… Any serious analysis of Obama’s policies must begin with his pragmatism. That’s how he functioned throughout his political career, and especially over the last four years. Despite his vision of change, he is a realist to the core. He sounds like an idealist but leads pragmatically. [...] Be that as it may, Obama’s visit [...]
Tag Archives | Jordan
Captured in Jordan, Bin Laden’s Son-in-Law, “The Mouthpiece of Bin Laden,” Pleads Not Guilty in New York Courtroom
Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law pleaded not guilty Friday morning to charges of trying to kill Americans. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who served as an al Qaeda spokesman, was captured and taken to the United States, federal officials announced Thursday. [CNN] THERE WAS an immediate reaction to the decision to try Abu Ghaith in a civilian courtroom. [...]
Gaza Bombing Continues as Possible “Truce” is Being Floated
Israel bombed militant targets in Gaza for a fifth straight day on Sunday, launching aerial and naval attacks as its military prepared for a possible ground invasion, though Egypt saw “some indications” of a truce ahead. [Reuters] LATE SATURDAY, both Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi, as well as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, weighed in on the [...]
News Desk: Terror Suspect Qatada ‘To Be Freed on Bail Tuesday’ in Britain
Terror suspect Qatada ‘to be freed on bail Tuesday’ (via AFP) Terror suspect Abu Qatada will be released on bail on Tuesday after he won his appeal against extradition to Jordan. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission, a semi-secret panel of British judges that deals with decisions on national security, granted the Islamist preacher bail despite [...]
Clinton on Syrian Defections: Regime Insiders, Military ‘Starting to Vote with Their Feet’
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also at the Paris meeting, said that if the “increasing stream of senior military defectors” was any indication, then “regime insiders and the military establishment were starting to vote with their feet”. – Syria Manaf Tlas defection ‘hard blow’ for Assad WHAT’S GOING on inside Syria is being represented [...]
Secretary Clinton: ‘Free and Equal in Dignity and Rights’
The United States will begin using American foreign aid to promote gay rights abroad, Obama administration officials said on Tuesday. President Obama issued a memorandum directing American agencies to look for ways to combat efforts by foreign governments to criminalize homosexuality. – U.S. to Use Foreign Aid to Promote Gay Rights Abroad What Pres. Obama [...]
Hillary’s Close-Up
“We came. We saw. He died.” – Secy. Hillary Clinton, TIME magazine The issue above is slated to hit newsstands on November 7, the day before my book, The Hillary Effect – Politics, Sexism and the Destiny of Loss comes out. I urge you to read this article, which is behind a subscriber wall. It [...]
Peter Beinert’s Right, It’s The End Of An Empire
Some commentators love the Libya war; others hate it. But most agree that it’s profoundly unnatural that we were pushed into it by… France. Welcome to the post-American world. In the age we’re entering, most of the time, the choice will no longer be between humanitarian interventions controlled by the United States and humanitarian interventions [...]
Picture of the Week Represents Rolling World Events
**UPDATED** Oddly enough, the union battle in Wisconsin, which has the added element of Pres. Obama and the DNC entering, adds a U.S. labor element to workers rising up from Tunisia to Egypt to Bahrain and even Libya. Col Muammar Gaddafi is the longest-serving leader in the Arab world. Protests are not allowed in Libya, [...]
Arafat’s Ghost
From Foreign Policy’s Colum Lynch on “Turtle Bay”: The U.S. informed Arab governments Tuesday that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity,” a move aimed at avoiding the prospect of having to veto a stronger Palestinian resolution calling the [...]
Egyptian Revolution Inspired by Liberalism
“He gave me a lesson in democracy and said: ‘We see the democracy the United States spearheaded in Iran and with Hamas, in Gaza, and that’s the fate of the Middle East,’” Ben-Eliezer said. “‘They may be talking about democracy but they don’t know what they’re talking about and the result will be extremism and [...]
Egypt Sends Glenn Beck Squealing about a Caliphate
Who’s organizing these riots? What role are Marxists playing? What are the causes? Glenn Beck proves fear really is a product of ignorance. Beck is very afraid of The Arab, whom he equates to The Terrorist. Beck is also just another fundamentalist believing his religion is perfect, while Islam is unholy. It doesn’t appear he’s [...]
Sect. Clinton Announces Middle East Talks
UPDATE via AP: Iranian and Russian engineers began loading nuclear fuel into Iran’s first atomic power plant Saturday amid international concern that the Islamic Republic is seeking a nuclear weapon. State television showed what appeared to be fuel rods being loaded into the core of the reactor, which is on the shores of the Persian [...]
Jeffrey Goldberg on Israel Attacking Iran
The Netanyahu government is already intensifying its analytic efforts not just on Iran, but on a subject many Israelis have difficulty understanding: President Obama. The Israelis are struggling to answer what is for them the most pressing question: are there any circumstances under which President Obama would deploy force to stop Iran from going nuclear? [...]
Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit Theater
The Post’s Scott Wilson asked Obama if he would call on Israel, which skipped the summit, to declare its nuclear weapons. “I’m not going to comment on their program,” Obama said. Obama’s disregard for media reaches new heights at nuclear summit, by Dana Milbank Why, of course not. But it would have added substance to [...]
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