, cedarsas you have all these yearsI too, will come to sleep one dayMy head to restagainst your woodto hear you whisperaccompanied by the breezeall that you have seenThis poem is dedicated to Lebanon...
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Of Presidents and their historical status...
2006-12-04 15:34:02
Over the last few days there have been a number of articles in the US media concerning the fate of President Bush when he is out of office.No, I am not talking about whether he will be indicted on war crimes charges or be taken to the Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. These things happen only to those who are 'against us' and not for the guys 'who are with us'. President Bush can rest assured that he will not be tried like a common war criminal. After all, he is an uncommon one.On the other hand, he may not be so lucky as to that which matters most to him. As most people know, President Bush has the fervent belief that history will somehow vindicate him. That, sometime from now, people will look back and say "Wow, he was a great man who saw what none else did at the time of his presidency."President Bush has always wanted to be remembered as a great president right up there with Ronald Reagan and Truman. The only problem is that Bush has not achieved anything near a...
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Lebanese Democracy, Who Wants It?
2006-12-04 15:34:02
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the current call to demonstrate in Beirut is the fact that the demonstrators and the parties behind them have managed to avoid making the whole thing a sectarian affair.Even though there's been much effort to cast the current crisis as one that is about the division between Sunnis and Shia, or one between pro-Syrian and anti-Syrian forces, the matter remains in its core a political divergence on how best to govern Lebanon.In these most dangerous hours and days of the crisis, and even as the first death of a demonstrator has happened, it is of paramount importance to maintain the balance of perspective on all sides and to insist that this remain a political difference, and not a sectarian one.Hezbollah and its allies cut across all sectarian divides. There are Shias and Sunnis and Christians who are demonstrating against the present government. The fact that all the leaders have called on supporters to refrain from acts of violence, to avoid ca...
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Yep, It's A Civil War...
2006-12-04 15:34:02
After much thought and debate, some 'serious' US media 'outlets' have decided that "Yep, it's a civil war' in Iraq and despite 'objections' by the White House, they are going to actually use that term in their reporting of the conflict there.Wow! Chalk one up for Democracy, Free Speech and Freedom of the Press!Let's face it, the very fact that this kind of discourse is taking place, that 'media outlets' such as the Washington Post and the New York Times are discussing whether to call a civil conflict that has killed more than 100 000 people over the last 3 years a civil war or not, is a reflection of the extent to which there is a serious deficit in the US of Democracy, Free Speech and Freedom of the Press.If anything, the declaration by media 'outlets' to call it a civil war sounds like a declaration of independence. It sounds like there's someone at the window shouting "I've had enough of this and I'm not going to take it anymore!"What have these media executives ...
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A Lack Of Nerve...
2006-12-04 15:34:02
Every few years, every Israeli Prime Minister since Yitzhak Rabin will come out and say that he is willing to trade land for peace and grant Palestinians a state.The difference between Rabin and all those who came after him, from butchers like Ariel Sharon to clowns like Bibi Netaniahu, is that Rabin did not lack the nerve or the vision to understand that Israeli society is better off with a nationalist, Palestinian state next to it, rather than a radicalized Islamic territory that must be contained and 'pacified' by Israeli means.Since Rabin's assassination, all the Israeli Prime Ministers have failed to convince the Palestinians that they are indeed interested in peace, and that they are willing to continue from where things broke off with Rabin's death.The ensuing violence has cost both sides thousands of casualties, and untold economic destruction. Israel's reputation and standing in the international community has suffered greatly, as have its long standing relations with ...
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How Soon We Forget...
2006-12-04 15:34:02
It takes a political assassination like the one in Lebanon of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel for people with a bit of historical memory to look about and see how easy it is for most others to forget. Most culpable, of course, are the press, who tend to cultivate this forgetfulness for various reasons, often to do with shifting alliances and the fact that most of the 'mainstream' press is owned and operated by those who have the means ($) and the vested interest in the forgetfulness of the majority.Why am I saying all this, and what does it have to do with Pierre Gemayel? Well, it doesn't have to do so much with Pierre as it does with his dad and his uncle who, as has been stated over and over during the last few days, headed and head the Phalangist movement of Lebanon. These past few days, this notorious family which has untold blood on its hands has been elevated to the status of a holy and royal family. The historical facts, though, tell a different story...The Phalangists, a...
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An Eye For An Eye...
2006-12-04 15:34:02
Continuing in the finest tradition of 'an eye for an eye', Israel has decided to target Hamas institutions in Gaza. This comes as a bargain, since the head of Shin Bet, Israels security agency recommended that Israel should stop targeting Palestinian political leaders for assassination.Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin pointed out that he opposes targeting Palestinian political leaders. "Has it helped us in the past?" he asked at a recent cabinet meeting.Perhaps it has not helped Israel in the past, at least as far as Palestinians are concerned. Israel has targeted and assassinated countless opponents around the world over the last 40 years, with very limited success.There have also been many accusations against Israel of carrying out a policy of political assassinations in Lebanon as well. Aside from many anti-Israel activists who have been assassinated there since the mid 70's, a string of such killings over the last two years that have targeted anti-Syrian activists have also been a...

Who Gains From This Latest Assassination?
