Libya In Perspective

Unlike in Egypt, the American-Israeli forces are clearly rooting for Qaddafi’s collapse, and should the rebels fail in their endeavor, I fear Obama will scream “war crimes” and get NATO to intervene to achieve what the rebels could not.

It will be another Iraq/Kosovo, except this time the people might actually receive the invaders with flowers.

American Irrationality in Afghanistan

After more than 7.5 years in Afghanistan, the United States is as ever mired in a seemingly impossible war.

The country has only seen more violence, the political will of American allies is weak, and the Afghan government has failed to gain widespread legitimacy.

As disastrous as the outcome is, the government thinks staying the course makes sense. Read.

The Inherent Racism of Zionism

Following up on Fayyad’s most recent post… I don’t think too highly of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but every time he discusses Zionism and the question of Palestine, I find myself nodding in agreement. The speech he delivered in Geneva on Monday was no exception. While he probably went a little overboard with some of the economic [...]

Fisk: Telling It Like It Is

Perhaps no Western journalist is as knowledgeable of the Middle East as Robert Fisk; he even rivals many of his Arab counterparts. His latest article is a frank assessment of the situation after three weeks of Israeli savagery.  He condemned Israel (and Hamas to a lesser extent). He criticized Ban Ki-Moon, European leaders, and of course, Mr Hosni Mubarak.  However, the [...]

Hamas – What’s the Problem?

It’s little wonder that we spend so much of our time criticizing Israel while the US media remains focused on Hamas. For a while, I’ve felt compelled to join their conversation, and this is as good a time as any to do so, not because Hamas is to blame for what’s happening now, but because [...]

Waltz With Bashir Wins Golden Globe

‘Waltz with Bashir’ wins Globes best foreign film Israeli movie “Waltz With Bashir” won best foreign language film award at the Golden Globes here Sunday.Ari Folman’s film is a moving animated memoir of the director’s experiences as a young Israeli soldier during his country’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982.“I hope one day when (children) grow [...]

Gaza: The Problem and How the West Makes it Worse

But, can he see the past? Or even the future? Although as a news hound, I am glued to the minutiae, the developments and steps unfolding around this massacre and conflict in Gaza, it is important to keep my eye on the big picture as well. Hamas, and the Israeli discourse about Hamas, are not [...]

palestine, daily life, family, history: The unseen occupation

Human rights groups documenting Israeli abuses towards Palestinians (within the Green Line and without) frequently complain that Palestinians have become so used to their rights being compromised and trampled that they feel no need to report them. Since I have come to live in the West Bank, I can attest to the truthfulness of those [...]

We Spread Democracy. Just look at the map.

Click here for a chronological map of the imperial history of the Middle East for the past 5000 years. I find it interesting that even though it goes until 2006, there is no mention of occupation, either by the US or Israel. And that the only two cities the makers found worth mentioning on an [...]

A Musical Tribute to Sabra and Shatila

Nass El Ghiwane and Jil Jilala created this song for the victims of the Sabra and Shatila massacre twenty-six years ago today. Right-wing Lebanese forces armed and covered by an Ariel Sharon-lead Israeli army, killed thousands of refugee camp residents just south of Beirut. Still, no one has been brought to justice for the blatant [...]