West Asia

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Tony Blair: The Middle East Peace Envoy’s Thirst for War

Stefan Simanowitz February 2, 2010 Stefan Simanowitz

In a speech in May 1997 newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair stated: "Mine is the first generation able to contemplate the possibility that we may live our entire lives without going to war or sending our children to war." Last week, two disastrous wars and countless deaths later, Tony Blair appeared in front of the Iraq Inquiry. He was supposed to be there to answer questions on the war in Iraq but used the opportunity to also make clear that he favored military action against Iran. In the course of his testimony he mentioned Iran no less that 58 times, the Middle East peace envoy once again showing his thirst for war.

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We Have Met the Enemy – and They’re Not in Yemen

Sandy LeonVest January 20, 2010 Sandy LeonVest

Sana'a, Capital of Yemen
In response to the failed Christmas day bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253, US officials and the Obama administration made a very public show of shifting their already turbo-charged 'war on terror' into overdrive. Here in the US, officials - aided by the corporate media - attempted to reassure a terror-weary American public with nationally televised displays of stepped up screenings at airports, increased numbers of air marshals on international flights and the addition of hundreds of names to the CIA's 'terrorist watch list.' 

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Western Sahara and Aminatou Haidar: A Matter of Life and Death

Stefan Simanowitz January 12, 2010 Stefan Simanowitz

Aminatou Haidar
Aminatou Haidar's hunger strike, staged in protest after being deported for refusing to acknowledge Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, unleashed an intensive political and diplomatic activity in Spain, the US, the United Nations, and the European and African Unions. On December 19th, a 32-day standoff that had been playing out on the Canarian Island of Lanzarote between the Moroccan government and the hunger-striking Nobel Peace Prize nominee, reached its dramatic conclusion.

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Gaza Taxi Drivers, Rumors and Egypt’s Steel Wall

Ramzy Baroud January 4, 2010 Ramzy Baroud

Israeli Tanks on Gaza Border
Those pesky taxi drivers of Gaza are always circulating rumors. One story that made the rounds during the first Palestinian uprising in 1987 claimed that an Arab army crossed the Sinai desert to save Palestinians from the daily killings and protracted state of siege which caused untold suffering for civilians. The army in question would change from time to time, but the focus inevitably returned to Egypt.

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The Hypocrisy of Al-Demoqratia

Ramzy Baroud December 14, 2009 Ramzy Baroud

Minaret in Switzerland
So this is how democracy works? In 2004, France banned headscarves and school principals chased after young "defiant" Muslim girls who continued to cover their heads in school. Now, following a national referendum, Switzerland has banned the construction of minarets, because minarets also somehow symbolize oppression. Thanks to the dedicated action of the far-right Swiss People's Party, the Alpine skies will be free from the snaking menace, which would spread intolerance and taint the splendor of Swiss architecture.

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Human Rights Violations in the Name of Fighting Terror

Dinyar Godrej November 4, 2009 Dinyar Godrej

With President Obama in the White House, there is the announced future closure of Guantánamo Bay and a move away from legitimizing torture. But there is no promise yet on ending rendition or 'prolonged detention', and no moves to gain justice for those who were detained in barbaric conditions for years or to prosecute their torturers. Can the damage done ever be reversed now that the Western democracies, who've ridden the high horse of human rights, have lost all moral authority on this front?