2006-12-04 15:34:02
Every time there is an assassination in Lebanon of people who are outspoken critics of Syria, the finger is immediately pointed at Syria.What is quite frustrating about this is that very few people seem to bother asking the question that seems quite obvious to me: "Who stands to gain from each assassination?"So far, the only answer that one can give is clear: Israel stands to gain the most from any upheaval in Lebanon.Israel had been itching to get into a fight with Hizbullah for a long time, because it felt that organization had become too powerful for Israel's comfort. That chance was finally made available last summer. The destruction, or at least the reduction, of Hizbullah would have also been a major setback for both Syria and Iran in the region.But aside from the strategy of direct military confrontation with Hizbullah, a more subtle and, in the longer term, effective strategy would be to create unfavourable conditions in Lebanon for Hizbullah and erode its place within Leb...
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Ahmadinejad Doubts US and Israel Will Attack Iran
2006-12-04 15:34:02
Even as Israel and the US try to create an atmosphere of instability and insecurity in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad has stated that all such sabre rattling coming from these quarters is merely an attempt at psychological warfare and Iran has nothing to fear.In a statement to the state television channel IRIB, the president recommends that "US statesmen skip any enmity with the Iranian nation ... also the Zionist regime is weak and now has it own problems, though we are capable of confronting even more powerful countries."It would seem that the Iranian president is much more of a realist than he is given credit for. Since his election to power, he has held a steady course of not giving up even one inch of ground to mostly US pressure to suspend the Iranian nuclear program.On the contrary, he has sped up the country's nuclear program and extended invitations to other Muslim nations to share in the knowledge that will lead them to the production of electric energy in quantit...
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The Higher Moral Order...
2006-12-04 15:34:02
Tehran's goal is to "ultimately wipe Israel off the map," Israeli Prime Minister Olmert was quoted as saying in an interview before meeting with President Bush. "This is not an issue of Israel only. This is a moral issue of the whole world and the whole world has to join forces in order to stop it. This is a problem of every country. I know that President Bush is fully aware of that."Leave it to the leader of a country that is occupying a foreign land, regularly kills children and women, is in defiance of UN resolutions, has close to 200 nuclear weapons, and also has over 700 people in administrative detention (meaning without trial), to talk about issues of morality.Israeli leaders, politicians and spin masters have always tried to make themselves and all of Israeli society to be somehow morally superior to the rest of the world. This is a strong subtext that can easily be read in most government statements, media themes, movies, etc. After all, it works.Why does it work? Because ...
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Israel Itching For A New Fight...
2006-12-04 15:34:02
It's not been very easy for Isra el to digest the defeat it suffered this past summer. In typical knee-jerk fashion it has pounded the Palestinians in Gaza, thinking that Israel can at least be 'assured' of a victory there...or at least this is what the military planners there seem to think.Actually, in Gaza too it's becoming increasingly apparent that Israel is losing the war. The Qassam rockets have not stopped falling on Israel, in fact they have become more numerous, Hamas and Fatah are coming closer together, and 'thanks' to the latest Israeli blunder, the general Palestinian population has become even more enraged with Israel.Further, the international community (with the exception of the USA of course), is increasingly becoming fed up with Israel's intrasingence and unwillingness to pursue a solution to the problem of which Israel is an integral part. Recent news reports suggest that France came very close to firing on Israeli jets as they nose dived on French position ...
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A Victory For All Lebanese
2006-12-04 15:34:02
In his victory speech, Hassan Nasrallah invited all Lebanese to join in, for victory belonged to the whole nation and not to Hizbullah alone. This was among some of the many resounding messages that Nasrallah had to offer during the speech he made in Beirut's southern district.Hassan Nasrallah came across not only as the leader of a victorious Hizbullah, but as a political force to be reckoned with in Lebanon and beyond. Perhaps the most spectacular aspect of his speech, aside from the fact that he took the risk to put in a live appearance in order to make it, is the fact that it was measured, humble and not boastful.Even when referring to the accomplishments of the Islamic Resistance, he spoke with restraint, but also with dead-serious conviction that did just that: convince... In my opinion, I think that this is a speech of historic dimensions. Those who sit in positions of power in the Middle East, including Israel, and also those in the US and Europe, would do well to sit up an...
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Israel Paying The Price For American Policy In Middle East
2006-08-06 18:57:06
Almost four weeks into the Lebanon-Israel war, the word that best describes America n diplomacy in the Middle East is, quite frankly, failure . For Israel?s military too, failure seems a fitting term that describes that state?s attempt to bring about the stated objective of disarming Hezbollah and stopping the daily rain of missiles on the northern part of the country. For American foreign policy in the Middle East , the failure is multi-dimensional. Let?s take a look at some of these: One: American tardiness radicalizes region The US has failed to act in a timely fashion to bring about an end to the bloodshed. This is not a failure because of the bloodshed in and of itself. The US could care less, as long as it is not American blood the Israelis are shedding. Rather, the problem with failing to stop the bloodshed is that it has allowed the general populace in the entire region, not to mention the Islamic world and to a lesser extent Europe, to shift ...
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America Gives Israel Green Light to Continue Massacres
2006-08-06 18:57:06
The newly agreed ?pacification? plan that the US and France have advanced at the UN will undoubtedly be worth less than the paper it will be written on. In substance, the plan rewards Israel for its criminal war on Lebanon by allowing it to both retain the security zone it has carved out in the south, and the right to ?defend? itself against any Hezbollah attacks. This second point is, of course, another ?green light? for Israel to launch any ?pre-emptive? strike it deems desirable. Both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have already rejected the plan as not addressing any of Lebanon ?s concerns. So has Syria and Qatar who is on the UN Security Council. The US has worked hard to put forth a plan that will be unacceptable to Hezbollah. In this way is can cynically claim to be working for peace, while at the same time providing Israel the cover it needs in order to continue its onslaught in southern Lebanon. Yet, Israel?s inability to silence Hezbo...
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