Category Archives: Iraq

‘If Jesus were to come this year, Bethlehem would be closed’

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Today in Palestine

‘If Jesus were to come this year, Bethlehem would be closed’ A strip of settlements built on what was northern Bethlehem threatens to cut the city off from its historic twin, Jerusalem. If Joseph and Mary were making their way to … Continue reading →

Posted in Activism, Arab Spring, BDS, Egypt, Flotilla, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Occupation, Settlers/Colonists, Today in Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 5 Comments

Thomas Friedman finds Al-Qaeda in Iraq

Posted on December 21, 2011 by David Bromwich

Times columnist says US fought Al Qaeda in Iraq. But the terrorist group didn’t get there till after we invaded

Posted in Iraq, Media, US Policy in the Middle East | 36 Comments

Columbia U book on Iraq war suggests Wolfie, Feith, Wurmser and Perle had ‘Israeli interests, not just U.S. interests at heart’

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Philip Weiss

Former longtime CIA officer Paul Pillar says neocons’ concern for Israel’s security played an “important role” in disastrous decision to invade Iraq

Posted in Iraq, Israel Lobby, Neocons, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 103 Comments

Settlers have carried out over 100 attacks on Palestinians in 2011

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Today in Palestine

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Israeli settlers have attacked 96 Holy Muslim and Christian sacred sites in the West Bank and 46 sacred sites in Occupied East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year.

Posted in Activism, Arab Spring, BDS, Egypt, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Settlers/Colonists, Today in Palestine | 7 Comments

Iraq war was brought to you by Democrats, too

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Philip Weiss

Joe Scarborough at Politico makes some good points about the origins of the Iraq war (h/t Voskamp): A cursory review of quotes over the past decade and a half illustrates just how aligned the most powerful Democrats in Washington were … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 11 Comments

New details emerge on IDF interrogation methods of prisoners

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Today in Palestine

Haaretz details routine brutalization of Palestinian suspects

Posted in Activism, Arab Spring, BDS, Egypt, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Middle East, Occupation, Settlers/Colonists, Today in Palestine, Turkey, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 5 Comments

Iraq– I’m sorry

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Annie Robbins

US exits Iraq, almost

Posted in Iraq, Middle East, Neocons, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics, War on Terror | Tagged | 123 Comments

Settlers torch West Bank mosque, second attack in two days

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Today in Palestine

New attack on mosque in West Bank Vandals have tried to set a mosque on fire and scrawled graffiti on the walls for the second time in two days. link to www.bbc.co.uk   Mustafa Tamimi   Egypt envoy pays respects … Continue reading →

Posted in Arab Spring, BDS, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Middle East, Occupation, On the ground reports, Settlers/Colonists, Today in Palestine, US Politics | 16 Comments

VIDEO: Israeli soldiers attack against women at Mustafa Tamimi’s funeral

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Today in Palestine

Read Linah Alsaafin’s harrowing account of being attacked by Israeli soldiers during Mustafa Tamimi’s funeral, and being saved by her fellow protesters.

Posted in Activism, Arab Spring, BDS, Egypt, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Middle East, Occupation, Settlers/Colonists, Today in Palestine | 3 Comments

Robert Siegel scolds Kalle Lasn

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Philip Weiss

National Public Radio anchor suggests Kalle Lasn is anti-Semitic for talking about Jewishness of neoconservatives

Posted in Iraq, Israel Lobby, Media, Neocons | 28 Comments

US continued arms shipments to Egypt despite proof they were being used on protesters

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Today in Palestine

Amnesty International shows that the US has repeatedly transferred ammunition to Egypt despite the fact they were being used on protesters.

Posted in Activism, Arab Spring, BDS, Egypt, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Middle East, Occupation, One state/Two states, Settlers/Colonists, Today in Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 11 Comments

Israeli forces tear gas and arrest girls during home demolition in South Hebron Hills

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Today in Palestine

On November, 24 Israeli forces demolished two homes, a mosque and a barn and arrested two young women in the village of Umm Fagarah near Hebron.

