The US left and progressives have been preoccupied about what we can do to impact events in the Mid-East, particularly obsessing about what we can do to counter US intervention. In general, it is good to want to act, not just talk or analyze, in a crisis situation. However, despite the valiant and necessary […]
Geography Archives: Israel
Egypt: This Battle Is Far from Over
It has finally sunk in that the Egyptian military are not on the side of the people. Egyptians are up against a military apparatus that is maintaining the status quo “system.” In other words, we are confronting a global neo-liberal regime whereby the Egyptian government would follow the instructions of the powerful: protect Israel, obey […]
Egypt, Iran, and the Middle East’s Evolving Balance of Power
The full extent of the ramifications of the extraordinary developments in Egypt since the beginning of this year — for Egypt itself, for the Middle East, and for the world — will not be clear for some time. At this juncture, though, it seems virtually certain that post-Mubarak Egypt will have a much more balanced […]
Gilbert Achcar’s Defense of Humanitarian Intervention
Gilbert Achcar defends the recently “UN-authorized” imperialist intervention in Libya on the ground that general principles may require exceptions in concrete cases. “Every general rule admits of exceptions. This includes the general rule that UN-authorized military interventions by imperialist powers are purely reactionary ones, and can never achieve a humanitarian or positive purpose.”1 This kind […]
In Memory of Our Beloved Friend Juliano Mer-Khamis
Juliano Mer-Khamis embodied the uncompromising struggle for freedom and for dignity. With his brutal murder the Palestinian struggle has lost a brilliant, charismatic, and courageous fighter for justice and freedom. Both parts of his life’s work were seamlessly joined. His art was inseparable from his political commitment. The dignity and humanity which his art […]
Syria: Banias Refinery Workers March for Syria and Bashar
Could it be that Syrian refinery workers thought it wise to warn imperialists not to descend on Syria to liberate their oil and jobs from them in the name of liberating them from Bashar? — Ed. Tartous, Syria, 29 March 2011 Cf. “Syria is the only significant crude oil producing country in the Eastern Mediterranean […]
What Do the Syrians Want? Interview with Joshua Landis
Joshua Landis: Well, this [speech delivered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on 30 March 2011] was a classic hard-line speech. It was a nationalist speech. It was an us-against-them speech. And he rallied the nation. And that’s what he sought to do. He was fairly relaxed. He made some jokes. But he said this is […]
Al-Jazeera: An Island of Pro-Empire Intrigue
The Empire admits: without Al-Jazeera, they could not have bombed Libya. How did Al-Jazeera, once dubbed the ‘terror network’ by some and whose staff were martyred by US bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, end up becoming the media war propagandist for yet another Western war against a small state of the Global South, Libya? We […]
COSATU Supports Democracy, But Condemns Foreign Military Occupation in Libya
COSATU has reiterated its position in support of the legitimate and genuine struggles of the people and workers of the Middle East and North Africa for democracy, human dignity and social justice. In doing so, we however, seek to exercise caution in the manner Western powers claim to be advancing the struggle for democracy in […]
Lavrov to Visit Mideast amid Crisis, during Military Operation in Libya
Note that Algeria has backed the Gaddafi forces while Egypt has sided with the rebels in Libya, going so far as to arm them. — Ed. MOSCOW, March 20 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov leaves for the Middle East on Sunday under the conditions of the political crisis in the region and the […]
A System Turned Upside Down
The Tunisian revolution has wiped out the Ben Ali system, and the Egyptian revolution is about to eliminate the Mubarak system after the fall of the president. No doubt, the epoch of unlimited domination in the Arab world is coming to its end. After decades of despotic, patronage-based regimes, the Arab peoples seem determined to […]
Former Palestinian Prisoners Mark International Women’s Day
Former Palestinian female prisoners as well as wives and daughters of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails held a sit-in in front of the office of the international committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on the occasion of international women’s day. . . . Families of prisoners seized the occasion and called on all […]
Cynicism’s Danse Macabre
The politics of plunder imposed by the United States and its NATO allies in the Middle East is in crisis. This was inevitably unleashed with the high cost of grain, the effects of which are being felt with more force in the Arab nations where, despite their enormous oil resources, the shortage of water, arid […]
Azmi Bishara on Libya
On Al Jazeera, Dr. Azmi Bishara said that the violence unleashed in Libya against the Libyan people is beyond belief — indicative of desperation on the part of the political order — or rather “disorder” — in Libya, attempting to put a quick end to the uprising before escalation, as the situation is a […]
Protest against Gaddafi in Istanbul
The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, as well as several other NGOs, held a protest against the Gaddafi dictatorship on 21 February 2011, condemning the Libyan head of state for giving orders to fire on civilian protesters, and expressing support for the Libyan resistance. The protesters gathered in Taksim Square and marched on to the Libyan […]
Israeli Opinion on Egypt
After Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned last Friday, we asked Israeli activists as well as people on the street for their opinion about recent events in Egypt. Produced by Ruth Orli Mosser. This video was released by the Alternative Information Center on 15 February 2011 under a Creative Commons license. | Print
Egypt’s Military Junta to Deploy More Troops to Sinai
This just in from AFP: “Israel has agreed to let Egypt deploy hundreds more troops in Sinai in order to protect gas pipelines as the country undergoes sweeping political unrest.” Israel’s agreement to more Egyptian troop deployment exceeding the terms of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty came just as the youth representatives of the tribes […]
A Warning for Egyptian Revolutionaries: Courtesy of People Power in the Philippines
Much like Mubarak, the former democratic reformer turned long-serving US dictator for the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, demonstrates what can happen to even stalwart defenders of capitalism when they are opposed by their citizens en masse. Like Mubarak, Marcos previously provided a ray of hope for Western elites intent on quelling popular resistance within their own […]
What Is Happening in Egypt
What is happening in Egypt is of immense importance, not only due to the importance of the country but also due to the radicality of the demand. The demand is not just that Mubarak should leave — that is a first step — but that the system be changed, putting an end to the neoliberal […]
Obama Gives Israel Too Much Love in Valentine’s Day Budget
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation today criticized the Obama Administration for giving Israel “too much love” in its FY2012 budget request to Congress. The budget request, delivered today to Capitol Hill, contains a record-breaking $3.075 billion in military aid to Israel. “With the United States facing an ongoing budget deficit and debt, […]
