and other news from the Arab uprisings:
Bahrain
Amnesty International: Bahrain’s ‘revenge drive’ against protesters
Amnesty International researcher Said Boumedouha criticizes the ongoing detention and trials of pro-reform activists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_1A9G1LW6Q&feature=player_embedded
Bahrain wants to expand military bases (Reuters)
Reuters – Bahrain floated the idea of expanding military bases within a bloc of Sunni-led Gulf Arab allies that helped it quash Shi’ite protests in March, while U.S. President Barack Obama criticized Manama over its crackdown.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110519/wl_nm/us_bahrain
Cameron’s “rolling out the red carpet for Bahrain’s torturer-in-chief…”
“… David Cameron raised concerns over the use of violence against protesters in Bahrain (as he) met with Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at his home at London’s Downing Street for discussions on the uprisings across the Middle East and north Africa, …. Al Khalifa’s visit with Cameron — who posed for photographs shaking the leader’s hand outside Downing Street — comes after he declined an invitation to Prince William’s royal wedding …. In talks, Cameron “emphasized his support for the crown prince…”
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/05/camerons-rolling-out-red-carpet-for.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+friday-lunch-club+%28%22friday-lunch-club%22%29
Bahrain activists jailed following ‘politically motivated’ trials
A military court has sentenced 15 activists to between one and four years imprisonment for “participating in illegal demonstrations and inciting hatred against the regime”.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/bahrain-activists-jailed-following-politically-motivated-trials-2011-05-18
Bahraini troops raid Nuwaidrat village
The Saudi-backed Bahraini soldiers have conducted several raids in the village of Nuwaidrat as a deadly crackdown continues against peaceful protesters. Activists say gunshots have been heard in the area on Wednesday and several checkpoints have been set up. According to witnesses, thugs attacked residents as they did the previous night in other areas.
http://jnoubiyeh.com/2011/05/bahraini-troops-raid-nuwaidrat-village.html
Bahrain court adjourns Shiite death sentence appeal (AFP)
AFP – A special security court in Bahrain postponed Wednesday the appeal hearing of four Shiites sentenced to death and three others jailed for life for killing two policemen.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110518/wl_mideast_afp/bahrainpoliticsunresttrial
Bahrain: Shiite cleric sentenced by security court (AP)
AP – A Bahraini security court has sentenced a prominent Shiite cleric and eight others to 20 years in prison for the alleged kidnapping of a police officer.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110519/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain
Bahrain editors deny charges amid reports of continuing bloodbath
Three former editors of Bahrain‘s main opposition newspaper have pleaded not guilty to charges of unethical coverage of Shia-led opposition protests against the kingdom’s Sunni rulers. Among the charges faced by the Al Wasat journalists is one of “publishing fabricated news.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/may/19/press-freedom-bahrain
Bahrain solidifies its Orwellian system
“Bahrain has set up new units within its Information Affairs Authority to monitor the output of foreign news services and social media, it was announced on Wednesday. Nawaf Mohammed Al Mawadh, the IAA’s director of publication and publishing and acting director of foreign media, said the move was part of a new strategic plan for 2011-15. Al Mawadh said that the IAA had restructured its directorates and created new ones to “further help project the kingdom’s achievements and respond to false information that some channels broadcast”. He said in comments published by state news agency BPA that new directorates included one for media monitoring, another for media relations and one for social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/bahrain-solidifies-its-orwellian-system.html
Bahrain Regime Tactics Squeezing Protests
Security force deployment around the country has significantly restricted the size of demonstrations – but people are determined to continue their struggle. We feel the world and its media have forgotten about Bahrain and this is really disappointing. The violence against its citizens is definitely working – but it is not a solution.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/bahrain-regime-tactics-squeezing-protests?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+iwprstories+%28IWPR+Stories%29
Egypt
Obama to offer debt relief to Egypt in Mideast speech (Reuters)
