Sharon's payoff

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wasted no time after he cleared all the procedural obstacles to his disengagement from Gaza and northern West Bank plan: within hours of the 2005 budget passing (three months late, barely 36 hours before its final deadline), Sharon rewarded key loyalists who backed him against the referendum and for the budget, handing out three ministries and five deputy ministerships.

Iraq: A war for Israel? by Mark Weber

"A Jewish cabal have taken over the government in the United States and formed an unholy alliance with fundamentalist Christians," said Tam Dalyell, a Labour party deputy and the longest-serving House member. "There is far too much Jewish influence in the United States," he added.

Protests erupt in Egypt

Hundreds of Egyptians ralled in Cairo yesterday demanding the departure of President Hosni Mubarak.

Protesters heeded the call of the Kefaya movement in Cairo and the northern cities of Alexandria and Mansura, in the largest popular action against the 76-year-old ruler to date.

Where is Russia's Foreign Policy Headed? by Angelique van Engelen

Russia's official foreign policy is rather obscure and not unlike many of Russia's policies, most of which are largely carried out on what appears an ad-hoc basis by President Putin himself. Moscow's frequent rows with international organisations of are more or less an indicator of where it is at in its otherwise non-coherent strategy to enter into the international community.

What Will Be the Sharon Legacy? by Am Johal

If the narrative in the mainstream media will simply be that Sharon, the father of the settlement movement, is now the one leading his nation to peace by implementing the Gaza withdrawal, it will be a story which does not recognize his direct role in expanding settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank - a policy which will prolong any hope for a final status agreement. A peace process without a human rights agenda will be meaningless.

US scatters bases to control Eurasia by Ramtanu Maitra

The United States is beefing up its military presence in Afghanistan, at the same time encircling Iran. Washington will set up nine new bases in Afghanistan in the provinces of Helmand, Herat, Nimrouz, Balkh, Khost and Paktia.

White slave trade now earns US$1 billion annually in Israel.

A REPORT carried by the "News Israel" Hebrew website on the Internet on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 says that the total annual profits garnered from white slavery in Israel have reached the US$1 billion mark.

[OUTLOOK]The nature of 21st century power by Ha Young-sun

In the end, the North Korean nuclear problem will, against our will, find a clue to solution somewhere in the structure of confrontation between the nuclear threat of North Korea and the effort to spread freedom by the United States. One important factor in this process is China. Therefore, we have to think seriously about what Korea's role will be if the North Korean nuclear problem is solved through the freedom concentric circle method.
If we continue to respond to Korea-U.S. relations, Korea-Japan relations and the North Korean nuclear problem in an anachronistic way, there is a danger Korea will be downgraded to an outsider, far from being the balancer of Northeast Asia.

America's Dangerous Mideast Assumptions by Bouthaina Shaaban

So let me get this straight. Rice believes that our region harbors "ideologies of hatred" and that it is populated by "those people." Those terrorists.

This absurd generalization embodies the fallacy that underlies the entire U.S. "war on terrorism," which has severely damaged America's reputation and credibility around the world and which has led to the disastrous policies that will harm relations between the U.S. and the Arab world for decades to come.

America's New Circus Diplomacy and the Muslim World By Ben Tanosborn

This strain in foreign policy, at a formative stage in the 1920’s and 1930’s, started less as an anti-Muslim stand and more of a pro-Zionist buildup. By the 1960’s, it had matured to become a strong citadel in America’s foreign policy, one which made Israel an unassailable subject of criticism in the US. To deny that from within would be nothing short of American self-denial; to deny that from without implies ignorance of America and its composition of power. So much for any reasonable mediation the US could offer on the Israeli-Palestine issue.

Israel's settlement plan 'at odds' with U.S. policy by Steven Erlanger

Palestinian officials, however, have complained that the Israeli intention is to cut off Jerusalem from the West Bank and to destroy the contiguity of any future Palestinian state, and they reject any Israeli or U.S. efforts to prejudge the outcome of negotiations.

The Iranian Threat: The Bomb or the Euro? by Dr. Elias Akleh

Iran does not pose a threat to the United State because of its nuclear projects, its WMD, or its support to 'terrorists organizations' as the American administration is claiming, but in its attempt to re-shape the global economical system by converting it from a petrodollar to a petroeuro system. Such conversion is looked upon as a flagrant declaration of economical war against the US that would flatten the revenues of the American corporations and eventually might cause an economic collapse.

