With respect to international law, in what ways does this intervention in Libya differ from those carried out in Afghanistan and Iraq? The intervention in Afghanistan, despite protestations to the contrary, was not authorized by the Security Council, whose relevant resolutions did not even mention Afghanistan, let alone authorize “all necessary means.” That was because […]
Geography Archives: Lebanon
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 […]
Syrians Living Abroad, Standing Up for Syria and Bashar
Bashar al-Assad is a lucky man. Even the mother of the Angry Arab (himself no fan of the Syrian president) seems to like him: “As my mom says about him: he is the best educated among Arab leaders (many of whom are illiterate) and it shows.” — Ed. Beirut, Lebanon, 27.03.11 Cairo, Egypt, 31.03.11 Bucharest, […]
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 […]
Libya and Yemen — Study in Contrast
It is now clear that the no-fly zone has been expanded in Libya to a military campaign for a regime change, something that the UN Security Council did not authorize. Gaddafi’s residence in Tripoli has been bombed and more strikes are taking place in Tripoli and other towns. The argument of course is that Gaddafi’s […]
Musa Sadr in Libya?
In 2007, Gaddafi expressed ambitions to revive a Fatimid state to create the foundations for a renaissance in North Africa, in a bid to attract the attention of Shia scholars and leaders. In vain — for he unapologetically also expressed shockingly undemocratic sentiments to the effect that elections and coups are no different! His failed […]
Bahrain’s Potential Domino Effect in the Persian Gulf
On my first nighttime visit to Pearl Square I couldn’t help but notice the immense number of youth amongst the huge gathering of tens of thousands of people in the midst of an atmosphere of joy and victory. University students and teenagers who were able to organize themselves by resorting to the latest trend of […]
Iran: Green Solidarity with (Some) Arabs
Critics of the Islamic Republic of Iran held a protest on 25 Bahman 1389 (14 February 2011). The protest turnout today — far from negligible given the well known severe limits to anti-systemic dissent imposed by the state — apparently failed to meet the expectations of some of its supporters, so one such individual went […]
On the Egyptian Revolution and the American Strategy
7 February 2011 . . . Today we declare our solidarity. One of the forms of our solidarity is to defend this revolution, this intifada, this great historic popular movement. One of the responsibilities of defending this revolution is to reveal its true image as all data indicate. . . . We contact those on […]
Will There Be War on Iran? Two Divergent Views
In 2002 Iran was added to the neoconservative-designed ‘Axis of Evil’ and thus declared ripe for US military intervention. The threat of war in the ‘greatest crisis of modern times’ (John Pilger in the New Statesman, July 12, 2007) was at its height in 2006-2007. With President Obama assuming office in 2009, a great hope […]
On the Arab Revolt: Interview with Vijay Prashad
Vijay Prashad is a prominent Marxist scholar from South Asia. He is George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of International Studies at Trinity College, Connecticut. He has written extensively on international affairs for both academic and popular journals. His most recent book The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the […]
The Shifting Balance of Power in the Middle East: The Cases of Egypt and Lebanon
America’s international standing is under mounting strain on multiple fronts. Nowhere is this more glaring than in the Middle East, where the balance of influence (and hence power) is shifting away from the United States and toward Iran, Turkey, and their allies. This trend may, in fact, accelerate as a consequence of ongoing unrest in […]
Lebanon: STL President Antonio Cassese, Promoter of Mojahedin-e Khalq
On 26 January 2011, Fars News, a semi-official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reported that Antonio Cassese, the president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (commonly called “Hariri Tribunal”), was a legal adviser to a powerful committee to de-list Mojahedin-e Khalq (“People’s Mojahedin of Iran,” aka MEK, MKO, and PMOI) from the […]
Egypt Answers Tunisia!
25 January 2011 They do not belong to a political party, they do not follow a particular ideology, they make an appointment on Facebook, an appointment we all laughed about, telling them you cannot have a revolution like you have a blind date, but today in tens of thousands they came. . . . They […]
Feltman in Tunisia
“We heard that [US Assistant Secretary of State] Jeffrey Feltman visited Tunisia. This is a bad omen. The Tunisian people should be on guard: when Feltman wants to discuss processes and elections with the interim Tunisian government,* it definitely means an American conspiracy in the making. Wherever this sorcerer Feltman appears, strife and ruin follow […]
Lebanon: Has Hezbollah Outmaneuvered Saad Hariri?
Miqati to Be PM by Andrew Bossone Miqati and Hizbullah Out-play the Analysts by Nicholas Noe I must say I was also taken by surprise at the pace of events and the relative success THUS FAR of the opposition. Ever since the government fell, an almost UNIFORM consensus among the analysts was that there […]
Tunisia: Interview with Dyab Abou Jahjah
Listen to the interview with Dyab Abou Jahjah: 4th World War: To what extent do you think this popular revolution can achieve not just democratic rights but also something else: social change? Dyab Abou Jahjah: After the dictator left the country, many people of what was the legalized opposition, the parties that were legal […]
The Lesson of the Tunisian Revolution
“Saad Hariri went to the United States and had meetings there. Right after that, the Saudis contacted the Syrians to tell them that they could no longer continue this initiative [of Syria and Saudi Arabia to broker a deal between Hezbollah and Hariri on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon]. . . . The Americans and […]
Tunisia: The Logic of Revolution
The Tunisian revolution continues to dictate its own logic on all levels. . . . After attempts by regime leftovers to spread chaos by several techniques (cars driving through the streets shooting at people and houses randomly, destroying infrastructure, etc.), the Tunisian people organized itself in committees that spread all across the country, in every […]