Reuters – President Barack Obama will unveil an economic aid program for Egypt and Tunisia on Thursday as part of a broad effort to support democratic reform in the Middle East and North Africa, U.S. officials said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110519/wl_nm/us_obama_mideast_aid
Egypt: Victims of protest violence deserve justice
The Egyptian authorities must provide justice to all of the victims of violent repression that took place during mass anti-government protests earlier this year, Amnesty International said in a comprehensive report into abuses that led to at least 840 deaths.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/egypt-victims-protest-violence-deserve-justice-2011-05-17
Egypt teenager’s death sentence condemned
Ahmed Marous Ibrahim was one of four people sentenced to death by hanging by Cairo’s Supreme Military Court for abducting and raping a 17-year-old girl. Amnesty International today condemned the death sentence handed down by a Cairo military court against a 17-year-old boy, warning that unfair military trials are corroding Egypt’s criminal justice system.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/egypt-teenager%E2%80%99s-death-sentence-condemned-2011-05-18
Egypt FM: Renewal of our ties with Iran shouldn’t worry Israel
Nabil Elaraby, who is known for his hard line regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, says resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict is was the key to a regional peace agreement.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/egypt-fm-renewal-of-our-ties-with-iran-shouldn-t-worry-israel-1.362888?localLinksEnabled=false
Need confirmation : Hussein salem arrested in Israel !? “Updated”
Ya people I need a confirmation quickly , Youm 7 “Which I do not trust or read” claims that the National Egyptian “which I do not follow” has announced that the Interpol arrested Hussein Salem in Tel Aviv , Israel. Allegedly he is using an Israeli passport and is currently staying in Israel. The ministry of interior allegedly has reported these details to the Interpol from couple of days in order he would be arrested yet there is nothing about his arrest yet. “Based on a tweet by an alleged police officer tweep” Here is Hussein Salem’s page in the Interpol. Here is my post about him , my early post as I want to write about him but I need time.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/05/need-confirmation-hussein-salem.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29
Interpol “arrests Egyptian businessman in Israel”
Reports in Egypt claim that Interpol, the international police body, has arrested the Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem in Israel. He has been wanted in his home country on charges of damaging Egyptian interests, including wasting public money for the benefit of others and selling Egypt’s natural gas to Israel below the contractual price and global market rates. Interpol posted a picture of Salem in the “wanted” section of its website along with some of his personal details. The Interpol site added that the fugitive businessman is wanted for questioning by the First Attorney General of Egypt’s Supreme State Security Department in Cairo, Mr. Hisham Badawi.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2375-interpol-qarrests-egyptian-businessman-in-israelq
Tahrir protests back in Cairo to renew the revolution
Egyptian activists and revolutionaries are gathering today in Tahrir square in a Friday protest called “Renewing the revolution and in memory of the martyrs.” Thousands have gathered so far, calling for the release of political prisoners and trials of corrupt regime figures, including ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons. Some protesters are also calling for national unity in response to recent sectarian violence.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/12543/Egypt/Politics-/Tahrir-protests-back-in-Cairo-to-renew-the-revolut.aspx
25 activists detained at the Israeli Embassy released with suspended sentences
Twenty five activists and journalists detained during nakba day demonstrations in front of the Israeli Embassy took suspended sentences at military trials today. The demonstrations turned ugly when military police and Central Security Forces broke up the protest, arresting 135 activists. Fifteen were sentenced to one year and 10 were sentenced to six months. All sentences have been suspended and activists are to be released tonight or tomorrow, according to Mona Saif, a rights activist with the No Military Trials movement. Several protests, supporting the detainees took place this week.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/12517/Egypt/Politics-/-activists-detained-at-the-Israeli-Embassy-release.aspx
