The latest tightening of Israel’s chokehold on Gaza — ending all supplies into the Strip for more than a week — has produced immediate and shocking consequences for Gaza’s 1.5 million inhabitants. The refusal to allow in fuel has forced the shutting down of Gaza’s only power station, creating a blackout that pushed Palestinians bearing […]
Geography Archives: Lebanon
“The Americans Have Failed”: An Interview with Nawaf al-Moussawi
With Barack Obama, the US could improve its position in the Middle East. Lebanon’s Hezbollah believes that an attack on Iran is unlikely. Nawaf al-Moussawi is Deputy Secretary and a member of the Politburo of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Al-Moussawi, a Doctor of Philosophy, is Hezbollah’s spokesman for international relations. Mr. al-Moussawi, does the election of […]
Israel’s Man of the Year Eluded Justice
After reading about Israel’s most recent Man of the Year Award recipient, I did not know whether to laugh or cry. It looks like the judging panel at the Israeli television station Channel 2 is in need of a public relations consultant. The recipient of this year’s award was Meir Dagan, the Chief of Mossad, […]
Renouncing Zionism, Reclaiming Humanity
It is about time that Jews spoke out strongly and decisively against Zionism, and the newly announced International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) is trying to do just that. IJAN is moving towards an “offensive” against Zionism rather than the customary “reactionism,” responding to outrages, which characterizes most solidarity work. This offensive takes two routes: A […]
The Heart Wants to Hope, But the Brain Cannot
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni eked out the narrowest of victories in the primary elections for the leadership of the Kadima party over her principal rival, über-hawk Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz. Livni won by 431 votes, or 1.1% of the 39,331 ballots cast. Only a little more than half the eligible members of Kadima turned […]
“Just the Facts”: Interview with Norman G. Finkelstein
Norman Finkelstein is one of the world’s most outspoken and tenacious scholars on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and a fierce critic of the way Israel’s supporters try to wield the memory of anti-Semitism as a baton to beat up on those who criticize the country’s well-documented atrocities. Author of Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism […]
Iran, Israel, and the Looming Threat of War
Friends, Enemies, and “Existential” Threats In the ceaseless and invariably bellicose calls for war (both open and clandestine) against Iran, perhaps one argument invoked by pro-war pundits and politicians stands out and takes pride of place above all others: Iran, it is claimed, “poses an existential threat to the state of Israel.” It’s certainly been […]
Dealing with Iran’s Not-So-Irrational Leadership
Nothing expresses the widening gap between the mind frames of the Iranian ruling elite and their Western counterparts more than the headlines in their respective newspapers. The American media, above all, have unilaterally resolved the intelligence questions over Iran’s nuclear program. The New York Times leads the pack with articles and even editorials that […]
Pakistan Invades America — “Without Permission”
The U.S. State Department lodged a sharp protest over ongoing Pakistani missile strikes and ground raids today, saying the Islamic Republic was violating American sovereignty. “We will try to convince Pakistan . . . to respect [the] sovereignty of the United States — and God willing, we will convince,” State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack told […]
A Guantanomized Age: The Long Interrogation
Stark images of spectral men — their appearance in bright orange jumpsuits belied by legal invisibility — have been seared into the minds of many Muslims as an index of America’s anger. But, for American Muslims, abuse and disappearance of detainees are not the defining features of the “war on terror.” Eyed by the national […]
Sarah Palin: Vice Wrapped in Virtue
Conservatives unveiled their vice presidential wildcard with high hopes of courting disaffected Clintonistas and mobilizing the religious base. But the payoff appeared increasingly meager as Sarah Palin’s unscreened embarrassments, from attempted book-bannings to vindictive political purges, came tumbling down her mountain of presumed moral authority. Fortunately for Republicans, the timidity and “good manners” that served […]
The Only Good Muslim Is the Anti-Muslim: Liberals’ Fear of Islam
For some, Barack Obama’s stature as a man of the Left has fallen precipitously, like late autumn leaves shed by branches bowing to the will of winter. Disappointment has often been self-inflicted. Supporters have dipped their pens deeply into the inkwell of Obama’s inspiring story and written their own lines on Afghanistan, oil drilling, or […]
The Bottom of the Barrel: A Review of Paul Collier’s The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done about It
Summary Paul Collier, in an attempt to bring development economics to a wider audience, has written a book that departs from what he calls the “grim apparatus of professional scholarship.” The result is a book that is almost entirely unverifiable. What is verifiable turns out to be an elaborate fiction. Collier’s thesis is based upon […]
Huge Stakes behind War in Caucasus
“Georgia is a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity must be respected.” Had George Bush said what he said about Georgia from Beijing about Serbia as well, this is how he would have approached the so-called independence of Kosovo. The truth, of course, is far from this. The US was the first country to recognize […]
Want Lower Gas Prices? Lift AIPAC’s Sanctions on Iran
Senator McCain, President Bush, and some of their oil industry friends are urging Americans to support overturning a 26-year ban on offshore drilling as a way to bring down gas prices. Of course, it’s snake oil designed for what the Joe Lieberman campaign affectionately called “low information voters.” As Dean Baker and Nichole Szembrot of […]
Reality Bites. Bush Blinks. Tough Road Ahead.
This month the Bush administration finally blinked. After years of bluster about “staying the course” and “not rewarding evildoers by talking to them,” a shift in White House declarations indicated that failure is forcing even this President to adjust. First, about Iraq: Three months ago Bush was promising an imminent “Status of Forces Agreement” that […]
Narrating Women’s Roles and Resistance in Palestinian Politics
Frances Hasso. Resistance, Repression, and Gender Politics in Occupied Palestine and Jordan. Gender, Culture, and Politics in the Middle East Series. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2005. ix + 231 pp. Bibliography, index. $24.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-8156-3087-6. Frances Hasso makes abundantly clear what her book, Resistance, Repression, and Gender Politics in Occupied Palestine and Jordan, […]
Palestine and Israel: What’s Iran Got to Do with It?
Responding to the Israeli voices and actions noisily advocating a preemptive strike against Iran, Ha-Aretz columnist Uzi Benziman (July 21, 2008) writes, “Before bombing Iran, it would be best [for Israel] to solve the conflict with the Palestinians. By the way, there does appear to be a link between the two threats.” While Benziman doesn’t […]
Palestine in the Middle East: Opposing Neoliberalism and US Power (Part 2)
Adam Hanieh, “Palestine in the Middle East: Opposing Neoliberalism and US Power: Part 1,” MRZine, 19 July 2008. Neoliberalism, the “New Middle East” and Palestine In the late 1960s, with the definitive collapse of British and French colonialism in the Middle East, the US rose to become the dominant imperial power within the region. Because […]
Has the “Surge” in Iraq Worked?
In 2006, things seemed to be going badly for the U.S. military efforts in Iraq. The Iraq war became a top issue in the 2006 Congressional elections in the United States. It is generally agreed that the Republicans did poorly in those elections, largely because the U.S. electorate had become disillusioned with the viability and […]