Analysis: Oil struggle stops Iraq government bBy BETH POTTER BAGHDAD

Oil.No matter what else the politicians say, that's the biggest reason a new Iraq government hasn't been formed after weeks of haggling.

Pentagon reaffirms globocop role by Jim Lobe

The Strategy suggests that Washington will not be reluctant to send its forces into other states that, in its opinion, do not "exercise their sovereignty responsibly" or that "use the principle of sovereignty as a shield behind which they claim to be free to engage in activities that pose enormous threats to their citizens, neighbors, or the rest of the international community".

Iraqi Invasion Reverberates Across The Middle East by Robert Fisk

The reality is that the Iraqi invasion now reverberates across the Middle East. Hariri was the leading proponent of a Syrian military withdrawal - which the US supports, primarily because it holds Damascus responsible for helping Iraqi insurgents. Lebanese officials have even claimed privately that Hariri’s friendship with the Iraqi interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi - himself half-Lebanese - brought about his death, a suggestion which neither the Americans nor the UN takes seriously.

Now the smaller Arab nations of the Gulf await the next assault - which no amount of expatriates and foreign soldiers can protect from al-Qa’ida.

Shocked and awed into 'freedom' by Pepe Escobar

Hakim says that the Iraqi population wants a full American troop pullout, and no American "permanent military bases". He may be right, but it won't happen. A Sunni Baghdad businessman was savvy enough to note, "We all know the Americans are building 14 military bases all over the country. And we all know they won't leave them. Does that sound like freedom to you?"

In a warped reality by Gary Younge

The truth is that you cannot even begin to make a justification for the war unless you take into account the lives of innocent Iraqis lost as a result of it. The simplest way to deal with that is to pretend that these deaths do not exist - the occupying powers simply do not count them. The only other defence is that their deaths are a price worth paying and that good things can come from bad acts - a claim every bit as offensive and wrong-headed as arguing that 9/11 was a price worth paying for waking America up to the consequences of its foreign policy.

The Legacy of George F. Kennan by WERTHER

George Orwell once wrote that every man's life viewed from the inside is a failure. We are tempted to believe that George Kennan, who has died at 101, may have rendered a similar judgment on himself when he left this conscious life. The architect of America's cold war doctrine of containment came long ago to repudiate the poisoned fruits of his inspiration a divided world, a militarized and cheapened culture, and $12 trillion flushed down the drain.

Sinking Globalization by Niall Ferguson

Could globalization collapse? It may seem unlikely today. Yet despite many warnings, people were shocked the last time globalization crumbled, with the onslaught of World War I. Like today, that period was marked by imperial overstretch, great-power rivalry, unstable alliances, rogue regimes, and terrorist organizations. And the world is no better prepared for calamity now.

Blair was told US 'fixed' case for war

The head of Britain's foreign intelligence agency told the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, that the case for war in Iraq was being "fixed" by Washington to suit US policy, a BBC documentary will claim today.

Richard Dearlove, head of MI6, briefed Blair and a group of ministers on the United States' determination to launch the invasion nine months before hostilities began in March 2003, the Sunday Times reported, citing the BBC program, which is due to be aired later in the day.

Michel Aoun - Former Lebanese Prime Minister by Gary C. Gambill

As public opposition to Syrian hegemony has intensified since the spring of 1999, Lebanese politicians across the ideological and ethnic spectrum have begun pandering to the public by openly calling for Aoun's return. Most recently, on January 2, Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri pledged on state television to "guarantee that he will not be arrested" if he returns to the country. However, Damascus quickly stepped in to thwart the initiative. Sources in Syria say that the Assad regime is not expected to take the risk of permitting Aoun's return in the foreseeable future.

Israel Approves of Wolfowitz and World Bank head Honcho by Kurt Nimmo

Not surprisingly, Israel likes the idea of Paul Wolfowitz heading up the World Bank. “Senior Israeli officials reacted with satisfaction Wednesday to news that US President George W. Bush tapped Paul Wolfowitz as his choice to be the next head of the World Bank,” writes the neocon Jerusalem Post. “Wolfowitz’s appointment to head the World Bank will have significance for Israel since the World Bank is expected to play a key economic role in Gaza after Israel’s withdrawal… The World Bank is expected to supervise the implementation of hundreds of million of dollars worth of projects to rebuild Gaza. One official said that Wolfowitz would likely ensure that the Palestinians fulfill strict conditions regarding reform and democratization in order to get the money.”

New Undeclared Arms Race: America's Agenda for Global Military Domination by Michel Chossudovsky

The Pentagon has released the summary of a top secret Pentagon document, which sketches America's agenda for global military domination.