Ex-housing minister and Alaa Mubarak’s father-in-law referred to criminal court
Prosecutor-general Abdel Megid Mahmoud has referred former housing minister Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman, four of his deputies and businessman Magdi Rasekh to the criminal court on charges of embezzling public funds.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/12406/Egypt/Politics-/Exhousing-minister-and-Alaa-Mubarak%E2%80%99s-fatherinlaw-.aspx
Nabil Fahmi
If Nabil Fahmi becomes the foreign minister of Egypt, you know that he will be a front for Saudi Arabia/US/Israel. He is Mubark incarnate. It would be the biggest setback since the beginning of the uprising. A campaign should be mounted against his candidacy for the job.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/nabil-fahmi_18.html
Reflections on the (In)Visibility of Copts in Egypt
I’ve been thinking lately about the circumstances under which Coptic Christians emerge on the Egyptian socio-political landscape. Those circumstances tend to be, in a word, ugly. Copts become a visible religious community when they are attacked. And then Westerners in particular wonder: “Who are the Copts?” (I should also point out, however, that although well aware of the existence of Copts, or al-aqbat in Arabic, most Egyptian Muslims are equally unfamiliar with Coptic religiosity.) This strange play between visibility and invisibility is the problematic that I take up here, arguing that what is desirable for Copts in a new Egypt is a visibility that takes seriously their religiosity. I do so by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork I have been doing among Copts and reflecting on recent events in Egypt.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1624/reflections-on-the-%28in%29visibility-of-copts-in-egyp
Egyptian uprising’s reporter: ‘Two Egypts have emerged’
Ayman Mohyeldin was the face of al-Jazeera’s coverage. Time magazine named him one of the most influential people of 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/19/egptian-uprisings-reporter-two-egypts
Egypt’s uprising brings DIY spirit out on to the streets
In the hundred days since Hosni Mubarak was toppled, there has been an explosion of creative energy in the alternative arts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/19/egypts-uprising-diy-art-cairo-streets
Hamdy Reda, “To the Spanish People, a Message of Solidarity from Ard al-Liwa, Egypt” (Video)
All of the Egyptian people are behind you and anyone who wants to make a revolution, anyone who wants to achieve something. There is a saying: If the people want life, destiny should give it to them.”
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/reda200511.html
Libya
NATO: Libya Warships Sunk
BRUSSELS (Reuters) NATO aircraft sank eight warships belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in overnight attacks, the alliance said on Friday. The ships were sunk in coordinated attacks on the ports of Tripoli, Al Khums and Sirte, an alliance statement said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/20/nato-libya-warships-sunk_n_864618.html
NATO: Gaddafi forces ‘significantly degraded’
Head of military alliance says military and political pressures are weakening the Libyan leader’s hold on power.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/05/201151914159509484.html
Rebels: Gaddafi fighters shell western mountains
TRIPOLI, Libya, (AP) – Hundreds of Muammar Gaddafi’s loyalists staged a show of support in the capital early Thursday, claiming the rebel insurgency is nearing its end, even as the Libyan leader’s forces have intensified their campaign to take strategic [..]
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=25225
Tunisia denies Gadhafi wife, daughter in country
Pan-Arab television channels quote the Tunisian Interior Ministry as denying that the wife and daughter of Muammar Gadhafi crossed into Tunisia several days ago.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/mideast-in-turmoil/tunisia-denies-gadhafi-wife-daughter-in-country-1.362684?localLinksEnabled=false
Libya releases four journalists
The Libyan government says it has freed four foreign journalists detained for illegally entering the country, amid the uprising by rebels.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13447254
Defending Misrata
The Libyan footballer now trying to tackle Gaddafi’s forces.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13462311
Libya: The Lives they Leave Behind
“My father didn’t even recognize me,” Abdel Wahed, 32, told me when I interviewed him in a hospital in southern Tunisia in late April. His entire face was blackened with serious burns from what he believed was a Grad rocket launched by Gaddafi forces that landed just outside his home in Zintan, in the Nafusa mountains of western Libya.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/18/libya-lives-they-leave-behind