Posted in Activism, Arab Spring, Egypt, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Middle East, Occupation, Settlers/Colonists, Today in Palestine | 4 Comments

Activists disrupt Donald Rumsfeld speaking event in Plano, Texas

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Today in Palestine

Video, and a first person account, of activists calling for Rumsfeld to be held accountable for his role in war crimes against the Iraqi people.

Posted in Iraq, Today in Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 13 Comments

Propaganda Revisited: Iraq, Iran, and the rhyming of history

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Nima Shirazi

The propaganda about Iran’s nuclear program bears a striking resemblance to the lies about Iraq leading up to the invasion of that country.

Posted in Iran, Iraq, Middle East, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 9 Comments

The case for invading Iran

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Philip Weiss

The neoconservative rationale for attacking Iran is frighteningly similar to the case they made for invading Iraq in 2003

Posted in Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Neocons, US Politics | 63 Comments

The regrets of a war-party liberal

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Anonymous

From the last two paragraphs of George Packer’s review in The New Yorker of George W. Bush’s book, Decision Points: [Bush's] decisions, he still believes, made America safer, gave Iraqis hope, and changed the future of the Middle East for … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, US Politics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Busy Bill Kristol

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Philip Weiss

He’s visiting Harvard Law School tomorrow to give a speech, sponsored by the HLS Republicans, and then he’s at the Zionist Organization of America with Gary Bauer and the deputy speaker of the Knesset. Would Harvard Law School invite Gary … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, Neocons | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

We live in dark times

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Philip Weiss

I ran into an old friend at a NY party the other night, wealthy, conservative, and we had a polite conversation about his interests: hedge funds, corporate boards, the internet and the endurance of print media. Then another friend came … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Iraq, Israel Lobby | Tagged , , , | 74 Comments

Is Muslim life actually ‘cheap’?

Posted on September 14, 2010 by James North

New Republic editor-in-chief Martin Peretz’s anti-Muslim slanders have finally gotten him into trouble in the mainstream, after years during which the major opinion-makers pretended not to notice his chronic racism. Here again is the second half of his latest slur, … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 30 Comments

Advocates for 3 U.S. hikers captured by Iran spotlight their leftwing activism

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Philip Weiss

Here is a great piece by Stephen Zunes on Huffpo about the three American hikers captured by Iran a year ago, evidently when they were on Iraqi soil, visiting a famous water fall. Zunes situates the travelers’ experience in leftwing … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine | 13 Comments

Think back to 2003… the year the U.S. didn’t invade Iraq

Posted on August 25, 2010 by James North

Historians would later record how Secretary of State Colin Powell prevailed in a key Cabinet meeting in early 2003, when he refused to go before the United Nations because he lacked proof that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. “What … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East | 20 Comments

The ‘oil curse’ explains Iraq power struggle better than Sunni-Shiite divide

Posted on August 21, 2010 by James North

I’ve wasted too much time over the past couple of decades trying to figure out Iraq by reading about the theological differences between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. I should have paid even more attention to the growing body of fascinating … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 17 Comments

privilege changes Jewish identity

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Philip Weiss

Jeff Greene is a self-made businessman with a yacht, a Jewish guy who grew up poor, now running for Senate in Florida, and his intolerance re the mosque shows to me how privilege and power have transformed Jewish identity. “President … Continue reading →

Posted in American Jewish Community, Iraq | 17 Comments

Neocon halfway house

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Philip Weiss

Andrew Sullivan has been doing important work on neoconservatives. Here is a piece in which he and Joe Klein lament their failure to see thru the neoconservative agenda for the Iraq war. The regrets expressed here are genuine and important … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, Israel Lobby, Neocons | 14 Comments

Bacevich: US and Israel are only democracies that see war as the answer

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Philip Weiss

Wonderful piece by Andrew Bacevich at Tom Dispatch, proving that realists and leftists must break bread with one another (realists must learn to talk about human rights, lefties must think about national interests) if we are going to make any … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Neocons, US Policy in the Middle East | 34 Comments