This redirection of America's military strategy seems to have passed virtually unnoticed. With the exception of The Wall Street Journal (see below in annex), not a word has been mentioned in the US media.

There has been no press coverage concerning this mysterious military blueprint. The latter outlines, according to the Wall Street Journal, America's global military design which consists in "enhancing U.S. influence around the world", through increased troop deployments and a massive buildup of America's advanced weapons systems.

10,000 Jews to ascend Temple Mount

The visit, scheduled for April 10, would be the largest Jewish presence at the Temple Mount since the ancient Temple period, said Haivri.

The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000, when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the area.

Rachel Corrie's Family Sues Israel, IDF by Amos Harel

The family of Rachel Corrie, a pro-Palestinian activist killed by an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer in Rafah two years ago, sued the State of Israel and the IDF for damages in the Haifa District Court on Tuesday.

Corrie's parents, brother, and sister, who are represented by Umm al-Fahm attorney Hussein Abu-Hussein, argue Corrie was killed despite the fact that she was wearing bright clothing and had identified herself as an activist with the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement.

New Democrats: Hamas and Hezbollah by Pat Buchanan

Why don't they realize that once America makes a case for something, the Middle East will go in the opposite direction?" an Arab diplomat told Weisman. "Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, but now its hand is strengthened by American opposition."

Unfortunately, in the Middle East, the way to advance oneself today is to have as your enemy Israel or the United States of George W. Bush. And thus does Hezbollah advance toward power in Lebanon.

China ready to attack Taiwan

Tokyo and Washington issued a joint statement in February listing for the first time the peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue

China's parliament enacted a law Monday authorizing force to stop rival Taiwan from pursuing formal independence, sparking outrage on the self-governing island and warnings that the measure would fuel regional tensions.

Israel Boycotts Peace Conference; Mainstream Media Mum on Meeting by Christopher Bollyn

Unreported in the corporate controlled press, the Israeli boycott of the recent international Middle East peace summit in London illustrates why the Israel-Palestine conflict remains stuck in a quagmire after 57 years and who is ultimately responsible.

President Hugo Chavez waiting for USA to announce that Venezuela has WMD

THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER editor Bob Chapman writes: Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has again spoken out against the Bush administration saying the US is planning to portray his country as a security threat in order to capture its vast oil reserves ... “We are just waiting for the US to announce that Venezuela has WMD.”

The Unpredictability of Revolutions by Patrick J. Buchanan

In elections thus far in the Middle East, the returns have been mixed. In Iraq, Kurds voted for autonomy now, independence later. Shia voted as Ayatollah Sistani told them. Whether the new regime will be pro-Iranian, we know not. It will surely be less pro-American than the ousted Alawi regime. But the cost of a Shiite government in Iraq is already known: 1,500 U.S. dead, 10,000 U.S. wounded, 200 billion U.S. dollars gone.

Revealed: Israel plans strike on Iranian nuclear plant by Uzi Mahnaimi

ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans for a combined air and ground attack on targets in Iran if diplomacy fails to halt the Iranian nuclear programme.
The inner cabinet of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, gave “initial authorisation” for an attack at a private meeting last month on his ranch in the Negev desert.

The United States needs a Clean Break from Israel by Anisa Abd el Fattah

Having escaped another fiasco by the skin of our teeth, this time in Lebanon, it is time for the people of the world to decide just how many more wars and crises we are willing to undertake, and suffer for the sake of Israel and Zionism? So much has been written lately about the sins of the Middle East governments. Yet, very little has been written to suggest that just as the Arab governments are in desperate need of reform, so is Israel.

Washington lifts objection to Iran's WTO aspirations

President George W. Bush 'has decided that the US will drop its objection to Iran's application to the World Trade Organisation and will consider, on a case-by-case basis, the licensing of spare parts for Iranian civilian aircraft, in particular from the European Union to Iran,' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

Giuliana Sgrena: Interview with an Iraqi Woman Tortured at Abu Graib

From her hospital bed, Sgrena accused her attackers of deliberately trying to kill her. The Bush administration rebuked the charges as unfounded. The Palestine Chronicle reprints this interview - conducted by Sgrena and published by Il Manifesto on July 1, 2004 - to shed more light on the nature of Sgrena’s work in Baghdad during her time there.

Mideast Duty For US Troops May Include Israel

And they say the continued presence of tens of the thousands of American troops is helping to create an atmosphere of stability and U.S. commitment ó so much so that there is even growing talk of troops taking part in any Israeli-Palestinian peace accord.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, renewed his longstanding call for NATO and U.S. troops to take part in an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord.