Religious controls lifted in Benghazi
In the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi the opposition’s version of governance is in full swing. Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley reports on the city where reforms are already being put into action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAzT1s62AFs&feature=youtube_gdata
Libyan rebel TV channel trying to reach more people
DUBAI, May 19 (Reuters) – Rebels fighting to overthrow Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi have launched a television channel to promote their cause, but part of their broadcast is blocked by a regional satellite, a rebel media official said on Thursday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-rebel-tv-channel-trying-to-reach-more-people
Libya Revolt Sidelines Women, Who Led It
While Libya’s fledgling rebel government has more than doubled in size, women now occupy just 2 of the 40 or so positions in the leadership.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=83d3dc3b206ad207b1ef478f37a8e4d6
Oman
Oman must charge or release detained protesters
A group of people detained following recent pro-reform protests in Oman’s capital Muscat must be charged or released.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/oman-must-charge-or-release-detained-protesters-2011-05-18
Saudi Arabia
A Saudi crude propagandist explains Saudi counter revolution
Enjoy his reference to Saudi Arabia “leading” the Arab world. This is like saying that Fouad Ajami speaks for Arabs. “Saudi Arabia will not allow the political unrest in the region to destabilize the Arab monarchies — the Gulf states, Jordan and Morocco. In Yemen, the Saudis are insisting on an orderly transition of power and a dignified exit for President Ali Abdullah Saleh (a courtesy that was not extended to Hosni Mubarak, despite the former Egyptian president’s many years as a strong U.S. ally). To facilitate this handover, Riyadh is leading a diplomatic effort under the auspices of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council. In Iraq, the Saudi government will continue to pursue a hard-line stance against the Maliki government, which it regards as little more than an Iranian puppet. In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia will act to check the growth of Hezbollah and to ensure that this Iranian proxy does not dominate the country’s political life. Regarding the widespread upheaval in Syria, the Saudis will work to ensure that any potential transition to a post-Assad era is as peaceful and as free of Iranian meddling as possible.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/saudi-crude-propagandist-explains-saudi.html
Syria
Syrian forces ‘fire on Homs protesters’
Witnesses say at least nine killed, including two boys, in latest protests against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/201152013723847215.html
Iraqis flee violence in Syria, return home (AP)
AP – It’s easy to identify the Iraqis fleeing the violent uprising in Syria as they arrive by bus in Baghdad.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110520/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_returning_home
Dorothy Parvaz recounts detention
After returning to Doha, Al Jazeera journalist Dorothy Parvaz has described her experiences while being detained in Syria for three days and then in Iran for 16 more. Parvaz was first held and interrogated in Damascus, Syria’s capital, upon her arrival there on April 29 to cover anti-government demonstrations. She was then deported to Iran. She was finally freed on Wednesday morning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZY5KeGqo3c&feature=player_embedded
Syrian president admits mistakes
Syria’s president has said his security forces made mistakes during the uprising against his regime, blaming poorly-trained police officers for a crackdown that has killed more than 850 people in two months.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-president-admits-mistakes-2285763.html
Syria condemns US sanctions on Assad
US says sanctions meant to pressure Assad to end violent crackdown, Syria condemns move as “serving Israel’s interests”.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/2011518164713908756.html
US to impose sanctions on Assad
The Obama administration will impose sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad and six senior Syrian officials for human rights abuses for their crackdown on anti-government protests, for the first time personally penalizing the Syrian leader for actions of his security forces, officials said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-to-impose-sanctions-on-assad-2285859.html
Joshua Landis, “Who Benefits from Sanctioning Syria’s Assad?”
