US Faces Pressure From Israel, Saudi Arabia to Rebuff Iran Overtures
September 30, 2013
Given the divisive political climate up on Capitol Hill right now, one might think the greatest liability to the Obama administration for its positive reaction to Iran’s diplomatic overtures would be Republicans who prefer sanctions and war over détente. But one would be wrong. The real pressure to rebuff Iran’s extended hand comes from America’s closest […]
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Iranian FM on Détente with US: ‘Iran Is Not Seeking a Nuclear Weapon’
September 29, 2013
This interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on ABC’s This Week is well worth watching, despite the horrible Stephanopoulos. Breaking News
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McCain Hires Disgraced Syria ‘Expert’ Elizabeth O’Bagy
September 27, 2013
People involved in politics almost invariably engage in confirmation bias. It’s easy to welcome ideas that bolster what you already believe, than to deal with facts and evidence that seem to puncture your own opinions. If there are two seasoned politicians in Washington, surely they are John Kerry and John McCain. So we’d expect them […]
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Kelley Vlahos on African Blowback
September 27, 2013
Antiwar.com columnist/reporter Kelley Vlahos appeared on Russia Today’s Crosstalk program today. The subject was blowback triggered by Western-supported Kenya intervention in Somalia. Also on the show were occasional Antiwar.com contributor Stephen Zunes and Richard Barrett of the Soufan Group.
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Judge Expels Sikh From Courtroom, Orders Him to Remove ‘That Rag’ Or Go To Jail
September 27, 2013
At the Pike County Justice Court in Mississippi, Judge Aubrey Rimes expelled Mr. Jageet Singh from the courtroom, telling his attorney that he’d better remove “that rag” (his turban) from his head or go to jail. That sounds bad enough, right? But how’d he get into the courtroom to begin with? The ACLU with the details: Today, […]
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Despite Hawks’ Claim of Greatest Threat, Iran is Very Weak
September 27, 2013
The diplomacy with Iran is proceeding slowly in the days following the almost-handshake at the UN earlier this week. While skepticism is warranted, as I’ve written, there is a chorus of right-wing fear-mongers really upset about the prospect of detente with Iran. See, for example, this piece in the Washington Post by the neo-con Charles Krauthammer, […]
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The Surge Didn’t Work, Or How Can We Continue to Ignore Iraq?
September 27, 2013
Children tend to have a tough time focusing on too many ideas at once. The same goes for adults who have the brain capacity of children. Syria stories obviously soared in the media over the past month, and rightly so given that the Obama administration was going drag the U.S. into another unnecessary war based […]
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US-Backed Syrian Rebels Form New Alliance With Al-Qaeda Affiliate
September 26, 2013
Ideally, the question of whether it’s wise for America to support allegedly “moderate” elements within the Syrian opposition should have been settled when thousands of foreign fighters were reported flooding into Syria for “jihad.” Or maybe when rebels were caught torturing, executing, and mutilating people, and eating their organs. Or maybe when studies showed that […]
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Another Israeli War Crime Just Took Place
September 26, 2013
Human Rights Watch: Israeli military forces should cease actions in a West Bank Bedouin community that were apparently intended to displace the residents without lawful justification. The military demolished all homes in the community on September 16, 2013, and blocked four attempts by humanitarian groups to provide shelters, with soldiers using force against residents, humanitarian […]
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New York Times Fiction: On Obama’s Letter to Rouhani
September 25, 2013
Mark Landler is a White House correspondent for The New York Times. Under the title "Through Diplomacy, Obama Finds a Pen Pal in Iran", Landler wrote of President Barack Obama’s deep "belief in the power of the written word," and of his "frustrating private correspondence with the leaders of Iran." (NYT, Sep. 19) What is […]
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