It is not democracy that's on the march in the Middle East by Seumas Milne

What has actually taken place since 9/11 and the Iraq war is a relentless expansion of US control of the Middle East, of which the threats to Syria are a part. The Americans now have a military presence in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar - and in not one of those countries did an elected government invite them in. Of course Arabs want an end to tyrannical regimes, most of which have been supported over the years by the US, Britain and France: that is the source of much anti-western Muslim anger. The dictators remain in place by US licence, which can be revoked at any time - and managed elections are being used as another mechanism for maintaining pro-western regimes rather than spreading democracy.

Bush Ordered Attack on Sgrena and Calipari by Joe Vialls

This was what Nicola Calipari's mission was all about. First re-establish a dialogue and working relationship with the Republican Guard, and then find a way of getting Italy's troops home to their families by bringing intolerable public pressure to bear on Berlusconi. Though it is sadly posthumous, Calipari's mission can be justifiably claimed a success.

It's a Grand Old Ba'ath Party Flag by Charles H. Featherstone

The fact that so many Iraqis show an attachment to the Ba'ath Party's version of the red, white, black and green flag of the Arab Revolt means that Iraqis have decided there are things about the 30 years of Ba'ath dictatorship that were good, things they intend to honor.

The Janissaries Are Coming by Daniel D. New

"The Janissaries are coming!"

For over 450 years, that cry of alarm struck fear in the hearts of every European who heard it, from the lowest to the highest, particularly in Constantinople, Greece and the Balkans.

Who were the Janissaries? Why were they more dreaded than other enemies?

London mayor says PM is a "war criminal" whose place is in prison

London mayor Ken Livingstone denounced Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a war criminal, accused Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing, and rejected accusations of anti-Semitism, and brushed off fresh calls to apologize for his comparison of a Jewish reporter to a concentration camp guard.

A despotic act

The past week saw one of the gravest parliamentary debates of modern times, on a measure which would undermine an 800-year-old principle of English law: that no man should face imprisonment without trial. And yet to judge by the opinion polls, most citizens seem to care little about the issues involved. Inasmuch as they have followed the debate at all, it is simply to absorb the glib suggestions of the Prime Minister that the only ‘civil liberty’ which matters is personal protection from a terrorist bomb.

The Stillborn Empire by Patrick J. Buchanan

“Unchecked by any rival,” is how Krauthammer described the new Rome. Yet as one watches the Old Republic spend herself into bankruptcy, run up trade deficits that debauch her currency, decline to defend her own bleeding borders, permit rivals to loot her technology and cart off her manufacturing plants, America does in a way resemble Rome. But it is, unfortunately, the Rome of the late fourth century.

Damascus puts Syria first by Sami Moubayed

Some indicators show that Syria has finally started to reconcile with the United States and the rest of the world. The road to normalization is still very long, however, and Syria needs a lot of pragmatism if it wants to stick by its convictions, yet appease Washington to avoid a head-on-clash.

A Less Super Superpower by Tom Engelhardt and Jonathan Schell

There is rivalry in the air, but it no longer takes a martial form. Instead, Europe seems bent for now on building itself up economically and knitting itself together politically – readying, it appears, another kind of power, based more on cooperation, both within its own borders and with the world, and less on military force.

Bush has clear run at Syria by Stephen Zunes

Despite the highly questionable assertions which form the basis of the Bush administration's antipathy toward Syria, there have essentially been no serious challenges to the Bush administration's policy on Capitol Hill.

When in Doubt, Blame Syria by Linda Heard

Those who want to get with the latest US program must put the blame on Syria. What for? Doesn’t matter in the least. Whether it is for the two world wars, the demise of Elvis or sinking the Titanic, Syria makes a handy and eminently fashionable punching bag. Even if Syria’s accusers get it wrong, no matter. Syria’s friends are one by one deserting an apparently sinking ship.

Are Europe and Russia Ganging up on America over Iran?

The international ensemble dancing around Iran’s nuclear program appears to have regrouped: the European Union and Russia are suddenly lining up against America barely a week after US President George W. Bush held talks in Europe to patch up differences with both.

Black holes and rogue states by Francesco Sisci

However, if another rogue state were to be hit, and its institutions were to be destroyed, like Iraq, this would add a new geopolitical black hole. That might avoid the risk of a geopolitical threat such as Iran or North Korea, armed with nuclear weapons, but it would create a bigger, long-term problem.