Sanctioning President Assad — what can it accomplish? Oddly, the sanctions against Syria’s top government figures come at a time when the regime is gaining control over the protest movement and suppressing dissent. The opposition failed to divide the Syrian army from the president as happened in Egypt. They also failed to provoke a confessional split in the army as happened in Lebanon. Sunni soldiers have not split from Alawis, despite all the talk about “shabbihas,” which is code for Alawis. Who in the world do they think is going to unseat Assad? This is most perplexing. Western leaders will certainly get a weakened Syria and a more isolated Assad from these sanctions but not regime change. Obama gains. Opposition leaders get more support. Syrians will get poorer.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/landis190511.html
Hassan Khaled Chatila, “The Revolt in Syria”
The revolt is not generalized across the country and society. It is more like a series of neighbourhood uprisings than a centralized revolution. The main actors so far have been educated youth and unemployed youth seeking access to modernity. . . . These youth do not put forward social demands; they think that political democracy and liberty can solve all the problems they face in their daily lives. . . . This movement has not been able to seriously threaten the regime’s existence. . . . The situation in Syria is far from generalized civil disobedience, principally because of the almost complete absence of slogans putting forward social and economic demands, notably the struggle against hunger, poverty and unemployment. Such slogans could come to the forefront alongside calls for democracy only in a broad democratic united front in which the left played an important role. But in Syria there is neither such a front nor a left.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/chatila190511.html
Report from Syria
A Lebanese comrade who works in Syria sent me this (I cite with his permission): ”I spent the day…first the road to there was normal, nothing special, on the way back there were two checkpoints before Damascus. Intelligence guys, young with their dirty looks and clothes, you would think the regime is smarter than that even in PR. I mainly spoke to 3 colleagues who are from Dar3a and surroundings. They know me so they are comfortable to talk and share details. The main point the 3 confirmed separately is Aljazeera coverage is not even 10 % of the truth !! they confirmed the story of the mass grave found, the media spoke of 1 but they are 4-5 so far. People even saw when the bodies were being disposed. All these stories about confessions is bullshit, they know some of the guys who appeared on TV. They were put in prison and forced to say what they said Even the images of people throwing rice on the army as it left Dar3a were staged, they can confirm from the people’s accent (not from Dar3a) and even the location of these images, close to govt headquarters. The 4th division (Maher Asad) is in Dar3a as it was reported. The big and somehow strange story is the 4 and 5 division fought each other ! but not cause of dissent but because how the 4 division treats the other army divisions. Apparently they bombed each other with tanks !! and literally hundreds of them were killed. People saw how they came with trucks and bulldozers to take the bodies. The stories about army being killed is either army killing army or security killing army.One guy said, the point of no return was crossed like 2 weeks ago. They are hopeful that it will pick up soon in Allepo where students on campus there are the ones who are trying at the moment. Two of them criticized a bit the people in Damascus and Allepo (one called them cowards) Three of the arrested in Da3ra in the mosque were christian doctors. The Sunni families fleeing Dar3a were taking cover at christian families around the city, so the stories of Salafis and religious fantaticism is so untrue in that region. The regime is playing this card in Homs and Banias where they are arming the A3lawee areas surrounding the Sunni centers. There are thousands of prisoners in Dar3a, and a security officer at each door, that is why it has calmed down a bit lately.The events at the Golan border last Sunday… Initially they wanted the Palestinians (7000-8000) to carry Bashar pics and Syrian flags but they refused and only carried Syrian flags.
One of the guys had to take out his family ouf of Dar3a because they were literally eating old stale bread at the end after 2 weeks of heavy curfew. They all confirmed that there was no party leading the events, no muslim brotherhood, no Khadam, nothing. They are all weak. it is just a popular revolt where in each area, people are calling the shots. We drove back yesterday night, all seemed fine on the surface but I had the feeling that it is all brewing and there is much more to come soon. it cannot go on like this. that is all I remember now, but they will be giving me more info from now on.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/report-from-syria.html
Tunisia
Knowledge Liberation Front, “Notes from the Liberation Without Borders Tour in Tunisia”
This afternoon we also witnessed the arrest of a young activist by political police, only a short distance from the Interior Ministry. Another result of the rising tension, beyond the indefinite curfew imposed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., is the new ban on all demonstrations in the city. In response to this growing repression, demos and strikes across the country have been called for the coming days. As one activist commented, “It was an error to have abandoned the Casbah . . . but now we will take back the streets to push the revolution forward.” . . . Contrary to the image portrayed by the Western media, far from being just a bread riot, what happened in Tunisia is an insurrection due to the global economic crisis: its genealogy lies in a long process of proletarian struggles (specifically the 2008 strike in a mining district) and conflicts in southern Tunisia. Moreover, its social composition of highly educated and yet precariously employed or unemployed workers and students has much in common with that of the movements in Europe and elsewhere. An example of that commonality can be seen in the fiercely contested decision made by the transitional government to continue to respect the existing agreements with the supranational institutions of global capitalism like the IMF and the World Bank and to pay the country’s debts, rather than investing in education and social welfare. It all underlines the transnational character of the struggle in Tunisia, which, however, goes well beyond the antiquated notions of international solidarity. “To liberate Palestine, for example” one activist forcefully pointed out, “we must liberate ourselves.” What is at stake in this extraordinary political laboratory, it appears, is whether the insurrectionary movement can find new forms of collective organization, building a constituent process and a new social relation.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/klf180511.html
Yemen
Saleh calls for early Yemen elections
Yemeni president’s call for early polls comes a day after he pledged again to sign a deal to end his decades-long rule.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/201152042816774534.html
Yemen rivals fail to sign GCC-brokered deal
Gulf mediator leaves Sanaa after president refuses to ink plan that would have seen him stepping down in a month.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/201151817048705436.html
Obama’s Speech
Obama’s speech
It is not that it brought nothing new: It was not even novel or original rhetorically. I don’t see any reason why he delivered it. I know that Obama’s administration, like previous US administrations, assumes that Arabs are fools and can be deceived easily, but did those who worked on the speech really think that any Arab would be fooled with those words? Don’t forget that his speech in Cairo came early in his administration and Arabs had high hopes about him. But Obama is giving the speech in light of his lousy record. I doubt that any Arab would follow it with interest even.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/obamas-speech.html
Obama’s racism
Typical of US policy, Obama rehashed the typical US racism where the deaths of the Palestinians is not not mentioned when only the deaths of Israelis is mentioned. They invent a false equation: between “deaths of Israelis” and some vague formulation of “suffering” of Palestinians as if Palestinians are not victims of Israeli terrorism. I watch the speech and remember all my friends who could not understand why I would never ever vote for Obama.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/obamas-racism.html
Swaps
Obama suggested that any Arab-Israeli “solution” should be based on the 1967 borders provided that Israel decide how much it wants to retain from those lands. He suggested that a settlement would entail exchange of “swaps” of lands. Let me translate: Israel would get to keep the West Bank and Gaza while Palestinians would get to retain the bones of their ancestors.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/swaps.html
Obama on Bouazizi
I don’t know why but it offends me deeply when Obama or any US official mentions the name of Muhammad Bouazizi. I feel that they should not dare mention his name.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/obama-on-bouazizi.html
Street vendor in Tunisia
How dare Obama feign respect for Albouazizi? He bows down to oil potentates and not to streets vendors in Arab cities.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/street-vendor-in-tunisia.html
Translating Obama’s speech
He said that the US supports “reform” and “transition to democracy” in the Arab world. By reform, he means the repressive measures of the Bahrain dictatorship that his government has endorsed. By transition to democracy, he means that the US fully supports democracy in Saudi Arabia and other monarchies provided the transition takes place over a period of at least two centuries. Arabs are expected to cheer his words in the streets.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/translating-obamas-speech.html
Denying Israel’s right to exist
No, he got it wrong. We are not saying that Israel does not exist. It does exist. But we certainly don’t want that state to exist, just as Apartheid South Africa should not have existed.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/denying-israels-right-to-exist.html
Women in the Middle East
Obama said that US supports women in the Middle East. He added that US calls on US allies in the region to treat their multiple wives and concubines equally. Feminist Majority applauded the speech and called on the US to invade any Muslim country of his choosing.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/women-in-middle-east.html
What Obama could not possibly say, Pepe Escobar
Facts on the ground will decide whether the United States really “values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator”. So let’s start with a fact. For US President Barack Obama, Saudi Arabia is not in the Middle East. Maybe the House of Saud has relocated the deserts and the oil to Oceania without telling anyone. In his major speech on Thursday from where the opening quote comes, and where, according to the Reuters gospel, he would “lay out a new US strategy toward a skeptical Arab world”, the skeptical Arabs, and the whole world for that matter, never heard these fateful two words, “Saudi” and “Arabia”. Even India, Indonesia and Brazil were mentioned.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ME21Ak01.html
Robert Fisk: Lots of rhetoric – but very little help
It was the same old story. Palestinians can have a “viable” state, Israel a “secure” one. Israel cannot be de-legitimised. The Palestinians must not attempt to ask the UN for statehood in September. No peace can be imposed on either party. Sometimes yesterday, you could have turned this into Obama’s forthcoming speech to pro-Israeli lobbyists this weekend. Oh yes, and the Palestinian state must have no weapons to defend itself. So that’s what “viable” means!
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-lots-of-rhetoric-ndash-but-very-little-help-2286711.html
Obama’s Middle East speech missed ‘historic opportunity,’ say many Arabs
While those involved in Arab uprisings welcomed Obama’s support, others were disappointed with his failure to apologize for US support for Middle East dictators.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/Z-pZu0VL6IM/Obama-s-Middle-East-speech-missed-historic-opportunity-say-many-Arabs
US urged to ‘learn from mistakes of the past’ in Middle East and North Africa
US president Barack Obama urged to use his speech on the Middle East to commit to the pursuit of a more even-handed approach to Arab states, with human rights at its heart.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/us-urged-learn-mistakes-past-middle-east-and-north-africa-2011-05-19
What Obama will not say, Issandr El Amrani
Tonight, US President Barack Obama will make his first major speech touching on the situation in the Middle East since the uprisings began in late 2010. The speech is intended to bring some clarity to US policy in the region in reaction to the tumultuous and ongoing changes it is facing, and counter criticism that the Obama administration has responded to these events in an haphazard and confusing way. It is meant to be, some have speculated (no doubt informed by leaks from the White House), a “reset” of relations between America and the Arab world.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/443218
Another major policy speech on the Middle East? Yawn, Stephen M. Walt
I know I’m supposed to get excited about the “major policy address” on Middle East policy that President Obama is going to deliver today, and you can be sure that plenty of people will be standing by to parse and spin every syllable. And then they’ll do the same thing to his speech at the AIPAC policy conference on Sunday, and will hover with equal intensity over Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress next week.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/19/another_major_policy_speech_on_the_middle_east_yawn
OBAMA ON THE MIDDLE EAST: STICKING WITH A FAILED SCRIPT
In an effort to define the dominant narrative about the on-going Arab awakening and America’s role in the Middle East, President Obama will give tomorrow what the White House is billing as a major address on Middle East policy.
http://www.raceforiran.com/obama-on-the-middle-east-sticking-with-a-failed-script
ANALYSIS-Arabs see Obama speech as late, not enough
Reflecting that disillusion, Egyptian activist Hossam El-Hamalawy wrote on social media site Twitter: “Obama gave a speech? Really? As if I care”.
http://af.reuters.com/article/tunisiaNews/idAFLDE74I0G220110519?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
Other Middle East News/Analysis & Op-ed
UAE to be first Arab country with NATO embassy
The United Arab Emirates is to make a landmark move, becoming the first Arab country to send an ambassador to NATO, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Wednesday.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/05/19/149686.html
Gates and Mullen: Stop leaking details of the bin Laden raid!
The nation’s top civilian and military defense officials are calling on their government colleagues to shut up about the details of the May 1 raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen held their first press conference on Wednesday since the mission to kill bin Laden. Gates stood by a remark he made May 12 at Camp Lejeune, in which he said there was an agreement by top Obama officials in the Situation Room to not reveal details of the raid — but that the agreement fell apart the next day.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/18/gates_and_mullen_stop_leaking_details_of_the_bin_laden_raid
Nir Rosen on Western media fraud in the Middle East
Journalist and author Nir Rosen writes the following in an article for Al Jazeera about the myriad obstacles to the dissemination of truth in Western reporting on the Middle East: Relying on a translator means you can only talk to one person at a time and you miss all the background noise.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/05/19/nir-rosen-on-western-media-fraud-in-the-middle-east/
The future of the Arab uprisings, Joseph Massad
The US, with its allies, has already begun plans to subvert the Arab Spring to save its own regional hegemony.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/05/201151885013738898.html
Dressing Like a Terrorist
Like many others, I was dismayed to learn of the two imams wearing traditional Muslim garb who were forcibly removed from an airplane that was to carry them to a conference on Islamophobia. The passengers who were removed from a Delta/ASA flight in Memphis, Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul, apparently frightened other passengers and upset one of the pilots, who refused to fly with them on board. Not everybody was dismayed, however. The Delta/ASA pilot and the frightened passengers have received support from numerous voices among the American commentariat.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1622/dressing-like-a-terrorist
